“Now, O king, I have told this story for that the king may know that no good has ever happened to anyone from youths. Yea, O king, be not negligent, kill the youth, else the affair will end in evil.” When the king heard this story from the lady he was wroth and said, “On the morrow will I slay him.”
When it was morning the king sat upon his throne and caused the youth to be brought, and commanded the executioner, “Smite off his head.” The sixth vezir came forward and said, “O king of the world, beware, act not on anyone’s word till the crime be proved against the prince; for the resurrection is at hand, and lying and cunning and craft abound. The wise man is he who turns off sin and evil that he may not afterward begin to bite upon the finger with regret and remorse and be repentant, and who takes the woful by the hand and gives happiness to the unhappy, and who repulses not him who comes to his door, but sees his needs and provides for him, and who never lets himself be deceived by a woman’s word; for these laugh in one’s face. Mayhap my king has not heard the story of the tailor youth and the woman.” The king said, “Tell on, let us hear.” Quoth the vezir:
“Thus relate they: In the time of Saint Jesus (peace on him!) there was a tailor youth who had a fair wife, and they greatly loved one another. One day they made a pact that if the woman died first, her husband should take no other wife, but throw his arms round her tombstone, and weep till morning; and if the youth died first, the woman should do likewise. By the decree of God the woman died. After the tailor had wept and lamented he buried her, and fulfilled his pact, and threw his arms round his wife’s tombstone and wept. And he constantly kept watch over the grave. One day Jesus (peace on him!) when passing by that place, saw a youthweeping and embracing a tombstone, and he went up to him and asked why he wept. The youth related all.
“Then Jesus (peace on him!) prayed, and the woman became alive, and came forth from the grave in her shroud. And Jesus (peace on him!) proceeded on his way. The youth said, ‘One cannot go thus in a shroud; wait thou here a moment till I go and fetch clothes from the house; then thou shalt put on these clothes, and we will go together.’ And he went quickly to the house, leaving the woman there. Suddenly the son of the king of that country passed that spot, and saw a fair woman sitting wrapped in a shroud. As soon as the prince saw that woman he fell in love with her from heart and soul, and he said to her, ‘Who art thou?’ She answered, ‘I am a stranger; a robber has stripped me.’ Thereupon the prince ordered his servants to take the woman to the palace, and clothe her in clean garments.
“When the youth returned with the clothes he found not the woman there, and he cried and asked of the passers-by. No one had seen her. The poor man, asking and asking, met the prince’s servants. These asked the tailor why he wept. He replied, ‘For a time my wife was dead; but now, praise be to God, she is become alive through the prayer of the messenger Jesus; I went to fetch her clothes, but she has disappeared: therefore do I weep.’ They answered, ‘The prince sent that lady to the palace this day.’ Thereupon the tailor went before the prince and complained, saying, ‘The woman thou hast taken is my wife.’ The prince asked the lady, she denied and said, ‘This is the robber who stripped me of my clothes and made off; praise be to God, if thou kill him now, thou shalt gain great reward.’ The prince commanded that they bound both the tailor’s hands behind his back. Although the poor tailor cried aloud, it was no avail; they put a rope round his neck and led him to the gallows.
“Then they perceived Saint Jesus on the road, and they waited. When he came near he asked of their case, and they told him. Then he bade them stop and went himself to the prince; they called the woman, and he said, ‘This woman is the wife of yonder youth; I prayed and she became alive.’ When the woman saw the messenger she was unable to deny, but spake the truth. Jesus (peace on him!) prayed again,and that woman died; and the youth was rescued from the abyss whereinto he had fallen, and he repented of his having wept so long a time.
“Now, O king, I have told this story for that thou mayst know that the inclinations of women are ever to works of evil, craft, and wickedness.” And he kissed the ground and made intercession for the prince’s life. When the king heard this story from the vezir he sent the prince to the prison, and went himself to the chase.
In the evening he returned from the chase and came to the palace, and the lady rose to greet him, and they sat down. After the repast the lady fell to speaking about the youth. The king said, “To-day such an one of my vezirs made intercession for him, so I have again sent him to the prison.” Quoth the lady, “O king, thou dost not believe my words; but at length, in the near future, some hurt will befall thee from the youth; for this night I saw a vision, which it is, as it were, a duty on me to tell my king, and incumbent on thee to hear.” Said the king, “Tell on, let us hear.” The lady said, “This night thou wast holding in thy hand a golden ball, and that ball was adorned and set round with rubies and jewels, and its brilliancy lit up the world; and thou wast playing, throwing up the ball and catching it in thy hand. And this youth was sitting by thy side watching, and ever and anon he asked for the ball, but thou gavest him it not.
“Of a sudden, while thou wast heedless, he snatched the ball, and for that thou hadst not given it him when he had asked was he angry, and he struck the ball upon a stone, so that it was shattered in pieces. And I was grieved, and I went and picked up the fragments of the ball, and gave them into thy hand, and thou didst look upon those fragments and didst marvel, and with that I awoke.” Quoth the king, “What may the interpretation of this vision be?” The lady said, “I interpreted this dream: that ball is thy kingdom; and this youth’s snatching it from thy hand is this, that this youth came to me and said, ‘I wish to kill my father and sit upon the throne, and I desire to make thee my wife; and all the men of the kingdom have turned to me, and now the kingdom is wholly mine, do thou likewise submit to me?’ Had I submitted to him, ere now he had killed thee and accomplishedhis affair. Ah! the fortune and auspiciousness of my king averted it. And his striking the ball upon the stone is this, that if he had become king after thee, he would have utterly ruined the kingdom. And my going and picking up the fragments and giving them to the king is this, that for that I obeyed not the youth, but came and told the king, he seized him, and the kingdom remained in his hand. But had not I done so, know of a surety that ere now the kingdom would have passed from thy hand; yea, thy life, too, would have gone. That is the interpretation of the dream. O king, the story of this degenerate youth resembles that of a certain king’s son; mayhap my king has not heard it.” The king said, “Tell on, let us hear.” Quoth the lady:
“In the palace of the world there was a king in whose country was a robber, such that none could escape from his hands. And in that king’s country was a great khoja. That khoja and his wife were travelling with some money, when of a sudden, while they were on the road they met that robber. He forthwith stripped them and made them naked and took them captives. He put their clothes in the cave which he had chosen for his dwelling, and bound both the khoja’s hands behind his back and laid him in a corner; and then he gave himself up to mirth and merriment with the woman. After seven or eight months the robber released the khoja and his wife. So these went forth from the cave, and saying, ‘There is nor strength nor power save in God, the high, the mighty,’ they set their faces in a certain direction, and fared on till one day they entered a city. And they took a dwelling in that city and settled there.
“When the woman’s time was come she gave birth to a boy; but as they knew that the boy was the robber’s, they would not accept him, and they laid him at the door of the mosque. The king of that country happened to pass by and asked concerning him, and the people who were present answered that his parents had no means of bringing him up and so had left him there. Now the king had no son, and he took pity on this child and adopted him and made him his son, andsaid, ‘If God give him life and he die not, he shall sit on the throne after me and be king.’ So they took the boy and brought him to the palace, and appointed him a nurse, and made him clothes of all manner of stuffs. Day by day he grew, and when he had reached his seventh year he was a moon-faced boy, such that he who looked upon his countenance desired to look thereon again.
