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039 - Night 965 - 966 · Arabian Nights Tales from Volume 09

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  Speaker 1: Section thirty nine of the Book of the Thousand Knights
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  Speaker 1: and the Night Volume nine. This is a LibriVox recording.
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  Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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  Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. The
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  Speaker 1: Book of the Thousand Knights and a Night, Volume nine
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  Speaker 1: by Anonymous, translated by Richard Francis Burton, Night nine hundred
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  Speaker 1: and sixty five. When it was the nine hundred and
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  Speaker 1: sixty fifth night she pursued it, hath reached me o auspicious king,
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  Speaker 1: that when the merchant, the father of Kamar al Zaman,
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  Speaker 1: heard the saying of the dervish, I am Allah's guest,
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  Speaker 1: he replied, welcome to the guest of God, enter rodervish.
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  Speaker 1: But he said to himself and the beggar be enamoured
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  Speaker 1: of the boy and sue him for sin needs. Must
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  Speaker 1: I slay him this very night and bury him secretly.
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  Speaker 1: But an there be no lewdness in him, the guests
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  Speaker 1: shall eat his portion. Then he brought him into a saloon,
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  Speaker 1: where he left him with kamarad Zaman, after he had
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  Speaker 1: said privately to the lad, O, my son, sit thou
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  Speaker 1: beside the dervish when I am gone out and sport
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  Speaker 1: with him, and provoke him to loveliest And if he
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  Speaker 1: sick of thee lewdness, I, who will be watching you
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  Speaker 1: from the window overlooking the saloon, will come down to
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  Speaker 1: him and kill him. So as soon as kamarad Zaman
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  Speaker 1: was alone in the room with the dervish, he sat
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  Speaker 1: down by his side, and the old man began to
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  Speaker 1: look upon him and sigh and weep. Whenever the lad
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  Speaker 1: bespake him, he answered him kindly, trembling the while, and
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  Speaker 1: would turn to him groaning and crying. And thus he
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  Speaker 1: did till supper was brought in, when he fell to
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  Speaker 1: eating with his eyes on the boy, but refrained not
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  Speaker 1: from shedding tears. When a fourth part of the night
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  Speaker 1: was past and talk was ended, and sleep tide came,
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  Speaker 1: Abd al Rahma said to the lad, O, my son,
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  Speaker 1: I apply thyself to the service of thine uncle, the dervish,
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  Speaker 1: and gainsaying him not, and would have gone out, But
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  Speaker 1: the dervish cried to him, O, my lord, carry thy
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  Speaker 1: son with thee or sleep with us. Answered the merchant, nay,
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  Speaker 1: my son shall lie with thee. Haply thy saw may
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  Speaker 1: desire somewhat, And he will look to thy want and
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  Speaker 1: wait upon THEE. Then he went out, leaving them both together,
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  Speaker 1: and sat down in an adjoining room, which had a
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  Speaker 1: window giving upon the saloon. Such was the case with
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  Speaker 1: the merchant. But as for the Lad, as soon as
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  Speaker 1: his sire had left them, he came up to the
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  Speaker 1: Dervish and began to provoke him and offer himself to him.
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  Speaker 1: Whereupon he waxed wroth, and said, what talk is this, O,
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  Speaker 1: my son? I take refuge with allah from Sayat and
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  Speaker 1: the stoned, O, my lord. Indeed, these is a denial
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  Speaker 1: of THEE, which pleaseth THEE not avant from me, O,
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  Speaker 1: my son, so saying, the dervish arose and set down
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  Speaker 1: at a distance. But the boy followed him and threw
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  Speaker 1: himself upon him, saying, why, Dervish, wilt thou deny thyself
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  Speaker 1: the joys of my possession? And I with a heart
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  Speaker 1: that loveth THEE. Hereupon the dervish anger redoubled, and he said,
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  Speaker 1: and thou refrain not from me, I will summon thy
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  Speaker 1: sire and tell him of thy doings. Quoth the lad.
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  Speaker 1: My father knoweth my turn for this, and it may
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  Speaker 1: not be that he will hinder me so heal thou,
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  Speaker 1: my heart, Why dost thou hold off for me? Do
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  Speaker 1: I not please? Thee answered the dervish, by allah, my son,
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  Speaker 1: I will not do this. Do I be hewed in
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  Speaker 1: pieces with sharp edged swords, And he repeated the saying
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  Speaker 1: of the poet. Indeed, my heart loves all the lovely
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  Speaker 1: boys as girls. Nor am I slow to such delight.
