Latest / Arabian Nights Tales from Volume 09 / 050 - Night 985 - 986
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Section fifty of the Book of the Thousand Knights and
- 0:04Speaker 1: the Night, Volume nine. This is a LibriVox recording. All
- 0:08Speaker 1: LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information
- 0:12Speaker 1: or the volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by
- 0:16Speaker 1: phone The Book of the Thousand Knights and the Night,
- 0:19Speaker 1: Volume nine by Anonymous, translated by Richard Francis Burton, Night
- 0:26Speaker 1: nine hundred and eighty five. When it was the nine
- 0:30Speaker 1: hundred and eighty fifth night, she pursued it. Hath reached
- 0:34Speaker 1: me o auspicious king, that Abdullah bin Fazil continued as
- 0:39Speaker 1: they were. Thus Behold, SAIDA alighted with me in the
- 0:42Speaker 1: midst of the galleon, And when my brothers saw me,
- 0:45Speaker 1: they embraced me and rejoiced in me, saying, Oh, our brother,
- 0:50Speaker 1: how hast thou fared in that which befell thee? Indeed
- 0:53Speaker 1: our hearts have been occupied with thee. Quoth SAIDA. Had
- 0:58Speaker 1: ye any heart yearnings for him, or had ye loved him?
- 1:01Speaker 1: He had not cast him into the sea, But choose
- 1:04Speaker 1: ye now what death ye will die? Then she seized
- 1:08Speaker 1: on them and would have slain them, But they cried out, saying,
- 1:12Speaker 1: in thy safeguard o er brother. Thereupon I interceded and
- 1:17Speaker 1: said to her, I claim of thine honor not to
- 1:20Speaker 1: kill my brothers. Quoth she there was no help but
- 1:24Speaker 1: that I slay them, for they are traitors. But I
- 1:28Speaker 1: ceased not to speak her fair and conciliate her, till
- 1:31Speaker 1: she said to content thee, I will not kill them,
- 1:35Speaker 1: but I will enchant them, so saying, she brought out
- 1:39Speaker 1: a cup, and, filling it with sea water, pronounced over
- 1:42Speaker 1: it words that might not be understood, then saying, quit
- 1:46Speaker 1: this human sheep for the sheep of a dog. She
- 1:49Speaker 1: sprinkled them with water, and immediately they were transmuted into dogs,
- 1:54Speaker 1: as thou seest them, O, Vicar of Allah. Whereupon he
- 1:58Speaker 1: turned to the dogs and said to them, have I
- 2:00Speaker 1: spoken the truth O my brothers? And they bowed their heads,
- 2:04Speaker 1: as they would say, thou hast spoken sooth? At this
- 2:08Speaker 1: he continued. Then she said to those who were in
- 2:11Speaker 1: the Galion, know ye that Abdullah bin Fazil here present
- 2:15Speaker 1: is become my brother. And I shall visit him once
- 2:18Speaker 1: or twice every day. So whoso if you crosseth him,
- 2:22Speaker 1: or gainsayeth his bidding, or doth him hurt with hand
- 2:25Speaker 1: or tongue. I will do with him even as I
- 2:28Speaker 1: have done with these two traitors, and bespel him to
- 2:31Speaker 1: a dog, and he shall end his days in that form,
- 2:35Speaker 1: nor shall he find deliverance. And they all said to her, O,
- 2:39Speaker 1: our lady, we are his slaves and his servants, every
- 2:42Speaker 1: one of us, and will not disobey him in aught. Moreover,
- 2:47Speaker 1: she said to me, when thou comest to Bassorah, examine
- 2:51Speaker 1: all thy property, and if their lack aught thereof, tell me,
- 2:55Speaker 1: and I will bring it to thee in whose hands
- 2:57Speaker 1: and in what place soever it may be, and will
- 3:00Speaker 1: change him who took it into a dog. When thou
- 3:03Speaker 1: hast magazine thy goods, clap a collar of wood on
- 3:06Speaker 1: the neck of each of these two traitors, and tie
- 3:09Speaker 1: them to the leg of a couch, and shut them
- 3:11Speaker 1: up by themselves. Moreover, every night at midnight, do thou
- 3:17Speaker 1: go down to them and beat each of them about
- 3:19Speaker 1: till he swoon away. And if thou suffer a single