“And the king appointed a teacher and a governor for the boy, and he learned science and good conduct. When he had reached his twelfth year he had acquired sciences and accomplishments. After that, they instructed him in horsemanship; that too he acquired in a few days. And every day he would go into the square and take a ball and play; and all the world marvelled at his beauty and dexterity, and the king felt delight as often as he looked upon him. Now the king had also a daughter peerless in beauty. In the course of a few years this girl grew up and reached the age of puberty, and the boy fell in love with her. He would brood over this, saying, ‘Alas! would she were not my sister, that I might marry her.’ Now the boy was a valiant youth, such that the king’s emirs and vezirs applauded his valor; and he overcame the king’s enemies who were round about, and made them subject to his father; and no one could stand before his sword. The king had betrothed his daughter to another king’s son, and when the time was come they wished to take the girl from the king.
“And the king commanded that they should make ready; and thereupon the youth, to make clear what was in his heart, asked a legist this question, ‘If a person have a garden and the fruit of that garden ripen, should that person eat it or another?’ The legist replied, ‘It were better that person should eat it than another.’ Now the prince had a learned companion, and that companion knew the prince’s desire; for science is of three kinds: one the science of the faith, another the science of physiognomy, and another the science of the body; but unless there be the science of physiognomy, other science avails not. Straightway that companion said, ‘O prince, if there be in that garden you ask of, a fruit forbidden by God most high, it were better that the owner eat it not; but if God most high have not forbidden it, then is it lawful for that person to eat it.’ Quoth the prince, ‘Thou knowestnot as much as a legist; yon man is a legist; I look to his decision.’ And he arose and went to his sister’s palace, and that hour he took his sister and went forth the city, and made for another city.
“Then the slave girls with great crying informed the king, and thereupon the king’s senses forsook him, and he commanded, ‘Let the soldiers forthwith mount their horses and pursue the youth and seize him.’ Straightway the soldiers mounted and went after the youth; and the king said, ‘From the low born fidelity comes not;’ and he repented him of his having taken him to son. The king and the soldiers appeared behind the youth, and the latter sprang into a hiding-place. And while the king and the soldiers were passing he slew the king from that hiding-place; and when the soldiers saw that the king was slain they each one fled in a different direction, and were scattered in confusion. And the youth took the girl and went to a city and took a house therein, and made her his wife; and he adopted the whole of what had been his father’s business, and turned robber.
“Now, O king, I have told this story, for that thou mayst know that the desire of this degenerate youth is to kill his father as that low-born one slew his; the rest the king knows.” When the king heard this strange thing from the lady, he said, “On the morrow will I slay him.”
When it was morning the king went and sat upon his throne, and he caused the youth to be brought and commanded the executioner, “Smite off his head.” Whereupon the seventh vezir came forward and said, “O king of the world, first look to the end of every business thou undertakest and then act accordingly; for on the day of battle it is needful, first to think of the way of retreat and then to set to, so that when it is ‘or fate or state,’ one may save his life. They have said, ‘On the day of strife be not far from the nobles: in the chase and the palace go not near them;’ and ‘He is profitable in the councils of a king, who in the day of security looks to the matters of war and the provision of weapons, and stints not money to the troops that these on the day of battle may be lavish with their lives in the king’s cause.’ It is incumbent on the king that he kill those who flee when they see the enemy (and after that the foes); for they resemble those who giveup a stronghold to the adversary. And they have said that a good scribe and a man who knows the science of the sword are very needful for a king; for with the pen is wealth collected, and with the sword are countries taken. Mayhap the king has not heard the story of a certain king and a vezir.” The king said, “Tell on, let us hear.” Quoth the vezir:
“There was in the palace of the world a king and he had two vezirs, one of whom was wise and learned and one of whom was foolish and ignorant. On the king’s taking counsel of them concerning the management of the affairs of the state, the ignorant vezir said, ‘O king, expend not money, give not money to the soldiers and warriors, or if thou give, give little; and let him who will stay, stay; and let him who will not stay, go. When thou hast money on the battle day, many will be soldiers to thee: where the honey is, there surely come the flies.’ His words seemed good to the king, who one day said to the learned vezir, ‘Get me a few men who will be content with little pay.’ On the vezir’s replying, ‘Men without pay are not to be had,’ the king said, ‘I shall have money when anything befalls, and shall find many men.’ Quoth the vezir, ‘So be it, I shall find men for the king who will take no pay and stir not day or night from his gate.’ The king was glad and said, ‘Get them, let us see.’
“The vezir went and found a painter and brought him, and he painted a large room in the palace so that the four walls of that room were covered with pictured figures of men, and he decked all the figures with arms and implements of war, he depicted a mounted and armed host standing rank on rank. When it was completed the vezir called the king, and the king arose and went with him to that wall of pictures, and he showed the king the whole of them. The king looked and said, ‘What are these pictures? why hast thou ranged these here rank on rank?’ The vezir replied, ‘O king, thou desiredst of me men without pay; lo, these youths want no pay; so they will serve the king.’ The king said, ‘There is no life in these; how can they serve?’ The vezir answered, ‘O king, if lifeless pictures will not serve, no more will payless soldiers serve. Fief andpay are as the life of the soldier; when thou givest not a man his fief or pay, it is as though thou tookest away his life; judge if a lifeless man could serve.’
“Again, ‘O king, if a paid army be not needful for thee, these will suffice; but living men require to eat and drink. If they get no pay they will not sacrifice their lives in the cause of the king or face the enemy; but they will hate the king and turn from him and evil will befall the king; but if the king be bountiful they will obey. Thus a noble had a young steward who used to serve him. One day the noble asked the youth his name. He replied, “God on thee, my name is Wittol.” Said the noble, “Can anyone be so called?” The youth answered, “Anyhow it is my nickname, never mind.” So they used to call that youth Wittol so long as he was at that noble’s gate. One day he went from that noble’s gate to another’s. One day that noble in whose service he had been happened to meet him, when he cried out, “Ho, Wittol, how art thou?” The youth replied, “O noble, say not so again, or thou shalt see.” The noble said, “My life, thou didst tell me Wittol was thy name; why art thou now angered?” The youth answered, “Then did I serve thee, and thou bestowedst on me worlds of bounties, so though thou calledst me Wittol, it offended me not; but now I never get a favor from this man that he should call me so.”
“‘Quoth the noble, “He who called thee so just now was I, not he; yet thou wast angered with me.” The youth replied, “God forbid I should be angered with thee; but if to-morrow the other were to hear that word from thee, he too would wish to use it; now was I angered lest he should call me so.”’ Then that vezir laid a dish of honey before the king; as it was night no flies came to it. And the vezir said, ‘They say that where there is honey, thither will the flies surely flock; lo, here is honey, where are the flies?’ Quoth the king, ‘It is night, therefore they come not.’ The vezir said, ‘My king, it is necessary to give soldiers money at the proper time; for bringing out money on the battle day is like bringing out honey at night.’ When the king heard these words from the vezir he was ashamed; but he greatly applauded the vezir, and thenceforth did whatsoever he advised.
