Latest / Arabian Nights Tales from Volume 09 / 047 - Night 979 - 980

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047 - Night 979 - 980 · Arabian Nights Tales from Volume 09

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  Speaker 1: Section forty seven of the Book of the Thousand Knights
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  Speaker 1: and the Night, Volume nine. This is a librifox according
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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. Recording
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  Speaker 1: by phone the Book of the Thousand Knights and the Night,
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  Speaker 1: Volume nine by Anonymous, translated by Richard Francis Burton, Night
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  Speaker 1: nine hundred and seventy nine. When it was the nine
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  Speaker 1: hundred and seventy ninth night, She said it hath reached
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  Speaker 1: me o auspicious king, that when Abdullah bin Fazil went
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  Speaker 1: forth by the door of the saloon, deeming Abu Isshak asleep,
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  Speaker 1: the Caliph's cup companion, seeing this, marveled and said in himself,
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  Speaker 1: whither when that Abdullah bin Fazil with that whip, Perhaps
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  Speaker 1: he is minded to punish somebody, But needs must I
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  Speaker 1: follow him and see what he will do this night?
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  Speaker 1: So he arose and went out after him, softly, very softly,
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  Speaker 1: that he might not be seen, and presently saw him
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  Speaker 1: open a closet and take thence a tray containing four
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  Speaker 1: dishes of meat and bread, and a guglet of water.
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  Speaker 1: Then he went on carrying the tray and secretly followed
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  Speaker 1: by a buyshak, till he came to another saloon and entered,
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  Speaker 1: whilst the cup companion stood behind the door, and looking
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  Speaker 1: through the chink, saw a spacious saloon, furnished with the
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  Speaker 1: richest furniture, and having in its midst a couch of
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  Speaker 1: ivory plaited with gold glittering sheeni to which two dogs
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  Speaker 1: are made fast with chains of gold. Then Abdullah set
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  Speaker 1: down the tray in a corner, and tucking up his sleeves,
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  Speaker 1: loosed the first dog, which began to struggle in his
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  Speaker 1: hands and put its muzzle to the floor as it
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  Speaker 1: would kiss the ground before him, whining the while in
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  Speaker 1: a weak voice. Abdullah tied its paws behind its back, and,
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  Speaker 1: throwing it on the ground, drew forth the whip and
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  Speaker 1: beat it with a painful beating and a pitiless The
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  Speaker 1: dog struggled but could not get free, and Abdullah ceased
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  Speaker 1: not to beat it with the same whip till it
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  Speaker 1: left groaning and lay without consciousness. Then he took it
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  Speaker 1: and tied it up in its place, and, unbinding the
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  Speaker 1: second dog did with him as he had done with
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  Speaker 1: the first, after which he pulled out a kerchief and
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  Speaker 1: fell to wiping away their tears and comforting them, saying,
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  Speaker 1: bear me not malice, for by Allah, this is not
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  Speaker 1: of my will, nor is it easy to me. But
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  Speaker 1: it may be Allah will grant you relief from this
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  Speaker 1: strait and issue from your affliction. And he prayed for
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  Speaker 1: the twain what while Abouishhak de cup companion, stood herkening
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  Speaker 1: with his ears and a spying with his eyes. And
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  Speaker 1: indeed he marveled at his case. Then Abdullah brought the
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  Speaker 1: dogs the tray of food and fell to morseling them
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  Speaker 1: with his own hand till they had enough, when he
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  Speaker 1: wiped their muzzles, and, lifting up the guglet, gave them
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  Speaker 1: to drink, after which he took up the tray, gouglet
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  Speaker 1: and candle, and made for the door. But Abouieshak forewent him, and,
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  Speaker 1: making his way back to his couch, lay down so
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  Speaker 1: that he saw him. Not neither knew that he had
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  Speaker 1: walked behind him, and watched him. Then the governor replaced
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  Speaker 1: the tray and the guglet in the closet, and, returning
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  Speaker 1: to the saloon, opened the locker and laid the whip
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  Speaker 1: in its place, after which he doffed his clothes and
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  Speaker 1: lay down, But aboui Shak passed the rest of that
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  Speaker 1: night pondering this affair. Neither did sleep visit him for
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  Speaker 1: excess of wondermund, and he ceased not to say in himself,
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  Speaker 1: I wonder what can be the meaning of this, Nor
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  Speaker 1: did he leave wondering till daybreak, when they arose and
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  Speaker 1: prayed dawn prayer. Then they set the breakfast before them,
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  Speaker 1: and they ate and drank coffee, after which they went
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  Speaker 1: out to the divan. Now Abouhishak's thought was occupied with
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  Speaker 1: this mystery all day long, but he concealed the matter
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  Speaker 1: and question not Abdullah dereof. Next night, he again followed
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  Speaker 1: the governor and saw him do with two dogs as
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  Speaker 1: on the previous night, first beating them and then making
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  Speaker 1: his peace with them and giving them to eat and
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  Speaker 1: to drink, And so also he did the third night.