- 3:22Speaker 1: knight to pass without meeting them, I will come to
- 3:25Speaker 1: thee and drug thee a sound drubbing, after which I
- 3:29Speaker 1: will drub them. And I answered to here is to obey, Then,
- 3:35Speaker 1: said she tie them up with ropes till thou come
- 3:38Speaker 1: to Bassarah. So I tied a rope about each dog's
- 3:41Speaker 1: neck and lashed them to the mast, and she went
- 3:44Speaker 1: her way. On the morrow we entered Bassorah, and the
- 3:48Speaker 1: merchants came out to meet me and saluted me, And
- 3:51Speaker 1: no one of them inquired about my brothers. But they
- 3:54Speaker 1: looked at the dogs and said to me, Ho, such
- 3:57Speaker 1: and such, what wilt thou do with these two dogs
- 4:00Speaker 1: thou hast brought with thee quoth. I I reared them
- 4:04Speaker 1: on this voyage and have brought them home with me,
- 4:07Speaker 1: And they laughed at them, knowing not that they were
- 4:10Speaker 1: my brothers. When I reached my house, I put the
- 4:13Speaker 1: twain in a closet and busied myself all that night
- 4:16Speaker 1: with the unpacking and disposition of the bales of stuffs
- 4:19Speaker 1: and jewels. Moreover, the merchants were with me, being minded
- 4:24Speaker 1: to offer me the salam. Wherefore I was occupied with them,
- 4:27Speaker 1: and forgot to beat the dogs or chain them up. Then,
- 4:31Speaker 1: without doing them, aught of hurt, I lay down to sleep.
- 4:34Speaker 1: But suddenly and unexpectedly, there came to me the Red
- 4:37Speaker 1: King's daughter Saishah, and said to me, did I not
- 4:41Speaker 1: bid thee clap chains on their necks and give each
- 4:44Speaker 1: of them about of beating, so saying, she seized me, and,
- 4:48Speaker 1: pulling out a whip, flogged me till I fainted away,
- 4:52Speaker 1: after which she went to the place where my brothers were,
- 4:55Speaker 1: and with the same scourge, beat them both till they
- 4:58Speaker 1: came nigh upon death. Then said she to me, beat
- 5:02Speaker 1: each of them a like bout every night, and if
- 5:05Speaker 1: thou let a knight pass without doing this, I will
- 5:07Speaker 1: beat thee. And I replied, O, my lady, tomorrow I
- 5:12Speaker 1: will put chains on their necks, and next night I
- 5:15Speaker 1: will beat them. Nor will I leave them one night unbeaten.
- 5:19Speaker 1: And she charged me strictly to beat them, and disappeared.
- 5:23Speaker 1: When the morning morrowed, it being no light matter for
- 5:25Speaker 1: me to put a fetter of iron on their necks,
- 5:28Speaker 1: I went to a goldsmith and bade him made them
- 5:31Speaker 1: collars and chains of gold. He did this, and I
- 5:34Speaker 1: put the collars on their necks and chained them up
- 5:36Speaker 1: as she bade me, And next time I beat them
- 5:39Speaker 1: both in mine own. Despite this, befell in the Kaliphat
- 5:43Speaker 1: of al Mahdi, third of the sons of al Abbaz,
- 5:46Speaker 1: and I commended myself to him by sending him presents.
- 5:49Speaker 1: So he invested me with the government and made me
- 5:52Speaker 1: Viceroy of Bassorah. On this wise I abode some time,
- 5:56Speaker 1: and after a while I said to myself, haply her
- 6:00Speaker 1: wrath is grown cool, and left them a knight unbeaten.
- 6:04Speaker 1: Whereupon she came to me and beat me, about whose
- 6:07Speaker 1: burning I shall never forget long as I live. So
- 6:10Speaker 1: from that time to this I have never left them
- 6:13Speaker 1: a single night unbeaten. During the reign of al Madi,
- 6:17Speaker 1: and when he deceased and thou camest to the succession,
- 6:20Speaker 1: thou sentest to me confirming me in the government of Bassorah.
- 6:24Speaker 1: These twelve years passed, have I beaten them every night
- 6:27Speaker 1: in mine own despite and after I have beaten them,
- 6:30Speaker 1: I excuse myself to them and comfort them, and give
- 6:33Speaker 1: them to eat and drink. And they have remained shut up.