“Now, O king, I have told this story for that thou maystknow that attendants and servants are needful for kings, and that masters of device and resource are requisite. Kings should take counsel of their vezirs in such matters that no defect may mar their fortune in the world or the hereafter. Now the prince is thy support and asylum, and all the folk, high and low, ask why he is fettered with the bonds of woe and a prisoner of the dungeon. And slaying the prince were like slaying the vezirs and all the world. Who would sit on the throne after thee that should know our circumstances? All grandees of the empire and lords of the state and noble seyyids would be cast down, and scattered to the winds and ruined. This woman is a woman lacking in religion and understanding; to give ear to and thus countenance those who are so lacking is not worthy our king.” And he kissed the ground and begged for the prince. So the king sent him to the prison.
Having returned from the chase, the king went to the palace, and the lady rose to greet him, and they passed on and sat down. After the repast the lady again asked for news of the youth. The king answered, “To-day too I have sent him to the prison.” The lady said, “Thou art a wise and just king; we will talk together this night and see whether or no by principle, by the law, and by custom, thou dost sin in thus vexing my heart. O king, there are many rights between husband and wife. And they have said that it is better to give a woman a handful of words than a skirtful of money. Mayhap the king has not heard the story of the sparrow and his mate.” The king said, “Relate it, let us hear.” Quoth the lady:
“There was in the blessed service of Saint Solomon (peace on him!) a little sparrow whose many tricks and gambols were ever pleasing to Saint Solomon. One day Saint Solomon saw not the sparrow by him, and he commanded the sīmurgh[24]bird to go fetch the sparrow wherever he might find him. For a long time the sparrow had not gone to his mate, and his mate had upbraided him, saying, ‘For this long time thouhast left me and been with Solomon; dost thou love him more than me, or dost thou fear him? tell me.’ The sparrow answered, ‘By God, I would not give thee for the world: I am come but once to earth and shall not come again; I go to Solomon for diversion, I have no dread of him.’ While he was talking with many such vaunts and boasts, the sīmurgh arrived in haste and heard the sparrow bragging and said harshly, ‘Up, let us off; Saint Solomon wants thee.’ Then the sparrow, being beside his mate, plucked up courage and replied, ‘Off, begone, I will not go.’ The sīmurgh said, ‘I will indeed take thee.’ The sparrow answered, ‘Off with thee, get thee hence, or I will seize thee and rend thee in twain.’ Quoth the sīmurgh, ‘Until I take thee with me I will not budge from here.’
“Yet the sparrow heeded not, and the sīmurgh waited a while, but the sparrow would not go. Again said the sīmurgh to the sparrow, ‘O my life, give me an answer.’ Quoth the sparrow, ‘I tell thee begone from here; if thou speak again, my heart will bid me do somewhat else; but no, I will not slay thee. Off, begone, or I will do thee some hurt, and then go to Solomon’s palace and smite it with my foot, and overturn it from its foundations and pull it down about his head; now then, away fool, off, begone the road thou camest. Thou chatterest here and sayest not, “This is the sparrow’s harem; he is ill.”’ And he gave the sīmurgh a kick such that the latter knew not where it touched him, but he flew thence and reported the sparrow’s words to Saint Solomon. Solomon said, ‘When the sparrow spake these words where was he?’ ‘His mate was there,’ answered the sīmurgh. Then quoth Solomon (peace on him!), ‘There is no harm in one thus boasting and bragging in his own house before his wife. Though every stone of this my palace was raised by the toil of these many demons, still wonder not at his saying when beside his wife that he could shatter it with one foot.’ And this was pleasing to Solomon (peace on him!), and when the sparrow came he made him of his boon companions.
“O king, I have told this story for that thou mayst know that one should thus love his wife and vex not her little heart, so that his wife may have naught against him. And God most high has given thee understanding; weigh my words inthe balance of understanding, and try them on the touchstone of the heart; if they stand not the test, I shall speak no more. I tell thee that this youth has stretched forth his hand to me and has been treacherous, and has moreover purposed against thy life; can there be greater crimes than these? O king, beware, be not negligent in this matter; for there is fear and danger for thy life and kingdom.” When the king heard these beguiling words of the lady he said, “On the morrow will I make an end of his affair.”
When it was morning the king sat upon his throne and commanded the executioner that he bring the youth, and he said, “Smite off his head.” Whereupon the eighth vezir came forward and said, “O king of the world, slay not the prince on the woman’s word. One should be forgiving; above all, as no man is exempt from sin; for they have said that humanity is composed of forgetfulness. A man falls sometimes through the intrigues of an enemy and sometimes through the maleficence of the cruel sphere; or else he attains prosperity and falls into adversity. Mayhap the king has not heard the story of a certain vezir.” The king said, “Tell on, let us hear.” Quoth the vezir:
“Of old time there was a king, and he had an experienced and learned vezir. One day the latter went to the bath, and while he was sitting beside the basin, his ring fell from his finger into the water; and it sank not in the water, but floated on the surface. Whenever the vezir saw this he sent men to his house and treasury, saying, ‘Go quickly, and hide in a certain place whatsoever I have in the treasury of gold and silver or rubies and jewels; for now is the king about to seize me.’ Then they went and acted according to his order. And as the vezir was coming out from the bath, men from the king arrived and seized him; and they put him in prison and took possession of whatever he had in his house and treasury.
“One day, after the vezir had been imprisoned for a certain time, his heart longed for a conserve of pomegranate pips, and he ordered the jailer, saying, ‘Make me ready a conserve and bring it, for my heart doth greatly desire it.’ Now the kinghad forbidden that dish, and the jailer was afraid and made it not. And the vezir’s desire increased and he begged it of all who came to him, but no one made it and brought it through fear of the king. Brief, the vezir lay for a year in prison and longed for that dish, but no one found means to bring him it. One day the jailer made shift to cook that dish and bring it to the vezir. As soon as the vezir saw it he was glad; and they put it before him, but ere he had stretched out his hand to it, two mice, that were struggling with each other above, fell into the dish, and the food became unclean.
“Thereupon the vezir said, ‘It is good;’ and he arose and commanded his servants, saying, ‘Go, furnish the mansion, put that wealth you hid back into its proper place; my king is about to take me from prison and make me vezir.’ Then his retainers went and did as he had commanded. Hereupon came a man from the king who took the vezir from the prison and brought him before the king. Then said the king to comfort the vezir’s heart, ‘I put thee in prison seemingly to afflict thee; but really that thou mightest know, from experiencing imprisonment, speedily to intercede for the men whom I cast into jail.’ Quoth the vezir, ‘Nearness to a sultan is a burning fire: whatsoever conduct be observed toward me by the king is pleasant teaching.’ The king was pleased and commanded that they bring a robe of honor, and he put it on him and made him again vezir.