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  Speaker 1: On the fourth day, he brought the tribute to AbuI Shak,
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  Speaker 1: who took it and departed without opening the matter to him.
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  Speaker 1: He fared on without ceasing till he came to Baghdad,
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  Speaker 1: where he delivered a tribute to the Caliph, who questioned
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  Speaker 1: him of the cause of its delay, replied he, O,
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  Speaker 1: Commander of the Faithful, I found that the governor of
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  Speaker 1: Bassorah had made ready the tribute and was about to
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  Speaker 1: dispatch it, and I delayed the day it would have
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  Speaker 1: met me on the road. But, O, Prince of true believers,
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  Speaker 1: I had a wondrous adventure with Abdullah bin Fazil. Never
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  Speaker 1: in my life saw I its like. And what was it,
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  Speaker 1: o AbuI Shak, asked the Caliph. So he replied, I
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  Speaker 1: saw such and such, and brief acquainted him with that
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  Speaker 1: which the governor had done with the two dogs, adding
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  Speaker 1: after such fashion, I saw him do three successive knights,
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  Speaker 1: first beating the dogs, then making his peace with them
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  Speaker 1: and comforting them and giving them to eat and drink.
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  Speaker 1: I watching him, and he, seeing me not, asked the Caliph,
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  Speaker 1: didst thou question him of the cause of this? And
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  Speaker 1: the other answered no, as thy head liveth O Commander
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  Speaker 1: of the Faithful, then said al Rashid oh abu Isshak,
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  Speaker 1: I command thee to return to Bassorah and bring me
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  Speaker 1: Abdullah bin Fazil and the two dogs. Quoth he, O,
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  Speaker 1: Commander of the Faithful, excuse me from this, For indeed
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  Speaker 1: Abdullah entertained me with exceedingly hospitable entertainment. And I became
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  Speaker 1: aware of this case with chance undesigned and acquainted thee. Therewith,
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  Speaker 1: so how can I go back to him and bring
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  Speaker 1: him to the fairly? If I return to him, I
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  Speaker 1: shall find me no face for shame of him. Therefore
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  Speaker 1: for meat, that thou send him another that myself, with
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  Speaker 1: a letter under thine own hand, and he shall bring
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  Speaker 1: him to THEE, him and the two dogs. But quoth
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  Speaker 1: the Caliph, if I send him other than thyself peradventure,
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  Speaker 1: he will deny the whole affair and say I flow dogs.
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  Speaker 1: But if I send THEE, and I say to him
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  Speaker 1: I saw them with mine own eyes, he will not
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  Speaker 1: be able to deny that. Wherefore nothing will serve but
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  Speaker 1: that thou go and fetch him and the two dogs.
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  Speaker 1: Otherwise I will surely slay thee. And Shahrazad perceived the
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  Speaker 1: dawn of day and cease to say her permitted saying
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  Speaker 1: end of night nine hundred and seventy nine night night
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  Speaker 1: hundred and eighty, when it was the nine hundred and
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  Speaker 1: eightieth night, she continued it hath reached me O auspicious king.