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  Speaker 1: But though I cite them every night and morn, I'm
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  Speaker 1: neither of lots folk nor wrencher white. Then he shed
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  Speaker 1: tears and said, ariyes, open the door that I may
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  Speaker 1: wend my way, for I will lie no longer in
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  Speaker 1: this lodging therewith He rose to his feet, but the
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  Speaker 1: boy caught hold of him, saying, look at the fairness
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  Speaker 1: of my face, and the cramercy of my cheeks, and
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  Speaker 1: the softness of my sides, and the lusciousness of my lips. Moreover,
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  Speaker 1: he discovered to him calves that would shame wine and
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  Speaker 1: cup carrier, and gazed on him with fixed glance that
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  Speaker 1: would baffle enchanter and enchantment, for he was passing of
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  Speaker 1: loveliness and full of blondishment, even as seth of him.
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  Speaker 1: One of the poets who sang I can't forget him,
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  Speaker 1: since he rose and should with fair design. Those scalves
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  Speaker 1: of legs, whose peurly shine make light in nightly gloom,
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  Speaker 1: wonder not, and my flesh uprize as though it were
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  Speaker 1: judgment day when every shank shall be bared be, and
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  Speaker 1: that is day of doom. Then the boy displayed to
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  Speaker 1: him in his bosom, saying, look, my breasts which be
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  Speaker 1: goodlier than the breasts of maidens, and my lipped ewes
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  Speaker 1: are sweeter than sugar candy. So quit scruple an asceticism,
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  Speaker 1: and cast off devoutness and abstinence, and take thy feel
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  Speaker 1: of my possession, and enjoy my loveliness. Fear not, for
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  Speaker 1: thou art safe from hurt, and leave this habitude, for
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  Speaker 1: tis a bad habit. And he went on to discover
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  Speaker 1: him his hidden beauties, striving to turn the reins of
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  Speaker 1: his reason with his bendings in graceful guise, whilst the
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  Speaker 1: dervish turned away his face and said, I seek refuge
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  Speaker 1: in Allah. Have some shame on my son. This is
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  Speaker 1: a forbidden thing I diem, and I will not do it, no,
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  Speaker 1: not even in dream. The boy pressed upon him, but
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  Speaker 1: the dervish got free, from him, and turning towards Mecca,
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  Speaker 1: addressed himself to his devotions. Now, when the boy saw
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  Speaker 1: him praying, he left him till he had prayed a
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  Speaker 1: two bow prayer and saluted. When he would have accosted
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  Speaker 1: him again, But the dervish again he repeated the intent
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  Speaker 1: and prayed a second tubou prayer. And as he did,
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  Speaker 1: a third, and a fourth and the fifth time. Quoth
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  Speaker 1: the lad what prayers are these? Art thou minded to
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  Speaker 1: take flight upon the clouds, Thou lettest sleep our delight,
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  Speaker 1: whilst thou passest the whole night in the prayer. Niche
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  Speaker 1: so saying, he threw himself upon the dervish and kissed
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  Speaker 1: him between the eyes. But the Shaikh said, O, my son,
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  Speaker 1: put Satan away from thine estate, and take upon thee
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  Speaker 1: obedience of the compassionate. Quoth the other, and thou do
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  Speaker 1: not with me that which I desire. I will call
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  Speaker 1: my sire and say to him, the dervish is minded
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  Speaker 1: to do ludeness with me, whereupon he will come into
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  Speaker 1: thee and beat thee till thy bonds be broken upon
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  Speaker 1: thy flesh. All this while abd Rachman was watching with
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  Speaker 1: his eyes and hearkening with his ears, and he was
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  Speaker 1: certified that there was no frowardness in the dervish. And
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  Speaker 1: he said to himself, where he a lude fellow, he
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  Speaker 1: had not stood out against all this importunity. The boy
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  Speaker 1: continued to beguile the dervish, and every time he expressed
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  Speaker 1: purpose of prayer, he interrupted him, till at last he
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  Speaker 1: waxed wroth with passing wrath, and was rough with him
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  Speaker 1: and beat him. Gamaram Zaman wept, and his father came in, and,
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  Speaker 1: having wiped away his tears and comforted him, said to
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  Speaker 1: the dervish, O, my brother, since thou art in such case,
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  Speaker 1: why didst thou weep and sigh when thou sawest? My son?
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  Speaker 1: Say me? Is there a reason for these? He replied,
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  Speaker 1: there is an ab ah Rahmak pursued. When I saw
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  Speaker 1: thee weep at his sight, I deemed evil of THEE,
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  Speaker 1: and bade the boy do with THEE, thus that I
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  Speaker 1: might try THEE, purposing in myself if I saw THEE,
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  Speaker 1: sue him for sin, to come upon THEE and kill THEE.
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  Speaker 1: But when I saw what thou didst, I knew THEE
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  Speaker 1: for one of those who are virtues to the end
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  Speaker 1: now allah. Upon thee tell me the cause of thy weeping.