“Then when the vezir was come to his mansion his retainers and others asked him, saying, ‘Whence knewest thou of the king’s being about to imprison thee and seize thy wealth, and whence knewest thou of his being about to take thee out and make thee vezir?’ The vezir replied, ‘While in the bath my ring fell into the water and sank not, so I knew that my fortune had reached its perfection, and that what follows every perfection is declension, therefore did I so command; and for a whole year, while I was in prison, I longed for a dish of pomegranate pips, at length I got it, and mice polluted it so that I could not eat it, so I knew that my misfortune was complete and that my former estate was returned. And I was glad.’
“Now, O king, I have told this story for that the king may likewise know that every perfection has its declension. Untilnow the prince and the vezirs were safe and esteemed before the king. Now he knows not in what malefic sign our stars may be imprisoned. A woman has rendered us despicable before the king and has bound him about with craft and wiles, so that these many learned and sagacious vezirs are impotent against her incitements; even as it is clear that when a fool throws a stone down a well a wise man is powerless to get it up again. O king, haste not in this affair; too late repentance profits not; for the prince is like a young bird that can neither fly nor flee, grant him a few days’ respite, haply this difficulty may be solved; and there is a reason for his not speaking. He is ever as a prisoner in thy hand; afterward, if thou will, kill him; if thou will, free him.” And he kissed the ground and begged for the prince. When the king heard this story from the vezir the fire that was in his heart was increased ten-fold and the tears poured from his eyes; and he sent the prince to the prison and mounted for the chase with his own cares.
When the king returned he entered the palace, and the lady rose to greet him, and they sat down. After the repast the lady asked for news of the youth. The king said, “To-day too such an one of my vezirs made intercession for him, and I sent him to the prison.” Quoth the lady, “O king, I have given thee this much counsel, and it has produced no effect upon thee. It is as though a physician treated a sick man, and the treatment was without result, and that physician was powerless and attempted no other treatment, but left off; for if he treated that sick man again, he would kill him. Now, I too am powerless to speak to thee. I should say, ‘I will speak no more nor waste my breath in vain;’ still my heart pities thee, for the king’s realm and life will be destroyed. My head, too, will fall; for that I am in the same peril with the king do I speak. It is even as once when they cut off a person’s hand and he uttered no sound; afterward he saw someone whose hand had been cut off, and he wailed aloud and wept. Those who were present wondered and asked, saying, ‘O man, when thy hand was cut off thou didst not weep; why weepest thou now?’ That person answered, ‘By God, then, when they cut off my hand, I saw that there was not among you one who had met the like, and I said in myself that if I wept each of you would speak ill of me, for ye knew not the painof it; now that I have found a companion in my plight do I weep, for he knows the anguish I have suffered,’ Now, O king, thy head and my head are like to fall; if the king know not my plight, who should know it? Mayhap my king has not heard the story of the three princes and the cadi.” The king said, “Tell on, let us hear.” Quoth the lady:
“In the palace of the world there was a king and he had three sons. One day this king laid his head on the pillow of death and called those sons to his side, and spake privately with them. He said, ‘In such and such a corner of the palace I have hidden a vase full of pearls and jewels and diverse gems; when I am dead do ye wash me well and bury me, then go and take that vase from its place and divide its contents.’ The king lay for three days, and on the fourth day he drained the wine of death and set forth for the abiding home. When the princes had buried their father according to his injunctions, they came together and went and beheld that in the place of those jewels the winds blew. Now the princes began to dispute, and they said, ‘Our father told this to us three in private, this trick has been played by one of us.’ And the three of them went to the cadi, and told their complaint. The cadi listened and then said to them, ‘Come, I will tell you a story, and after that I will settle your dispute.
“‘Once, in a certain city, a youth and a girl loved each other, and that girl was betrothed to another youth. When the lover was alone with that girl he said, “O my life, now thou comest to me and I am happy with thee; to-morrow when thou art the bride of thy betrothed, how will be my plight?” The girl said, “My master, do not grieve; that night when I am bride, until I have come to thee and seen thee, I will not give the bridegroom his desire.” And they made a pact to that end. Brief, when the bridal night arrived, the girl and the youth went apart; and when all the people were dispersed and the place was clear of others, the girl told the bridegroom of the pact between her and the stricken lover, and besought leave to fulfil it. Whenever the bridegroom heard these words from the bride he said, “Go, fulfil thy plight and come again insafety.” So the bride went forth, but while on the road she met a robber. The robber looked at her attentively, and saw that she was a beautiful girl like the moon of fourteen nights; never in his life had he seen such a girl, and upon her was endless gold, and she was covered with diverse jewels such as cannot be described. Thereupon the bridle of choice slipped from the robber’s hands; and as the hungry wolf springs upon the sheep, so did the robber spring upon that girl. Straightway the girl began to sigh, and the robber felt pity and questioned her.
“‘So the bride related to the robber her story from its beginning to its end, whereupon the robber exclaimed, “That is no common generosity! nor shall I do any hurt or evil thing to her.” Then said he to the girl, “Come, I will take thee to thy lover.” And he took her and led to her lover’s door and said, “Now go in and be with thy lover.” Then the girl knocked at the door, and that youth, who lay sighing, heard the knocking and went with haste and said, “Who is that?” The girl answered, “Open the door; lo, I have kept my plight, nor have I broken it, I am come to thee.” The youth opened the door and came to the girl and said, “O my life, my mistress, welcome, and fair welcome! how hast thou done it?” She replied, “The folk assembled and gave me to the bridegroom, then all dispersed and each went his way. And I explained my case to the bridegroom and he gave me leave. While on the road I met a robber, and that robber wished to stretch forth his hand to me, but I wept and told him of my plight with thee, and he had pity and brought me to the door and left me, and has gone away.”
“‘When the youth heard these things from the girl he said, “Since the bridegroom is thus generous, and has given thee leave to fulfil thy plight with me, and sent thee to me, there were no generosity in me did I stretch forth my hand to thee and deal treacherously; from this day be thou my sister; go, return to thy husband.” And he sent her off. When the girl went out she saw that robber standing by the door; and he walked in front of her, and conducted her to the bridegroom’s door. And the girl went in, and the robber departed to his own affairs. While the bridegroom was marvelling the bride entered, and the bridegroom leaped up and took the bride’s hands in his, and they sat upon the bed. And the bridegroom turned and asked her news of the bride; and she told all her adventures from their beginning to their end.’ Then quoth the cadi, ‘O my sons, which of those showed manliness and generosity in this matter?’ The eldest youth said, ‘The bridegroom, who, while she was his lawful bride, and when he had spent thus much upon her, gave the girl leave. What excellent generosity did he display!’ The middle youth said, ‘The generosity was that lover’s, who, while there was so much love between them, had patience and sent her back. What excellent generosity: can there be greater than this!’ Then asked he of the youngest boy, ‘O you, what say you!’ Quoth he, ‘O ye, what say ye? when one hunting in the night met thus fair a beauty, a torment of the world, a fresh rose; above all, laden with these many jewels, and yet coveted her not but took her to her place. What excellent patience, what excellent generosity!’ When the cadi heard these words of the youngest boy he said, ‘O prince, the jewels are with thee; for the lover praised the lover; and the trustful, the trustful; and the robber, the robber.’ The prince was unable to deny it, and he took the jewels from his breast and laid them before the cadi.