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  Speaker 1: But the Caliph Karun al Rashid said to AbuI Shak,
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  Speaker 1: nothing will serve but that thou go and fetch him
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  Speaker 1: and the two dogs, otherwise I will surely slay thee.
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  Speaker 1: Abuli Shak replied, hearing and obeying, O commander of the faithful,
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  Speaker 1: Allah is our aidents, and good is the agent he speaks.
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  Speaker 1: Sooth who said man's wrong is from the tongue, and
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  Speaker 1: tis I who sinned against myself in telling thee. But
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  Speaker 1: write me a royal rescript, and I will go to
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  Speaker 1: him and bring him back to thee. So the Caliph
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  Speaker 1: gave him an autograph, and he took it and repaired
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  Speaker 1: to Bassorah. Seeing him come in, the governor said, Allah,
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  Speaker 1: forfend us from the mischief of thy return. O, AbuI Shakh,
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  Speaker 1: how cometh it I see thee return in haste peradventure.
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  Speaker 1: The tribute is deficient and the Caliph will not accept it,
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  Speaker 1: answered Abuishakh, O Emir Abdullah, My return is not on
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  Speaker 1: account of the deficiency of the tribute for the full measure,
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  Speaker 1: and the Caliph accepted it. But I hope that thou
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  Speaker 1: wilt excuse me for that I have failed in my
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  Speaker 1: duty as thy guest and Indeed, this lapse of mine
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  Speaker 1: was decreed of Allah almighty. Abdullah inquired, and what may
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  Speaker 1: be the lapse? And he replied, now that when I
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  Speaker 1: was with THEE, I followed THEE three following nights, and
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  Speaker 1: saw THEE rise at midnight and beat the dogs in return,
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  Speaker 1: whereat I marveled, but was ashamed to question THEE thereof.
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  Speaker 1: When I came back to Bagdad, I told the Caliph
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  Speaker 1: of thine affair casually and without design. Whereupon he charged
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  Speaker 1: me to return to THEE. And here is a letter
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  Speaker 1: under his hand. Had I known that the affair would
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  Speaker 1: lead to this, I had not taught him. But Destiny
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  Speaker 1: fore ordained thus. And he went on to excuse himself
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  Speaker 1: to him. Whereupon said Abdullah, since thou hast taught him this,
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  Speaker 1: I will bear out thy report with him, lest he
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  Speaker 1: deemed THEE a liar. For thou art my friend, were
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  Speaker 1: it other than thou, I had denied the affair and
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  Speaker 1: given him the lie. But now I will go with
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  Speaker 1: THEE and carry the two dogs with me. Thou didst
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  Speaker 1: be to me ruined rife, and the ending of my
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  Speaker 1: charm of life rejoined the other. Allah will veiled THEE
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  Speaker 1: even as thou hast failed my face with the Goliph.
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  Speaker 1: Then Abdullah took a present, beseeming the commander of the faithful,
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  Speaker 1: and mounting the dogs with him, each on a camel
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  Speaker 1: bound with chains of gold, journeyed with a booish shock
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  Speaker 1: to Baghdad, where he went in to the Caliph and
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  Speaker 1: kissed ground before him. He gained bid him sit, so
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  Speaker 1: he sat down and brought the two dogs before al Vrashid,
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  Speaker 1: who said to him, what be these dogs, O, Emir Abdullah.
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  Speaker 1: Whereupon they fell to kiss in the floor between his hands,
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  Speaker 1: and wagging their tails and weeping as if complaining to him.
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  Speaker 1: The Caliph marveled at this and said, to the governor,
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  Speaker 1: tell me the history of these two dogs, and the
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  Speaker 1: reason of thy beating them, and after and treating them
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  Speaker 1: with honor. He replied, O, Vicar of Allah, these be
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  Speaker 1: no dogs, but two young men endowed with beauty and seemliness,
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  Speaker 1: symmetry and shapeliness. And they are my brothers and the
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  Speaker 1: sons of my father and mother. Asked the Caliph, how
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  Speaker 1: is it that they were men and are become dogs?