- 6:36Speaker 1: Nor did any of the creatures of Allah know of them,
- 6:39Speaker 1: till thou sentest to me abou Ishak, the boon companion,
- 6:42Speaker 1: on account of the tribute, And he discovered my secret,
- 6:46Speaker 1: and returning to thee, acquainted thee therewith. Then thou sentest
- 6:50Speaker 1: him back to fetch me and them. So I answered
- 6:53Speaker 1: with hearkening and obedience, and brought them before THEE, whereupon
- 6:58Speaker 1: thou questionest me, and I told THEE the truth of
- 7:00Speaker 1: the case. And this is my history. The Caliph marveled
- 7:05Speaker 1: at the case of the two dogs and said to Abdullah,
- 7:08Speaker 1: hast thou at this present forgiven thy two brothers the
- 7:11Speaker 1: wrong they did? THEE yea or nay. He replied, O,
- 7:15Speaker 1: my Lord, may Allah forgive them and acquit them of
- 7:18Speaker 1: responsibility in this world and the next. Indeed tis I
- 7:23Speaker 1: who stand in need of their forgiveness, for that these
- 7:26Speaker 1: twelve years past, I have beaten them a grievous doubt
- 7:29Speaker 1: every night, rejoined the Caliph, Oh Abdullah inshallah. I will
- 7:34Speaker 1: endeavor for their release and that they may become men
- 7:37Speaker 1: again as they were before. And I will make peace
- 7:40Speaker 1: between THEE and them. So shall you live the rest
- 7:43Speaker 1: of your lives as brothers, loving one another, and like
- 7:46Speaker 1: as thou hast forgiven them, so shall they forgive THEE.
- 7:50Speaker 1: But now shake them and go down with them to
- 7:52Speaker 1: thy lodging. And this night beat them not, and tomorrow
- 7:56Speaker 1: there shall be no save weal, quoth Abdullah, O, my
- 8:01Speaker 1: Lord as thy head liveth if I leave them one
- 8:03Speaker 1: night unbeaten, Sa'yidah will come to me and beat me,
- 8:07Speaker 1: And I have no body to brook beating, quoth the Caliph.
- 8:12Speaker 1: Fear not, for I will give THEE a writing under
- 8:14Speaker 1: my hand. And she come to THEE, Do thou give
- 8:17Speaker 1: her the paper? And if when she has read it
- 8:20Speaker 1: she spare THEE, the favor will be hers. But if
- 8:24Speaker 1: she obey not my bidding, commit thy business to Allah,
- 8:27Speaker 1: and let her beat THEE about. And suppose that thou
- 8:30Speaker 1: hast forgotten to beat them for one night, and that
- 8:33Speaker 1: she beatth THEE because of that, And if it all
- 8:36Speaker 1: fall out thus and she thwart me, as sure as
- 8:39Speaker 1: I am commander of the faithful, I will be even
- 8:42Speaker 1: with her. Then he wrote her a letter on a
- 8:45Speaker 1: piece of paper two fingers broad, and sealing it with
- 8:48Speaker 1: his signet ring, gave it to Abdullah, saying, O Abdullah,
- 8:53Speaker 1: if Sayda come, say to her, the Caliph, king of mankind,
- 8:57Speaker 1: has commanded me to leave beating them, and had written
- 9:00Speaker 1: me this letter for THEE, and he saluted THEE with
- 9:03Speaker 1: the Salam. Then give her the warrant and fear no harm,
- 9:08Speaker 1: after which he exacted of him an oath and a
- 9:10Speaker 1: solemn pledge that he would not beat them. So Abdullah
- 9:14Speaker 1: took the dogs and carried them to his lodging, saying
- 9:17Speaker 1: to himself, I wonder what the Caliph will do with
- 9:20Speaker 1: the daughter of the sovereign of the Gin, if she
- 9:23Speaker 1: cross him and trouns me tonight. But I will bear
- 9:26Speaker 1: with about of beating for once and leave my brothers
- 9:29Speaker 1: at rest this night, though for their sake I suffer torture.
- 9:33Speaker 1: Then he bethought himself a while, and his reason said
- 9:36Speaker 1: to him, did not the Caliph rely on some great support?