“Now, O king, I have told this story for that thou mayst know that in that I am true I would aid my king; and that the vezirs, in that they are traitors, would aid the traitor prince. And they are forty men, each one of them a wonder of the world, while as for me, I am but one and a woman, lacking in understanding: the rest the king knows.” When the king heard these enticing and beguiling words of the lady he said, “Grieve not, to-morrow will I kill him.”
When it was morning the king sat upon his throne and thus commanded the executioner, “Smite off the head of that traitor youth.” Whereupon the ninth vezir came forward and said, “O king of the world, beware, slay not thy son on the woman’s word, and be not heedless of the import of this verse which God most high hath spoken in his Word: ‘And the stiflers of wrath, and the pardoners of men; and God loveth the beneficent:’[25]that is they are his peculiar servants. And the holy Apostle (peace on him!) hath said, ‘Whoso bridleth hisanger, he having power to avenge—God will call him on the resurrection day over the heads of the creatures that he may give him to choose from the houris which he pleaseth:’ that is he shall surely enter Paradise. Let one pardon him who has wronged him and forgive his servants their misdeeds, that God most high may pardon him and be beneficent to him; even as saith the Apostle (peace on him!) ‘The proclaimer shall proclaim on the resurrection day:—Where are they whose reward is (incumbent) upon God; none shall rise save him who hath forgiven.’ Mayhap the king has not heard the story of Hārūn-er-Reshīd[26]and the slave girl.” The king said, “Tell on, let us hear.” Quoth the vezir:
“Once the Caliph Hārūn-er-Reshīd sat upon his throne of estate; and the people of the city of Bagdad were late in coming to salute him. Therefore was the caliph exceeding wroth, and he thus commanded the chamberlains, ‘Whoso comes now do ye turn off and cast into prison.’ And they seized and cast into prison all of the grandees of the city who came. For three days the caliph went not out, neither spake with anyone; but sat full of fury: who could have dared to address a word to him?
“While in this state he desired to eat, and he ordered one of the slave girls to bring food. She brought it before him, but while laying down the dish, she was careless and spilt some part of it over the caliph. Forthwith the caliph rose in wrath and was about to hew the girl in pieces, when she said, ‘O caliph, God most high saith in his glorious Word, “And the stiflers of wrath.”‘[27] Straightway the caliph’s wrath was calmed. Again saith the slave girl, ’“And the pardoners of men.”‘[27] Quoth the caliph, ‘I have forgiven the crimes of all the criminals who may be in prison.’ Again said the slave girl, ’“And God loveth the beneficent.”‘[27]Quoth the caliph, ‘God be witness that I have with my own wealth freed thee and as many unfreed male and female slaves as I have, and that this day I have for the love of God given the half of all my wealth to the poor in alms.’ After that he letbring into his presence all the prisoners who were in the jail and begged absolution of them; and as he had attained to the import of that noble verse, he put on each of them a robe of honor, and devoted himself to justice and equity. And now whoso mentions him doth add, ‘The mercy of God on him!’[28]
“O king, I have told this story for that I have seen this day that thy wrath was great. I would that thou pardon the prince and grant him his life and so do a meritorious deed; and in this matter, beyond doubt and beyond uncertainty, thou shalt become deserving of the mercy and paradise of God most high.” And he kissed the ground and begged for the prince. When the king heard this story from the vezir he sent the youth to the prison and mounted for the chase.
That day he found no game and returned in wrath to the palace. Again the lady rose to greet him and they sat down. After the repast the lady began to speak of the youth. The king said, “Look, my mistress, now all is over, and my prince is still upon thy tongue; to-day too one of my vezirs begged for him and I sent him to the prison.” The lady saw that the king was vexed and said, “My king, be kind, be not vexed with me; for I know that soon no good will befall thee from that youth, for he is very covetous of wealth and kingship, and the covetous is ever balked. I saw him without understanding and without discretion; he knows neither his words nor himself; he is even as the sons of that king who took the metaphorical words of their father as literal, and at length lost what wealth was in their hands. Mayhap my king has not heard that story.” The king said, “Tell on, let us hear.” Quoth the lady:
“There was in the palace of the world a great king, and he had three sons. One day that king laid his head upon the pillow of death and called his sons before him and said, ‘O my sons, my life has reached its end; I have counsel to give you, which when I am dead do ye observe.’ His sons replied, ‘On our heads be it; speak, father.’ To his eldest son he said,‘Build thou a house in every city.’ And to his middle son, ‘Marry thou every night.’ And to his youngest son, ‘Whenever thou eatest, eat honey and butter.’ The king lived not long after giving these injunctions, but died. The eldest son fell to building a house in every city; the middle son married a wife every night, and on the morrow gave her her dower and sent her to her father’s house; and the youngest son, whenever he ate, mixed honey and butter and ate it. A long time passed on this wise; we may say that though the middle and the youngest sons spent money, they at least had pleasure for it; but that bewildered and senseless eldest son spent this much money, and if the buildings he raised were fit for habitation, still they pointed to folly.
“One day a wise man asked them, ‘Why do ye thus?’ The princes answered, ‘By God, our father thus enjoined us.’ The wise man said, ‘Your father’s injunctions were not thus, but ye have not understood his riddles. And there is a tale suitable to this your plight, I will tell it you; afterward I will teach you your father’s riddles.’ The princes said, ‘Pray do so.’ Quoth the wise man, ‘Once there was a king who always exacted tribute from the infidels. One day those infidels assembled their monks and said, “Let us find some trick which the king will be unable to understand, that thereby we may escape from this tribute: now do ye each think of some plan.” Thereupon they dispersed and went away. After a time a monk came to the infidel who was their chief and said, “I shall go to them and put to them a question, and if they can answer it we will give them tribute.”
“‘So the unbelieving king gave that monk a little money and sent him. One day he entered the realms of Islam, and the event was reported to the king, who said, “Our learned men of the faith will surely answer an infidel without the faith; let him come.” They brought him into the presence of the king; and the king straightway assembled his doctors and pious men and grandees. Then the king said, “O monk, now what is thy question; speak, let us see?” The monk first opened the five fingers of his hand and held the palm opposite the folk, then he let the five fingers droop downward, and said, “What means that? know ye?” And all the doctors were silent and began to ponder, and they reflected, saying, “Whatriddles can these riddles be? There is no such thing in the Commentaries or the Traditions.”
“‘Now there was there a learned wanderer, and forthwith he came forward and asked leave of the king that he might answer. The king gladly gave leave; then that wanderer came forward and said to the monk, “What is thy question? what need for the doctors? poor I can answer.” Then the monk came forward and opened his hand and held it so before the dervish; straightway the dervish closed his fist and held it opposite the monk. Then the monk let his five fingers droop downward; the dervish opened his fist and held his five fingers upward.