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  Speaker 1: And he answered, and thou give me leave, o Prince
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  Speaker 1: of true believers. I will acquaint THEE with the truth
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  Speaker 1: of the circumstance, said al Rashid. Tell me and where
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  Speaker 1: of leasing, for tis of the fashion of the hypocrites.
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  Speaker 1: And look thou tilt truth, for that is the ark
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  Speaker 1: of safety and the mark of virtuous men. Rejoined Abdullah.
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  Speaker 1: Know then, O, vice Regent of Allah, When I tell
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  Speaker 1: THEE the story of these dogs, they will both bear
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  Speaker 1: witness against me. And I speak sooth, they will certify it.
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  Speaker 1: And if I lie, they will give me the lie,
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  Speaker 1: cried to Caliph. Or of the dogs, they cannot speak
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  Speaker 1: nor answer. So how can I testify for THEE or
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  Speaker 1: against THEE? But Abdullah said to them, O, my brothers,
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  Speaker 1: if I speak a lying word, do ye lift your
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  Speaker 1: heads and stare with your eyes. But if I say sooth,
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  Speaker 1: hang down your heads and lower your eyes. Then said
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  Speaker 1: he to the Caliph, no, O, Commander of the faithful,
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  Speaker 1: that we are three brothers by one mother and the
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  Speaker 1: same father. Our sire's name was Fazil, and he was
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  Speaker 1: so named because his mother bare two sons at one birth,
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  Speaker 1: one of whom died fourthright, and the other twin remained alive.
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  Speaker 1: Wherefore is sire named him Fazil the remainder. His father
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  Speaker 1: brought him up and reared him well till he grew
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  Speaker 1: to manhood. When he married him to our mother and died.
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  Speaker 1: Our mother conceived the first time, and bear is my
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  Speaker 1: first brother, whom are sire named Mansour. Then she conceived again,
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  Speaker 1: and bear this my second brother, whom he named Nussir,
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  Speaker 1: after which she conceived a third time, and bear me,
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  Speaker 1: whom he named Abdullah. My father reared us all three
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  Speaker 1: till we came to Man's estate. When he died, leaving
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  Speaker 1: us a house and a shop full of colored stuffs
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  Speaker 1: of all kinds, Indian and Greek, and Krasani and what not,
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  Speaker 1: besides sixty thousand dinners. We washed him and buried him
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  Speaker 1: to the ruth of his lord, after which we built
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  Speaker 1: him a splendid monument, and let pray for him prayers
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  Speaker 1: for the deliverance of his soul from the fire, and
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  Speaker 1: held productions of the Koran, and gave alms on his
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  Speaker 1: behalf till the forty days were passed. When I called
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  Speaker 1: together the merchant and nobles of the folk and made
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  Speaker 1: them a sumptuous entertainment. As soon as they had eaten,
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  Speaker 1: I said to them oh, merchants, Fairly, this world is ephemeral,
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  Speaker 1: but the next world is eternal. And extolled me the
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  Speaker 1: perfection of him who endureth always after his creatures have
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  Speaker 1: passed away. Know ye why I have called you together
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  Speaker 1: this blessed day. And they answered, extolled be Allah, sole
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  Speaker 1: scient of the hidden things. Quoth I, my father died
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  Speaker 1: leaving much of money, and I fear lest any have
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  Speaker 1: a claim against him for a dead or a pledge,
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  Speaker 1: or what not else. And I desire to discharge my
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  Speaker 1: father's obligations towards the folk. So whoso hath any demand
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  Speaker 1: on him, let him say, he oweth me so and so,
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  Speaker 1: and I will satisfy it to him, that I may
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  Speaker 1: acquit the responsibility of my sire. Their merchants replied, O Abdullah, Verily,
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  Speaker 1: the goods of this world stand not instead of those
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  Speaker 1: in the world to come. And we are no fraughtful folk.