- 9:40Speaker 1: He had never forbidden me from beating them. So he
- 9:43Speaker 1: entered his lodging and off the colors from the dog's necks, saying,
- 9:47Speaker 1: I put my trust in Allah, and fell to comforting them,
- 9:51Speaker 1: and saying, no harm shall befall you. For the Caliph,
- 9:55Speaker 1: fifth of the sons of al abaz hath pledged himself
- 9:59Speaker 1: for your deliverance, and I have forgiven you, And it
- 10:02Speaker 1: please Allah the most High. The time is come, and
- 10:05Speaker 1: ye shall be delivered this blessed night. So rejoice ye
- 10:09Speaker 1: in the prospect of peace and gladness. When they heard
- 10:13Speaker 1: these words, they fell to whining with the whining of dogs,
- 10:17Speaker 1: and Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
- 10:20Speaker 1: say her permitted say end of night nine hundred and
- 10:24Speaker 1: eighty five night nine hundred and eighty six. When it
- 10:31Speaker 1: was the nine hundred and eighty sixth night, she resumed it.
- 10:35Speaker 1: Hath reached me o auspicious king that Abdullah bin Fazil
- 10:38Speaker 1: said to his brothers, rejoice ye in the prospect of
- 10:42Speaker 1: comfort and gladness. And when they heard his words, they
- 10:45Speaker 1: fell to whining with the whining of dogs, and rubbed
- 10:48Speaker 1: their jewels against his feet, as if blessing him, and
- 10:51Speaker 1: humbling themselves before him. He mourned over them and took
- 10:56Speaker 1: to stroking their backs till supper time. And when they
- 10:59Speaker 1: set on the tray, he bade the dogs sit, so
- 11:02Speaker 1: they sat down and ate with him from the tray,
- 11:05Speaker 1: whilst his officers stood gaping and marveling at his eating
- 11:08Speaker 1: with dogs. And all said, is he mad? Or are
- 11:12Speaker 1: his wits gone wrong? How can the Viceroy of Bassara city,
- 11:16Speaker 1: he who is greater than a vizir, eat with dogs?
- 11:20Speaker 1: Knoweth he not that the dog is unclean? And they
- 11:23Speaker 1: stared at the dogs as they ate with him as
- 11:26Speaker 1: servants eat with their lords, knowing not that they were
- 11:29Speaker 1: his brothers. Nor did they cease staring at them till
- 11:32Speaker 1: they had made an end of eating, when Abdullah washed
- 11:35Speaker 1: his hands, and the dogs also put out their paws
- 11:37Speaker 1: and washed, whereupon all who were present began to laugh
- 11:41Speaker 1: at them and to marvel, saying one to other, never
- 11:45Speaker 1: in our lives saw we dogs eat and wash their
- 11:48Speaker 1: paws after eating. Then the dogs sat down on the
- 11:51Speaker 1: divans beside Abdullah. Nor dared any ask him of this,
- 11:56Speaker 1: and thus the case lasted till midnight, when he dismissed
- 11:59Speaker 1: the attendants and lay down to sleep, and the dogs
- 12:02Speaker 1: with him, each on a couch. Whereupon the servants said
- 12:05Speaker 1: to one another, Verily he hath lain down to sleep,
- 12:09Speaker 1: and the two dogs are lying with him, quoth another,
- 12:13Speaker 1: since he hath eaten with the dogs from the same tray,
- 12:16Speaker 1: there is no harm in their sleeping with him, And
- 12:19Speaker 1: this is nought save the fashion of madmen. Moreover, they
- 12:23Speaker 1: ate not anything of the food which remained in the tray,
- 12:26Speaker 1: saying tis unclean. Such was their case. But as for Abdullah,
- 12:32Speaker 1: ere could think the earth clave asunder and out ro
- 12:35Speaker 1: saida who said to him, O, Abdullah, why hast thou
- 12:39Speaker 1: not beaten them this night? And why hast thou undone
- 12:42Speaker 1: the collars from their necks? Hast thou acted on this
- 12:45Speaker 1: wise perversely and in mockery of my commandment. But I
- 12:49Speaker 1: will at once beat thee and spell THEE into a
- 12:51Speaker 1: dog like them. He replied, O, my lady, I conjure
- 12:56Speaker 1: THEE by the graving upon the seal ring of Solomon
- 12:59Speaker 1: Davidson on the twain be peace, Have patience with me,
- 13:03Speaker 1: to I tell THEE my cause, and after do with
- 13:06Speaker 1: me what thou wilt. Quoth she say on, and quoth
- 13:10Speaker 1: he The reason of my not punishing them is only this.