“‘When the monk saw these signs of the dervish, he said, “That is the answer,” and gave up the money he had brought. But the king knew not what these riddles meant, and he took the dervish apart and asked him. The dervish replied, “When he opened his fingers and held his hand so to me, it meant ‘now I strike thee so on the face;’ so I showed him my fist, which meant, ‘I strike thy throat with my fist;’ he turned and let his fingers droop downward, which meant, ‘thou dost so, then I strike lower and seize thy throat with my hand;’ and my raising my fingers upward meant, ‘if thou seekest to seize my throat, I too shall grasp thy throat from underneath;’ so we fought with one another by signs.” Then the king called the monk and said, “Thou madest signs with the dervish, but what meant those signs?” The monk replied, “I held my five fingers opposite him, that meant, ‘the five times ye do worship, is it right?’ The dervish presented his fist, which meant, ‘it is right,’ Then I held my fingers downward, which meant, ‘why does the rain come down from heaven?’ The dervish held his fingers upward, which meant, ‘the rain falls down from heaven that the grass may spring up from the earth.’ Now such are the answers to those questions in our books.” Then he returned to his country.
“‘And the king knew that the dervish had not understood the monk’s riddles; but the king was well pleased for that he had done what was suitable; and he bestowed on the dervish a portion of the money which the monk had left. O princes, ye have not understood your father’s riddles and ye have wasted your wealth in vain.’ The princes said, ‘What meant our father’s riddles?’ He replied, ‘Firstly, when he said, “Build thou a house in every city,” he meant, “gain thou a friend in every city, so that when thou goest to a city the house of the friend thou hast gained may be thine.” Secondly, when he said, “Embrace thou a virgin whenever thou embracest,” he meant, “be moderate in thy pleasures that thou mayst enjoy them the more.” Thirdly, when he said, “Whenever thou eatest, eat honey and butter,” he meant, “never when thou eatest, eat to repletion; but eat so that if it be but dry bread thou eatest, it will be to thee as honey and butter.”’ When the princes heard the words of the wise dervish they knew that their father’s signs to them were so, and not that which they had done; and they left off doing those things.
“Now, O king, I have told this story for that with youths is no discretion, but in them ignorance and heedlessness abound. Though thou through understanding have compassion on him, yet will he have none on thee; it will be even as when one day Saint Bāyezīid of Bestām[29]saw a mangy dog, and through pity took it and laid it in a place and tended it many days till it became well, whereon it bit his foot. Bāyezīd said, ‘O dog, this is the return for the kindness I did thee—that thou bitest me.’ God most high gave speech to that dog, and it said, ‘O Bāyezīd, is not the proverb well known, “A man acts as a man; a dog, as a dog”?’ Methinks, O king, that in that youth must be an evil vein: for if kindness be to kindness, never so long as he lived could that unworthy one have cast on me an envious glance; above all, never could he have sought to slay my king, his father, the source of his being. I, where am I? Take warning.” And she incited the king with very many evil words, so that he was afraid and said, “Grieve not, to-morrow will I slay him.” And that night was grievous to the king.
Scarce was it morning and had the sun shown forth the riddle of the whiteness of dawn, like as that dervish showed to the king’s sons the riddles of their father, and illumined the world with light, ere the king sat upon his throne and caused the youth to be brought and ordered the executioner, “Smite off his head.” Then the tenth vezir came forward and said, “O king of the world, every king desires that whithersoeverhe go he may triumph and conquer; and that the earth be subject to his hand; and that whoso comes to his gate hoping, may find that which he seeks; and that the heart of none be vexed. When in the country of a king despairing hearts are many, that host of despairing hearts gathers together and utterly destroys another gay host. Thus it becomes the greatness and glory of kings, that when they see a beast under a heavy load they have compassion on that beast; even as it was when an ass came, dragging itself along, to the chain of the justice of Nūshīrvān the Just.[30]
“Straightway the king caused it to be brought into his presence, and he saw it to be a lean and worn black ass, whose back was broken with bearing loads. When the king saw that animal in such plight his heart bled, and he laid his hand on the beast’s face and wept full bitterly and said, ‘See ye how this poor creature has been oppressed in my kingdom?’ And he called for a physician and said to him, ‘Go, tend the wounds of this beast, and give it abundance to eat, and wrap round it a good horse-cloth that it be at ease.’ Now, it is incumbent on kings that they have compassion on the unhappy and the weak, and pity them, and believe not plotters and liars, nor trust their evil wicked words; and such folk are very many. Mayhap my king has not heard the story of the king’s son of Egypt and the crafty woman.” The king said, “Relate it, let us hear.” Quoth the vezir:
“In the city of Cairo there was a king and he had two sons. One day he reflected on the doings of the cruel sphere and saw how the world was without constancy and remained not to king nor yet to beggar, but trod all under foot. At length he bethought him how it would not endure for himself either; and he took his younger son and made him apprentice to a master tailor, and said, ‘After all, a trade is needful for a man; and they have said that the least knowledge of a trade is better than a hundred thousand sequins.’ So in a short while the prince became a tailor such that there was not in the city of Cairo one who could ply his scissors and needle. One daythe king passed to the abiding home, and his elder son became king. His brother the tailor, fearing for his head, fled and went to the Ka’ba.[31]
“While making the circumambulation,[32]his foot struck against something hard, he looked and saw a girdle and took it up and bound it round his loins, and continued the circumambulation. After a while he saw a khoja who had a stone in either hand and who was beating his breast with these stones and crying, ‘Ah woe! alas! I had hidden in that girdle all the wealth I have gained from my youth; whatever Moslem has found it, let him give it me for the love of God and the honor of the Ka’ba, and the half of it shall be lawful for him as his mother’s milk.’
“When the prince saw and heard him he knew that that girdle was his, and he said in his heart, ‘What has this much wealth and the kingdom of my father done for me? and what should this do for me? I shall not let this poor man weep; I shall give it him.’ And he went round and came before the khoja and said, ‘O khoja, I have found that girdle of thine; lo, it is round my loins.’ The khoja clung fast to the prince, and the prince said, ‘What reward wilt thou give me? lo, the girdle is round my loins.’ Then the khoja took the prince and brought him to his own tent; and the prince loosed the girdle from his loins and laid it before the khoja, and the khoja took it and clasped it to his heart. Then he brake the seal and poured out what was in it; and the prince saw it to be full of precious stones.
“The khoja divided these stones into three heaps and said, ‘O youth, wilt thou take one heap with my good-will, or two without it?’ The prince replied, ‘Give me one heap with thy good-will.’ Then the khoja divided one of those heaps into two and said, ‘Which of them wilt thou take with my good-will?’ Again the prince made choice of a heap. At length the khoja said, ‘Youth, wouldest thou have these remaining jewels, or wouldest thou that we go and that I pray for thee under the Golden Spout?’[33]The prince answered, ‘Wealth perishes, but prayers endure; do thou bless me, I have relinquished all these riches.’ And they went, and he held up hishands and said to the prince, ‘Say thou, “Amen.”’ So the youth raised up his hands and the khoja began to pray. He repeated many prayers in himself, and the prince said, ‘Amen.’ The khoja drew his hands down his face and said, ‘O youth, I have prayed much for thee; now go, and may thy end be good.’