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  Speaker 1: That all of us know the lawful from the unlawful,
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  Speaker 1: and fear Almighty Allah, and abstain from devouring the substance
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  Speaker 1: of the orphan. We know that thy father Allah have
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  Speaker 1: mercy on him. Still let his money lie with the folk.
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  Speaker 1: Nor did he suffer any man's claim on him to
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  Speaker 1: go unquit it, and we have ever heard him declare,
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  Speaker 1: I am fearful of the people's substance. He used always
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  Speaker 1: the same in his prayers. O, my God, thou art
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  Speaker 1: my stay and my hope. Let me not die while
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  Speaker 1: on debt. And it was of his want that if
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  Speaker 1: he owed any one ought, he would pay it to
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  Speaker 1: him without being pressed. And if any owed him ought,
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  Speaker 1: he would not dune him, but would say to him
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  Speaker 1: at thy leisure. If his debtor were poor, he would
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  Speaker 1: release him from his liability and acquit him of responsibility.
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  Speaker 1: And if he were not poor and died in his debt,
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  Speaker 1: he would say, Allah, forgive him what he owed me.
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  Speaker 1: And we all testify that he owed no man ought.
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  Speaker 1: Quoth I may Allah bless you. Then I turned to
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  Speaker 1: these my brothers, and said, our father owed no man ought,
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  Speaker 1: and had left as much money and stuffs besides the
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  Speaker 1: house and the shop. Now we are three, and each
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  Speaker 1: of us is entitled to one third part. So shall
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  Speaker 1: we agree to waive the vision and own co partners
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  Speaker 1: in our wealth, and eat together and drink together. Or
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  Speaker 1: shall we apportion the stuffs and the money and take
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  Speaker 1: each his part said they, We will divide them and
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  Speaker 1: take each his share. Then Abdulah turned to the two
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  Speaker 1: dogs and said to them, did it happen thus o
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  Speaker 1: my brothers? And they bowed their heads and lowered their
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  Speaker 1: eyes as to say yes. Abdullah continued. I called in
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  Speaker 1: a departtor from the Kazi's court, O prince of true believers,
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  Speaker 1: and he distributed among us the money and the stuffs
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  Speaker 1: and all our father had left, allotting the house and
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  Speaker 1: shop to me in exchange for a part of the
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  Speaker 1: coin and clothes to which I was entitled. We were
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  Speaker 1: content with this, So the house and shop fell to
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  Speaker 1: my share, whilst my brothers took their portion in money
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  Speaker 1: and stuffs. I opened the shop, and, stocking it with
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  Speaker 1: my stuff, bought others with the money apportioned to me,
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  Speaker 1: over and above the house, and chop till the place
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  Speaker 1: was full, and I sat selling and buying. As for
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  Speaker 1: my brothers, they purchased stuffs, and, hiring a ship, set
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  Speaker 1: out on a voyage to the far abodes of folk.
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  Speaker 1: Quoth I Allah ate them both. As for me, my
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  Speaker 1: livelihood is ready to my hand, and peace is priceless.
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  Speaker 1: I abode thus a whole year during which time Allah
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  Speaker 1: opened the door of fortune to me, and I gained
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  Speaker 1: great gains till I became possessed of the like of
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  Speaker 1: that which your father had left us. One day, as
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  Speaker 1: I sat in my shop with two four pulices on me,
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  Speaker 1: one of Sabo and the other of Maniver, for it
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  Speaker 1: was the season of winter and the time of the
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  Speaker 1: excessive cold, behold there came up to me my two brothers,
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  Speaker 1: each clad in a ragged shirt and nothing more, and
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  Speaker 1: their lips were white with cold, and they were shivering.
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  Speaker 1: When I saw them in this plight, it was grievous
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  Speaker 1: to me, and I mourned for them. And Schahrazade perceived
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  Speaker 1: the dawn of day and ceased, saying her permitted say
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  Speaker 1: end of night. Nine hundred and eighty