- 13:14Speaker 1: The king of mankind, the commander of the faithful, the
- 13:18Speaker 1: Caliph Harun al Rashid, ordered me not to beat them
- 13:21Speaker 1: this night, and took of me oaths and covenants to
- 13:24Speaker 1: that effect. And he saluted thee with the Salam, and
- 13:27Speaker 1: hath committed to me a mandate under his own hand,
- 13:30Speaker 1: which he bade me give thee. So I obeyed his order.
- 13:34Speaker 1: For to obey the commander of the faithful is obligatory.
- 13:37Speaker 1: And here is the mandate. Take it and read it,
- 13:41Speaker 1: and after work thy will, she replied, hither with it.
- 13:46Speaker 1: So he gave her the letter, and she opened it
- 13:48Speaker 1: and read as follows, And the name of Allah, the Compassionating,
- 13:52Speaker 1: the compassionate from the King of mankind. Harun al Rashid
- 13:56Speaker 1: to the daughter of the Red King, SAIDA, but after verily,
- 14:01Speaker 1: this man hath forgiven his brothers and had waived his
- 14:04Speaker 1: claim against them, And we have enjoined them to reconciliation.
- 14:09Speaker 1: Now when reconciliation ruleth retribution is remitted. And if you
- 14:14Speaker 1: of the Jin contradict us in our commandments, we will
- 14:17Speaker 1: contrary you in yours and traverse your ordinances. But as
- 14:22Speaker 1: ye obey our bidding and further our orders, we will
- 14:25Speaker 1: indeed do the like with yours. Wherefore I bid THEE
- 14:29Speaker 1: hurt them, no hurt. And if thou believe in Allah
- 14:32Speaker 1: and in his apostle, it behooveth THEE to obey and
- 14:35Speaker 1: to us to command. So a thou spare them, I
- 14:39Speaker 1: will requite THEE with that whereto my Lord shall enable me.
- 14:42Speaker 1: And the token of obedience is that thou remove thine
- 14:45Speaker 1: enchantment from these two men, so they may become before
- 14:48Speaker 1: me tomorrow free. But a thou release them, not, I
- 14:53Speaker 1: will release them in thy despite by the aid of
- 14:56Speaker 1: Almighty Allah. When she had read the letter, he said, Oh, Abdullah,
- 15:01Speaker 1: I will do nought till I go to my sire
- 15:04Speaker 1: and show him the mandate of the Monarch of mankind,
- 15:07Speaker 1: and return to thee with the answer in haste. So saying,
- 15:11Speaker 1: she signed with her hand to the earth, which clave open,
- 15:14Speaker 1: and she disappeared therein whilst Abdullah's heart was like to
- 15:17Speaker 1: fly for joy, and he said, Allah advanced the commander
- 15:22Speaker 1: of the faithful. As for Sida, she went in to
- 15:25Speaker 1: her father, and, acquainting him with that which had passed,
- 15:29Speaker 1: gave him the Caliph's letter, which he kissed and laid
- 15:32Speaker 1: on his head. Then he read it, and, understanding its contents, said, O,
- 15:37Speaker 1: my daughter, thoroughly, the ordinance of the Monarch of mankind
- 15:41Speaker 1: obligeth us, and his commandments are effectual over us, nor
- 15:45Speaker 1: can we disobey them. So go thou and release the
- 15:48Speaker 1: two men forthwith, and say to them, ye are freed
- 15:52Speaker 1: by the intercession of the Monarch of mankind. For should
- 15:56Speaker 1: he be wroth with us, he would destroy us to
- 15:59Speaker 1: the last of us us. So do not thou impose
- 16:02Speaker 1: on us that which we are enable, quoth she O,
- 16:06Speaker 1: my father. If the monarch of mankind were wroth with us,
- 16:09Speaker 1: what could he do with us? And quoth her sire,
- 16:13Speaker 1: he hath power over us for several reasons. In the
- 16:17Speaker 1: first place, he is a man, and hath thus pre
- 16:20Speaker 1: eminence over us. Secondly, he is the vicar of Allah.
- 16:24Speaker 1: And thirdly, he is constant in praying the dawn prayer
- 16:28Speaker 1: of two boughs. Therefore, where all the tribes of the
- 16:31Speaker 1: Jinn assembled together against him from the seven worlds, they
- 16:35Speaker 1: could do him no hurt. But he, should he be
- 16:38Speaker 1: wroth with us, would pray the dawn prayer of two
- 16:40Speaker 1: boughs and cry out upon us one cry, when we
- 16:44Speaker 1: should all present ourselves before him obediently, and be before
- 16:48Speaker 1: him as sheep before the butcher. If he would, he
- 16:51Speaker 1: could command us to quit our abiding places for a
- 16:54Speaker 1: desert country, wherein we might not endure to sojourn. And
- 16:58Speaker 1: if he desired to destroy us, he would bid us
- 17:01Speaker 1: destroy ourselves, whereupon we should destroy one another. Wherefore we
- 17:06Speaker 1: may not disobey his bidding, for if we did this,
- 17:10Speaker 1: he would consume us with fire. Nor could we flee
- 17:13Speaker 1: from before him to any asylum. Thus is it with
- 17:17Speaker 1: every true believer who was persistent in praying the dawn
- 17:20Speaker 1: prayer of two bows. His commandment is effectual over us.
- 17:25Speaker 1: So be not doubt the means of our destruction because
- 17:28Speaker 1: of two mortals, but go forthright and release them. Ere
- 17:32Speaker 1: the anger of the commander of the faithful fall upon us.
- 17:36Speaker 1: So she returned to Abdullah and acquainted him with her
- 17:39Speaker 1: father's words, saying, kiss for us the hands of the
- 17:43Speaker 1: Prince of true believers, and seek his approval for us.
- 17:47Speaker 1: Then she brought out the tassi, and, filling it with water,
- 17:50Speaker 1: conjured over it and uttered words which might not be understood,
- 17:54Speaker 1: after which she sprinkled the dogs with the water, saying,
- 17:58Speaker 1: quit the form of dogs, and reach turned to the
- 18:00Speaker 1: shape of men. Whereupon they became men as before, and
- 18:04Speaker 1: the spell of the enchantment was loosed from them. Quoth they,
- 18:09Speaker 1: I testified that there is no God but the God,
- 18:12Speaker 1: and I testify that Mohammed is the apostle of God.
- 18:16Speaker 1: Then they fell on their brother's feet and hands, kissing
- 18:18Speaker 1: them and beseeching his forgiveness. But he said, do ye
- 18:23Speaker 1: forgive me? And they both repented with sincere repentance, saying
- 18:28Speaker 1: verily the damned devil lured us and covetized the ludit us.
- 18:32Speaker 1: But our Lord hath requitted us after our deserts, and
- 18:36Speaker 1: forgiveness is of the signs of the noble. And they
- 18:39Speaker 1: went on to supplicate their brother and weep and profess
- 18:42Speaker 1: repentance for that which had befallen him from them. Then
- 18:47Speaker 1: quoth he to them, what did ye with my wife,
- 18:50Speaker 1: whom I brought from the city of Stone? Quoth they?
- 18:54Speaker 1: When Satan tempted us and we cast thee into the sea,
- 18:57Speaker 1: there arose strife between us, saying I will have her
- 19:01Speaker 1: to wife. Now. When she heard these words and beheld
- 19:05Speaker 1: our contention, she knew that we had thrown thee into
- 19:08Speaker 1: the sea. So she came up from the cabin and
- 19:11Speaker 1: said to us, contend not because of me, for I
- 19:14Speaker 1: will not belong to either of you. My husband is
- 19:17Speaker 1: gone into the sea, and I will follow him. So saying,
- 19:22Speaker 1: she cast herself overboard and died, exclaimed Abdullah in very sooth.
- 19:28Speaker 1: She died in martyr. But there is no majesty and
- 19:31Speaker 1: there is no might save in Allah the Glorious the Great.
- 19:35Speaker 1: Then he wept for her with sore weeping, and said
- 19:38Speaker 1: to his brothers, it was not well of you to
- 19:41Speaker 1: do this deed, and bereave me of my wife. They answered, indeed,
- 19:46Speaker 1: we have sinned, But our Lord hath requitted us our misdeed.
- 19:50Speaker 1: And this was a thing which Allah decreed unto us
- 19:53Speaker 1: ere he created us. And he accepted their excuse. But
- 19:57Speaker 1: Sa'idah said to him, have they done all these things
- 20:01Speaker 1: to thee, and wilt thou forgive them? He replied, O,
- 20:05Speaker 1: my sister, whoso hath power and spareth for a last
- 20:08Speaker 1: reward he prepareth. Then said she be on thy guard
- 20:13Speaker 1: against them, for they are traitors, and farewelled him and
- 20:17Speaker 1: fared forth. And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased,
- 20:22Speaker 1: saying her permitted say end of night nine hundred and
- 20:27Speaker 1: eighty six.