“The prince went away; but after a little he thought in himself, ‘If I go now to Cairo my brother will kill me, let me go along with this khoja to Bagdad.’ So he went back to the khoja and said, ‘O khoja, I would go with thee to Bagdad; take me that I may serve thee on the road.’ So the khoja took him; and the prince was in the khoja’s service, and they entered Bagdad and lighted at the khoja’s dwelling. For some days the prince abode there, then he said to the khoja, ‘I may not stay here thus idling; I have a trade, I am a master tailor, if thou hast any tailor friend, pray take me to him that he may give me some work to do.’
“Now the khoja had a tailor friend, and he straightway took the prince and brought him to the shop of that tailor and commended him to him, and the tailor consented. Then the prince sat down and his master cut out cloth for a robe and gave it him; now the prince had checkmated the Cairo tailors, where then were those of Bagdad? The prince sewed that robe and returned it, and the master took it and looked at it and saw that it was a beautiful robe, made so that in all his life he had not seen the like of it, and he said, ‘A thousand times well-done, youth.’ This news spread among the masters, and they all came to that shop and saw it and admired; and this prince became very famous in that country. The work in that master’s shop was now increased tenfold, and customers in like measure. One day that khoja had a quarrel with his wife, and in the greatness of his heat the words of the triple divorce passed his lips.
“Then he repented and would have got back his wife, and his wife also was willing. They sought a legal decision, but the muftī said, ‘It may not be without an intermediary.’[34]The khoja bethought him whom he could get for intermediary when the prince came into his mind, and he said in himself, ‘That stranger youth is he; I shall make him intermediary.’ So hemarried the woman to the prince. When it was evening he took him and put him into a dark house with the lady; but the lady made shift to light a candle, and as soon as she saw the prince she fell in love with him with all her heart. And the prince as soon as he saw her fell in love with her with all his heart. Then these two moons came together, and, after making merry, the lady showed the prince sumptuous stuffs, and countless gold, and precious stones, such as the tale and number of them cannot be written, and she said, ‘O my life, all this wealth is mine, it is my inheritance from my mother and my father, and all the wealth too that that khoja has is mine; if thou will not dismiss me to-morrow, but accept me as thy legal wife, all this wealth is thine.’
“The prince consented to this proposal, and the woman said, ‘O youth, when the khoja comes to-morrow he will say, “Come, let us go to the cadi;” say thou, “Why should we go to the cadi?” If he say, “Divorce the woman,” do thou reply, “By God, it were shame in us to take a wife and then divorce her.” And he will be unable to find any answer thereto.’ The prince was glad and accepted the lady’s advice. When it was morning the khoja came and knocked at the door, and the prince went forth and kissed the khoja’s hand. The khoja said, ‘Come, let us go to the cadi;’ the prince answered, ‘Why should we go to the cadi?’ Quoth the khoja, ‘Divorce the woman.’ The prince replied, ‘By God, it were mighty shame in us to divorce the woman; I will not divorce her.’ The khoja exclaimed, ‘Ah youth, what word is that? I trusted thee, thinking thee an upright youth, why speakest thou thus?’
“The prince answered, ‘Is not this which I have said the commandment of God and the word of the Apostle?’ The khoja looked and saw that there was no help; he wished to go to the cadi, but the folk said to him, ‘Khoja, now that woman is his, she is pleased with him and he is pleased with her, they cannot be divorced by force.’ The khoja was filled with grief and said, ‘He shall not be questioned concerning what he doth;’[35]and he ceased from trying.
“He fell ill from his rage and became bedridden; then he called the prince and said to him, ‘Hast thou any knowledgeof what I prayed for thee under the Golden Spout?’ The prince replied, ‘I know naught of it.’ The khoja said, ‘Although I would have prayed otherwise, this came upon my tongue: “My God, apportion to this youth my wealth, my sustenance, and my wife.” O youth, would I had not taken from thee yon girdle! O youth, my wife was my existence, now that too is become thine. Now let these sitting here be witnesses that when I am dead all that I possess belongs to thee.’ Three days afterward he died; he perished through grief for that scheming woman; and the prince became possessor of his wealth.
“O king, I have told this story for that thou mayst know that fidelity comes not from women, and that their love is not to be trusted. When they cannot help it, they are obedient to their husbands, and, fearing the rod of the law, they wrap their feet in their skirts and sit quiet, otherwise they would ruin the world with craft and trickery. Now, O king, act not on the woman’s word.” From seven places he performed the salutation due to kings, and begged for the prince’s life. The king heard this story from the vezir, and that day, too, he sent his son to the prison, and went himself to the chase.
When it was evening, the king returned from the chase and came to the palace, and the lady rose to greet him, and they sat down. After the repast, the lady brought about an opportunity, and began upon the youth. The king said, “To-day such an one of my vezirs made intercession for him, and I have sent him to the prison.” Quoth the lady, “These vezirs are all of them traitors to thee, and they are schemers and plotters. Each of them says words concerning me which if he heard, no true man would bear; a man’s wife is equal with his life. All the people marvel at thee, and say thou hast no sense of honor. But these vezirs have bewitched thee. Thy lies, too, are many; every night thou sayest, ‘I will kill this youth;’ then thou killest him not, and falsifiest thy words. O king, through truth is one acceptable both to God and man. O king, no good will come from a youth like this; it were better such a son did not remain after thee than that he did remain. Mayhap my king has not heard the story of a certain merchant.” The king said, “Tell on, let us hear.” Quoth the lady:
“There was of old time a great merchant, and he had two sons. One day the merchant laid his head on the pillow of death, and he called his sons before him, and brought together some wise persons, and said, ‘Moslems, if it please God most high, these boys will live for many years; reckon at the rate of a hundred years from to-day, and allow to each of them a daily grant of a thousand aspres, and whatever the sum may amount to, that sum will I give them, that after me they may stand in need of no one till they die, but pass their lives in ease in this transient world.’ Then they reckoned up, and he gave them much money; and a few days afterward he passed to the abiding home.
“The sons buried their father, and then began to waste that money. Their father’s friends gave them much advice, but they would not accept it. One of them would enter the shop of a confectioner and buy up all the sweetmeats that were therein, and load porters with them, and take them to the square of the city, and cry out, ‘This is spoil!’ and the folk would scramble for them, and he would laugh. And his business was ever thus. The other youth would buy wine and meat, and enter a ship with some flattering buffoons, and eat and drink and make merry; and when he was drunk he would mix up gold and silver coins before him, and throw them by handfuls into the sea, and their flashing into the water pleased him, and he would laugh. And his business likewise was ever thus. By reason of these follies, the wealth of both of them came to an end in little time, in such wise that they were penniless, so that they sat by the way and begged.