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  Speaker 1: The dervish sighed and said, O, my lord, chafe not
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  Speaker 1: a closed wound. But the merchant said, there is no help.
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  Speaker 1: But thou tell me, and the other began, no dou
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  Speaker 1: that I am a dervish wonder in the lands and
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  Speaker 1: the countries, and take warning by the display of the
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  Speaker 1: creator of night and day. It changed that one friday
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  Speaker 1: I entered the city of Bassorah in the undurn, and
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  Speaker 1: Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
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  Speaker 1: her permitted say end of night nine hundred and sixty
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  Speaker 1: five night nine hundred and sixty six. When it was
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  Speaker 1: the nine hundred and sixty sixth night, she resumed it.
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  Speaker 1: Hath reached me o auspicious king, that the dervish said
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  Speaker 1: to the merchant, nor then that I a wandering mendicant.
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  Speaker 1: Changed one day to enter the city of Bassara in
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  Speaker 1: the undern and saw the shops open and full of
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  Speaker 1: all men are of wares and meat and drink. But
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  Speaker 1: the place was deserted, and therein was neither men, nor woman,
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  Speaker 1: nor girl, nor boy, nor in the markets and the
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  Speaker 1: main streets. Was there a dog or cat, nor sounded sound,
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  Speaker 1: nor friend was found. I marveled at this end, and
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  Speaker 1: said to myself, I wondered whither the people of the
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  Speaker 1: city begne with their cats and dogs, and what hath
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  Speaker 1: Allah done with them? Now I was unhungered, so I
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  Speaker 1: took hot bread from a baker's oven, and, going into
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  Speaker 1: the shop of an oil man, spread the bread with
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  Speaker 1: a clarified butter and honey and ate. Then I entered
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  Speaker 1: the shop of a sherbet cellar and drunk what I would,
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  Speaker 1: after which, seeing a coffee shop open, I went in
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  Speaker 1: and found the pots on the fire full of coffee.
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  Speaker 1: But there was no one there. So I drunk my
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  Speaker 1: feel and said, verily, this is a wondrous thing. It
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  Speaker 1: seemeth as though death had stricken the people of this city,
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  Speaker 1: and they had all eyed at this very hour, or
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  Speaker 1: as if they had taken fright at something which befell them,
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  Speaker 1: and fled without having time to shut their shops. Now,
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  Speaker 1: while sponding this matter, lo I heard the sound of
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  Speaker 1: a band of drums beating whereat. I was afraid and
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  Speaker 1: hid myself for a while. Then, looking out through a crevice,
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  Speaker 1: I saw themsels like moons come walking through the market
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  Speaker 1: two by two, with uncovered heads and faces displayed. They
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  Speaker 1: were in forty pairs, thus numbering four score, and in
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  Speaker 1: their midst a young lady riding on a horse that
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  Speaker 1: could hardly move his legs for that which was upon
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  Speaker 1: it of silver trappings and golden and jeweled housings. Her
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  Speaker 1: face was wholly unveiled, and she was adorned with the
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  Speaker 1: costliest ornaments and clad in the richest of raiment. And
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  Speaker 1: about her neck she wore a collar of gems, and
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  Speaker 1: on her bosom were necklaces of gold. Her wrists were
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  Speaker 1: clasped with bracelets which sparkled like stars, and ankles with
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  Speaker 1: bangles of gold set with precious stones. The slave girls
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  Speaker 1: walked before her, and behind, and on her right and left,
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  Speaker 1: and in front of her was a damsel bearing in
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  Speaker 1: baldric a great sword with grip of emeralds and tassels
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  Speaker 1: of jewel encrusted gold. When that young lady came to
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  Speaker 1: where I lay hid, she pulled up her horse and said, oh, damsels,
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  Speaker 1: I hear a noise of somewhat within yonder shop, So
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  Speaker 1: do ye search it, lest haply there be one hidden
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  Speaker 1: there with intend to enjoy a look at us whilst
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  Speaker 1: we have our faces unveiled. So they searched the shop
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  Speaker 1: opposite the coffee house, wherein I lay hid, whilst I
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  Speaker 1: abode in terror. And presently I saw them come forth
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  Speaker 1: with the man, and they said to her, O, our lady,
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  Speaker 1: we've found the men there, and here he is before
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  Speaker 1: thee quoth she to the damsel with the sword, smite
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  Speaker 1: his neck. So she went up to him and struck
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  Speaker 1: off his head. Then, leaving the dead men lying on
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  Speaker 1: the ground, they passed on. When I saw these, I
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  Speaker 1: was affrighted, but my heart was taken with love of
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  Speaker 1: the young lady. After an hour or so, the people reappeared,
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  Speaker 1: and everyone who had a shop entered it, whilst the
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  Speaker 1: folk began to come and go about the bazaars and
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  Speaker 1: gather around the slain man, staring at him as a curiosity.
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  Speaker 1: Then I crept forth from my hiding place by stealth,
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  Speaker 1: and none took note of me. But love of that
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  Speaker 1: lady had gotten possession of my heart, and I began
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  Speaker 1: to inquire of her privately. None, however, gave me news
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  Speaker 1: of her. So I left Bassarah with vitals yearning for
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  Speaker 1: her love. And when I came upon these thy son.
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  Speaker 1: I saw him to be the likest of all creatures
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  Speaker 1: to the young lady. Wherefore he reminded me of her,
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  Speaker 1: and his sight revived the fire of passion in me
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  Speaker 1: and kindled anew in my heart, the flames of love,
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  Speaker 1: longing and distraction. And such is the cause of my
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  Speaker 1: shedding tears. And he wept with sore, weeping till he
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  Speaker 1: could no more, and said, O, my Lord, I conjure
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  Speaker 1: thee by Allah open the door to me, so I
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  Speaker 1: may gang my gait. Accordingly, Abd al Rahman opened the door,
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  Speaker 1: and he went forth thus fared it with him. But
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  Speaker 1: as regards Kamara al Zaman, when he heard the dervish story,
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  Speaker 1: his heart was taken with love of the lady and
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  Speaker 1: passion get the mastery of him, and raised in him
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  Speaker 1: longing and distraction. So on the morrow he said to
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  Speaker 1: his sire, all the sons of the merchants wonder about
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  Speaker 1: the world to attain their desire. Not is there one
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  Speaker 1: of them. But his father provideth for him a stalking trade,
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  Speaker 1: wherewith all he may travel and traffic for gain. Why then, oh,
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  Speaker 1: my father, dost thou not outfit me with merchandise? So
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  Speaker 1: I may fare with it and find my luck. He replied, O,
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  Speaker 1: my sons, such merchants lack money, so they send their
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  Speaker 1: sons to foreign parts for the sake of profit and
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  Speaker 1: pekuit near regain and provision of the goods of the world.
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  Speaker 1: But I have moneys in plenty, nor do I covet more.
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  Speaker 1: Why then should I exile THEE. Indeed, I cannot brook
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  Speaker 1: to be parted from THEE an hour, nor especially as
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  Speaker 1: thou art unique in beauty and loveliness and perfect grace.
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  Speaker 1: And I fear for THEE. But Kamar al Zaman said, O,
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  Speaker 1: my father, nothing will serve, but thou must furnish me
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  Speaker 1: with merchandise wherewithal to travel. Else I will fly from
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  Speaker 1: THEE at unawares, though without money or merchandise. So and
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  Speaker 1: thou wish to solace my heart, make ready for me
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  Speaker 1: as stocking trade, that I may travel and amuse myself
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  Speaker 1: by viewing the countries of men. Abd al Rahamah, seeing
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  Speaker 1: his son and amord of travel, acquainted his wife with THEE, saying, verily,
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  Speaker 1: thy son would have me provide him with goods so
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  Speaker 1: he may fare therewith to far regions. Albeit travel ist
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  Speaker 1: travail quoth she, what is there to displease thee in this?
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  Speaker 1: Such is the want of the sons of the merchants,
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  Speaker 1: And they all vie one with other and glorifying globe,
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  Speaker 1: trotting and gain, quoth he. Most of the merchants are
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  Speaker 1: poor and sik growth of good. But I have wealth galore,
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  Speaker 1: she replied, More of a good thing hurteth not, And
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  Speaker 1: if thou comply not with his wish, I will furnish
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  Speaker 1: him with goods of my own moneys, quoth Abd al Rahman.
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  Speaker 1: I fear strangerhood for him, inasmuch as travel is the
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  Speaker 1: worst of trouble. But she said, there is no harm
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  Speaker 1: in strangerhood for him when it leadeth to gaining good.
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  Speaker 1: And if we consent not, our son will go away,
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  Speaker 1: and we shall seek him and not find him, and
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  Speaker 1: be dishonored among the folk. The merchant accepted his wife's
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  Speaker 1: counsel and provided his son with merchandise to the valley
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  Speaker 1: of ninety thousand gold pieces, whilst his mother gave him
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  Speaker 1: a purse containing forty bezels tones jews of prize, the
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  Speaker 1: least of the value of one of which was five
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  Speaker 1: hundred ducats, saying, O my son, be careful of this jewelry,
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  Speaker 1: for it will be of service to thee. Thereupon Kamar
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  Speaker 1: al Zaman took the jewels and set out for Bassorah,
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  Speaker 1: and Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased, saying
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  Speaker 1: her permitted say end of night nine hundred and sixty
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  Speaker 1: six