“At length the merchants, their father’s friends, came together, and went to the king and said, ‘The sons of such and such a merchant are fallen a prey to a plight like this; if they be not disgraced now, to-morrow will our sons also act like them. Do thou now put them to death, for the love of God, that they may be an example, and that others may not act as they.’ Then the king commanded that they bring them both into his presence, and the king said to them, ‘O unhappy ones, what plight is this plight in which ye are? Where is the headsman?’ And he ordered them to be killed. They said, ‘O king,be not wroth at our having fallen into this plight, and kill us not; our father is the cause of our being thus, for he commended us not to God most high, but commended us to money; and the end of the child who is commended to money is thus.’ Their words seemed good to the king, and he said, ‘By God, had ye not answered thus, I had cleft ye in twain.’ And then he bestowed on each of them a village.
“Now, O king, I have related this story for that among youths there is nor shame nor honor, neither is there zeal for friend or foe. Beware and beware, be not negligent, ere the youth kill thee do thou kill him, else thou shalt perish.” When the king heard this story from the lady he said, “On the morrow will I kill him.”
When it was morning, and the darkness of night, like the wealth of that merchant, was scattered, the king sat upon his throne and commanded the executioner, saying, “Smite off the youth’s head.” Then the eleventh vezir came forward and said, “O king of the world, hurry not in this affair, and whatsoever thou doest, do according to the command of God and the word of the Apostle; and the holy Apostle hath said that when the resurrection is near, knowledge will vanish and ignorance will increase and the spilling of blood will be oft. O king, leave not the Law, and spill not blood unjustly on thine own account, and pity the innocent; for they have said that whoso taketh a fallen one by the hand to raise him shall be happy; but whoso, having the power, raiseth him not shall himself burn in the fire of regret. Mayhap the king has not heard the story of a certain king and a vezir’s son.” The king said, “Tell on, let us hear.” Quoth the vezir:
“Of old time there was a king, and that king had a sage vezir. God most high had given that vezir a son; and the people of the world were bewildered at the beauty of that boy. And the king loved him so that he could not endure to be a moment without seeing him, and he never parted from him. So his parents yearned for the boy, but what avail? they had needs have patience through fear of the king. One day, the king while drunk entered the palace and saw this boy playingwith another page, and thereupon was he wroth and he commanded the executioner, ‘Smite off the head of this degenerate boy.’ And they dragged the boy out. Thereupon word was sent to the vezir, and he came straightway, and crying, ‘My life! my son!’ went up to the headsman and said, ‘O headsman, now is the king drunk and senseless and he knows not the words he says; if thou kill the boy to-night, to-morrow the king will not spare thee; but will kill thee likewise.’ The headsman said, ‘How should we do? he said to me, “Quick, smite off his head and bring it.”’
“The vezir answered, ‘Go to the prison and smite off the head of some man meriting death, and bring it; at this time the king has not his senses and will believe it.’ And he gave the headsman much gold. The headsman took the sequins and was glad, and went forthwith to the prison and smote off the head of a robber and brought it to the king. The king was pleased and gave the headsman a robe of honor. And the vezir took the boy and brought him to his own house and hid him there. When it was morning and the king’s senses returned, he asked for the boy, and they said, ‘This night thou didst command the executioner that he smote off the boy’s head.’ As soon as the king heard this he fell senseless and his understanding forsook him. After a while his understanding returned and he sat beating his knees and he fell a-weeping. Then the vezir, feigning not to know, came before the king and said, ‘O king, what plight is this?’ Quoth the king, ‘O vezir, where is that source of my life? where is that spring of my soul?’ The vezir said, ‘O king, whom meanest thou?’ The king replied, ‘Thy son, who was the joy of my heart.’ And he cried and wept beyond control, and the vezir rent his collar and wailed and lamented.
“For two months the one business of the king was sighing and crying; during the nights he would not sleep till dawn for weeping, and he would say, ‘My God, shall I never behold his face? mayhap I shall behold it at the resurrection. To me henceforth life is not beseeming.’ Mad words like these would he utter. And he ceased from eating and drinking, and retired from the throne and sought a private house and wept ever, and it wanted little but he died. When the vezir saw this, he one day decked out the boy like a flower and tookhim and went to the private place where the king dwelt. He left the boy at the door and went in himself and saw that the king had bowed his head in adoration and was praying to God and weeping and thus saying, ‘My God, henceforth is life unlawful for me, do thou in thy mercy take my soul;’ and he was lamenting, recalling the darling fashions of the boy.
“The vezir heard this wail of the king and said, ‘O king, how thou weepest! thou hast forsaken manhood, and art become a by-word in the world.’ The king replied, ‘Henceforth advice profits me not; lo, begone.’ Quoth the vezir, ‘O king, if God most high took pity on thee and brought the boy to life, wouldst thou forgive his fault? and what wouldst thou give to him who brought thee news thereof?’ The king said, ‘O would that it could be so! all the wealth that I have in my treasury would I give to him who brought me news thereof, and my kingdom would I give to the boy; and I should be content to look from time to time on the boy’s face.’ Then the vezir beckoned to the boy and he came in, and went and kissed the king’s hand. As soon as the king saw the boy his senses forsook him, and the vezir sprinkled rose-water on the king’s face and withdrew. When the king’s senses returned he saw the boy beside him and he thought that his soul had gone and returned.
“When it was morning the vezir came before the king, and the king said, ‘As thou hast brought the boy to me whole, go, all that is in my treasury is thine.’ The vezir answered, ‘O king of the world, rather is the wealth which is in my treasury thine; we are both of us the meanest of the king’s slaves. May God (glorified and exalted be he!) grant fortune to our king and long life! We too shall live in thy felicity.’ The king was glad at the words of the vezir, and bestowed many towns and villages on the son of the vezir, and offered up many sacrifices, and gave away much alms.
“O king, I have told this story for that the king may take profit and not do a deed without reflection, that he be not afterward repentant, like that king, and suffer not bitter regret and remorse. That king suffered so great regret and remorse for a vezir’s son, yet this one is the darling of thine own heart. The rest the king knows. Beware, O king, slay not the prince on the woman’s word.” And he kissed the ground and made intercession for the prince for that day. So the king sent the youth to the prison and went himself to the chase.
When it was evening the king returned from the chase and came to the palace, and the lady rose to greet him, and they sat down. After the repast the lady commenced to speak about the youth. The king said, “To-day too such an one of my vezirs made intercession for him and I sent him to the prison.” The lady said, “O king, three things are the signs of folly; the first is to put off to-day’s business till to-morrow, the second is to speak words foolishly, and the third is to act upon senseless words. O king, whatsoever thy vezirs say, that thou believest straightway and actest upon. Satan is of a surety entered into these thy vezirs and into thy boy; in whose heart soever he plants the love of office or of wealth, him in the end does he leave without the faith. Mayhap the king has not heard the story of the King and the Weaver.” The king said, “Relate it, let us hear.” Quoth the lady: