Book: Supplemental Nights, Volume 1

R >> Richard F. Burton >> Supplemental Nights, Volume 1




The Third Night of the Month.

When it was supper-time the king sought the sitting-chamber; and,
summoning the Wazir, sought of him the story he had promised him;
and the Minister said, "They tell, O king,




The Tale of the King who Kenned the Quintessence[FN#334] of
Things.



There came to a king of the kings, in his old age, a son, who
grew up comely, quickwitted, clever: and, when he reached years
of discretion and became a young man, his father said to him,
"Take this realm and rule it in lieu of me, for I desire to flee
from the sin of sovranty[FN#335] to Allah the Most High and don
the woollen dress and devote all my time to devotion." Quoth the
Prince, "And I am another who desireth to take refuge with the
Almighty." So the king said, "Arise, let us flee forth and make
for the mountains and there worship in shame before God the Most
Great." Accordingly, the twain gat them gear of wool and clothing
themselves therewith, fared forth and wandered in the wolds and
wastes; but, when some days had passed over them, both became
weak for hunger and repented them of that they had done whenas
penitence profited them not, and the Prince complained to his
father of weariness and hunger. Cried the king, "Dear my son, I
did with thee that which behoved me,[FN#336] but thou wouldst not
hearken to me, and now there is no means of returning to thy
former estate, for that another hath taken the kingdom and
defendeth it from all foes: but indeed I will counsel thee of
somewhat, wherein do thou pleasure me by compliance." The Prince
asked, "What is it?" and his father answered, "Take me and go
with me to the market-street and sell me and receive my price and
do with it whatso thou willest, and I shall become the property
of one who shall provide for my wants." The Prince enquired, "Who
will buy thee of me, seeing thou art a very old man? Nay, do thou
rather sell me, inasmuch as the demand for me will be more." But
the king replied, "An thou wert king, thou wouldest require
service of me." Accordingly the youth obeyed his father's bidding
and taking him, carried him to the slave-dealer and said, "Sell
me this old man." Said the dealer, "Who will buy this wight, and
he a son of eighty years?"[FN#337] Then quoth he to the king, "In
what crafts art thou cunning?" and quoth he, "I ken the
quintessence of jewels and I ken the quintessence of horses and I
ken the quintessence of men; brief, I ken the quintessence of all
things." So the slave-dealer took him and went about, offering
him for sale to the folk; but none would buy. Presently, up came
the Chef of the Sultan's kitchen and asked, "What is this man?"
and the dealer answered, "This be a Mameluke for sale." The
kitchener marvelled at this and bought the king, after
questioning him of what he could do, for ten thousand dirhams.
Then he weighed out the money and carried him to his house, but
dared not employ him in aught of service; so he appointed him an
allowance, a modicum sufficient for his maintenance, and repented
him of having bought him, saying, "What shall I do with the like
of this wight?" Presently, the king of the city was minded to go
forth to his garden,[FN#338] a-pleasuring, and bade the cook
precede him and appoint in his stead one who should dress the
royal meat, so that, when he returned, he might find the meal
ready. The Chef fell to thinking of whom he should appoint and
was perplexed concerning his affair. As he was thus, the Shaykh
came to him, and seeing him distraught as to how he should do,
said to him, "Tell me what is in thy mind; haply I may bring thee
relief." So he acquainted him with the king's wishes and he said,
"Have no care for this, but leave me one of the serving-men and
do thou go companying thy lord in peace and surety, for I will
suffice thee of this." Hereat the cook departed with the king,
after he had brought the old man what he needed and left him a
man of the guards; and when he was gone, the Shaykh bade the
trooper wash the kitchen-battery and made ready food exceedingly
fine. When the king returned he set the meat before him, and he
tasted dishes whose like he had never savoured; whereat he was
startled and asked who had dressed it. Accordingly they
acquainted him with the Shaykh's case and he summoned him to his
presence and asking him anent the mystery, increased his
allowance of rations;[FN#339] moreover, he bade that they should
cook together, he and the kitchener, and the old man obeyed his
bidding. Some time after this, there came two merchants to the
king with two pearls of price and each of them declared that his
pearl was worth a thousand dinars, but the folk were incompetent
to value them. Then said the cook, "Allah prosper the king!
Verily, the Shaykh whom I bought affirmed that he knew the
quintessence of jewels and that he was skilled in cookery. We
have tried him in his cuisine, and have found him the most
knowing of men; and now, if we send after him and prove him on
jewels, his second claim will be made manifest to us, whether
true or false." So the king bade fetch the Shaykh and he came and
stood before the Sultan, who showed him the two pearls. Quoth he,
"Now for this one, 'tis worth a thousand dinars;" and quoth the
king, "So saith its owner." "But for this other," continued the
old man, "'tis worth only five hundred." The people laughed and
admired his saying, and the merchant who owned the second pearl
asked him, "How can this, which is bigger of bulk and worthier
for water and righter of rondure, be less of value than that?"
and the old man answered, "I have said what is with me."[FN#340]
Then quoth the king to him, "Indeed, the outer semblance thereof
is like that of the other pearl; why then is it worth but the
half of its price?" and quoth the old man, "Yes, but its inward
is corrupt." Asked the merchant, "Hath a pearl then an inward and
an outward?" and the Shaykh answered, "Yea! In its interior is a
teredo, a boring worm; but the other pearl is sound and secure
against breakage." The merchant continued, "Give us approof of
this thy knowledge and confirm to us the truth of thy saying;"
and the old man rejoined, "We will break it: an I prove a liar,
here is my head, and if I speak sooth, thou wilt have lost thy
pearl;" and the merchant said, "I agree to that." So they brake
the pearl and it was even as the old man had declared, to wit, in
the heart of it was a boring worm. The king marvelled at what he
saw and questioned him of how he came by the knowledge of this.
The Shaykh replied, "O king, this kind of jewel is engendered in
the belly of a creature called the oyster[FN#341] and its origin
is a drop of rain and it resisteth the touch and groweth not warm
whilst hent in hand:[FN#342] so, when its outer coat became tepid
to my touch, I knew that it harboured some living thing, for that
things of life thrive not save in heat." Therefore the king said
to the cook, "Increase his allowance;" and the Chef appointed to
him fresh rations. Now some time after this, two merchants
presented themselves to the king with two horses, and one said,
"I ask a thousand ducats for my horse," and the other, "I seek
five thousand ducats for mine." Quoth the cook, "We are now
familiar with the old man's just judgment; what deemeth the king
of fetching him?" So the king bade fetch him, and when he saw the
two horses[FN#343] he said, "This is worth a thousand and that
two thousand ducats." Quoth the folk, "This horse thou misjudgest
is evidently a thoroughbred and he is younger and faster and
compacter of limb and finer of head and clearer of colour and
skin than the other;" presently adding, "What assurance hast thou
of the sooth of thy saying?" And the old man said, "This ye state
is true, all true; but his sire is old and this other is the son
of a young horse. Now, when the son of an old horse standeth
still a-breathing, his breath returneth not to him and his rider
falleth into the hand of him who followeth after him; but the son
of a young horse, an thou put him to speed and after making him
run, alight from him, thou wilt find him, by reason of his
robustness, untired." Quoth the merchant, "'Tis even as the
Shaykh avoucheth and he is an excellent judge." And the king
said, "Increase his allowance." But the Shaykh stood still and
did not go away; so the king asked him, "Why dost thou not go
about thy business?" and he answered, "My business is with the
king." Said the king, "Name what thou wouldest have," and the
other replied, "I would have thee question me of the quintessence
of men, even as thou has questioned me of the quintessence of
horses." Quoth the king, "We have no occasion to question thee
thereof;" but quoth the old man, "I have occasion to acquaint
thee." "Say what thou wilt," rejoined the king, and the Shaykh
said, "Verily, the king is the son of a baker." Cried the king,
"How and whereby kennest thou that?" and the Shaykh replied,
"Know, O king, that I have examined into degrees and
dignities[FN#344] and have learned this." Thereupon the king went
in to his mother and asked her anent his sire, and she told him
that the king her husband was impotent;[FN#345] "So," quoth she,
"I feared for the kingdom, lest it pass away, after his death;
wherefore I yielded my person to a young man, a baker, and
conceived by him and bare a man-child;[FN#346] and the kingship
came into the hand of my son, that is, thyself." So the king
returned to the Shaykh and said to him, "I am indeed the son of a
baker; so do thou expound to me the means whereby thou knewest me
for this." Quoth the other, "I knew that, hadst thou been the son
of a king, thou wouldst have gifted me with things of price, such
as rubies and the like; and wert thou the son of a Kazi, thou
hadst given largesse of a dirham or two dirhams, and wert thou
the son of any of the merchants, thou hadst given me muchel of
money. But I saw that thou bestowedst upon me naught save two
bannocks of bread and other rations, wherefore I knew thee to be
the son of a baker;" and quoth the king, "Thou hast hit the
mark." Then he gave him wealth galore and advanced him to high
estate. The tale aforesaid pleased King Shah Bakht and he
marvelled thereat; but the Wazir said to him, "This story is not
stranger than that of the Richard who married his beautiful
daughter to the poor Shaykh." The king's mind was occupied with
the promised tale and he bade the Wazir withdraw to his lodging;
so he went and abode there the rest of the night and the whole of
the following day.

The Fourth Night of the Month.

When the evening evened, the king sat private in his
sitting-chamber and bade fetch the Wazir. When he presented
himself before him, he said to him, "Tell me the tale of the
Richard." The Minister replied, "I will. Hear, O puissant king,




The Tale of the Richard who Married his Beautiful Daughter
to the Poor Old Man.



A certain rich merchant had a beautiful daughter, who was as the
full moon, and when she attained the age of fifteen, her father
betook himself to an old man and spreading him a carpet in his
sitting-chamber, gave him to eat and conversed and caroused with
him. Then said he to him, "I desire to marry thee to my
daughter." The other drew back, because of his poverty, and said
to him, "I am no husband for her nor am I a match for thee." The
merchant was urgent with him, but he repeated his answer to him,
saying, "I will not consent to this till thou acquaint me with
the cause of thy desire for me. An I find it reasonable, I will
fall in with thy wish; and if not, I will not do this ever."
Quoth the merchant, "Thou must know that I am a man from the land
of China and was in my youth well-favoured and well-to-do. Now I
made no account of womankind, one and all, but followed after
youths,[FN#347] and one night I saw, in a dream, as it were a
balance set up, and hard by it a voice said, 'This is the portion
of Such-an-one.' I listened and presently I heard my own name; so
I looked and behold, there stood a woman loathly to the
uttermost; whereupon I awoke in fear and cried, 'I will never
marry, lest haply this fulsome female fall to my lot.' Then I set
out for this city with merchandise and the journey was pleasant
to me and the sojourn here, so that I took up my abode in the
place for a length of time and gat me friends and factors. At
last I sold all my stock-in-trade and collected its price and
there was left me nothing to occupy me till the folk[FN#348]
should depart and I depart with them. One day, I changed my
clothes and putting gold into my sleeve, sallied forth to inspect
the holes and corners of this city, and as I was wandering about,
I saw a handsome house: its seemliness pleased me; so I stood
looking on it and beheld a lovely woman at the window. When she
saw me, she made haste and descended, whilst I abode confounded.
Then I betook myself to a tailor there and questioned him of the
house and anent whose it was. Quoth he, 'It belongeth to
Such-an-one the Notary,[FN#349] God damn him!' I asked, 'Is he
her sire?' and he answered, 'Yes.' So I repaired in great hurry
to a man, with whom I had been wont to deposit my goods for sale,
and told him I desired to gain access to Such-an-one the Notary.
Accordingly he assembled his friends and we betook ourselves to
the Notary's house. When we came in to him, we saluted him and
sat with him, and I said to him, 'I come to thee as a suitor,
desiring in marriage the hand of thy daughter.' He replied, 'I
have no daughter befitting this man;' and I rejoined, 'Allah aid
thee! My desire is for thee and not for her.'[FN#350] But he
still refused and his friends said to him, 'This is an honourable
match and a man thine equal, nor is it lawful to thee that thou
hinder the young lady of her good luck.' Quoth he to them, 'She
will not suit him!' nevertheless they were instant with him till
at last he said, 'Verily, my daughter whom ye seek is passing
illfavoured and in her are all blamed qualities of person.' And I
said, 'I accept her, though she be as thou sayest.' Then said the
folk, 'Extolled be Allah! Cease we to talk of a thing settled; so
say the word, how much wilt thou have to her marriagesettlement?'
Quoth he, 'I must have four thousand sequins;' and I said, 'To
hear is to obey!' Accordingly the affair was concluded and we
drew up the contract of marriage and I made the bride-feast; but
on the wedding-night I beheld a thing[FN#351] than which never
made Allah Almighty aught more fulsome. Methought her folk had
devised this freak by way of fun; so I laughed and looked for my
mistress, whom I had seen at the window, to make her appearance;
but saw her not. When the affair was prolonged and I found none
but her, I was like to lose my wits for vexation and fell to
beseeching my Lord and humbling myself in supplication before Him
that He would deliver me from her. When I arose in the morning,
there came the chamberwoman and said to me, 'Hast thou need of
the bath?'[FN#352] I replied, 'No;' and she asked, 'Art thou for
breakfast?' But I still answered 'No;' and on this wise I abode
three days, tasting neither meat nor drink. When the young woman
my wife saw me in this plight, she said to me, 'O man, tell me
thy tale, for, by Allah, if I may effect thy deliverance, I will
assuredly further thee thereto.' I gave ear to her speech and put
faith in her sooth and acquainted her with the adventure of the
damsel whom I had seen at the window and how 1 had fallen in love
with her; whereupon quoth she, 'An that girl belong to me, whatso
I possess is thine, and if she belong to my sire, I will demand
her of him and detain her from him and deliver her to thee.' Then
she fell to summoning hand-maid after hand-maid and showing them
to me, till I saw the damsel whom I loved and said, 'This is
she.' Quoth my wife, 'Let not thy heart be troubled, for this is
my slave-girl. My father gave her to me and I give her to
thee:[FN#353] so comfort thyself and be of good cheer and of eyes
cool and clear.' Then, when it was night, she brought the girl to
me, after she had adorned her and perfumed her, and said to her,
'Cross not this thy lord in aught and every that he shall seek of
thee.' When she came to bed with me, I said in myself, 'Verily,
this my spouse is more generous than I!' Then I sent away the
slave-girl and drew not near her, but arose forthwith and
betaking myself to my wife, lay with her and abated her
maidenhead. She conceived by me at the first bout; and,
accomplishing the time of her pregnancy, gave birth to this dear
little daughter; in whom I rejoiced, for that she was beautiful
exceedingly, and she hath inherited her mother's sound sense and
the comeliness of her sire. Indeed, many of the notables of the
people have sought her of me in wedlock, but I would not wed her
to any, because I saw in a dream, one night, that same balance
set up and men and women being therein weighed, one against
other, and meseemed I saw thee and her and the voice said to me,
'This is such a man, the portion of such a woman.'[FN#354]
Wherefore I knew that Almighty Allah had allotted her unto none
other than thyself, and I choose rather to marry thee to her in
my lifetime than that thou shouldst marry her after my death."
When the poor man heard the merchant's story, he became desirous
of wedding his daughter: so he took her to wife and was blessed
of her with exceeding love. "Nor" (continued the Wazir), "is this
story on any wise stranger or this tale rarer than that of the
Sage and his three Sons." When the king heard his Minister's
story, he was assured that he would not slay him and said, "I
will have patience with him, so I may get of him the story of the
Sage and his three Sons." And he bade him depart to his own
house.

The Fifth Night of the Month.

When the evening evened, the king sat private in his chamber and
summoning the Wazir, required of him the promised story. So
Al-Rahwan said, "Hear, O king,




The Tale of the Sage and his Three Sons.[FN#355]



There was once a Sage of the sages, who had three sons and sons'
sons, and when they waxed many and their, seed multiplied, there
befel dissension between them. So he assembled them and said to
them, "Be ye single-handed against all others and despise not one
another lest the folk despise you, and know that your case is the
case of the man and the rope which he cut easily, when it was
single; then he doubled it and could not cut it: on this wise is
division and union.[FN#356] And beware lest ye seek help of
others against your own selves or ye will fall into perdition,
for by what means soever ye win your wish at his hand, his word
will rank higher than your word. Now I have money which I will
presently bury in a certain place, that it may be a store for you
against the time of your need." Then they left him and dispersed
and one of the sons fell to spying upon his sire, so that he saw
him hide the hoard outside the city. When he had made an end of
burying it, the Sage returned to his house; and as soon as the
morning morrowed, his son repaired to the place where he had seen
his father bury the treasure and dug and took all the wealth he
found and fared forth. When the old man felt that his
death[FN#357] drew nigh, he called his sons to him and acquainted
them with the place where he had hidden his hoard. As soon as he
was dead, they went and dug up the treasure and came upon much
wealth, for that the money, which the first son had taken singly
and by stealth, was on the surface and he knew not that under it
were other monies. So they carried it off and divided it and the
first son claimed his share with the rest and added it to that
which he had before taken, behind the backs of his father and his
brethren. Then he married his cousin, the daughter of his
father's brother, and was blessed through her with a male-child,
who was the goodliest of the folk of his time. When the boy grew
up, his father feared for him poverty and decline of case, so he
said to him, "Dear my son, know that during my green days I
wronged my brothers in the matter of our father's good, and I see
thee in weal; but, an thou come to want, ask not one of them nor
any other than they, for I have laid up for thee in yonder
chamber a treasure; but do not thou open it until thou come to
lack thy daily bread." Then the man died, and his money, which
was a great matter, fell to his son. The young man had not
patience to wait till he had made an end of that which was with
him, but rose and opened the chamber, and behold, it was empty
and its walls were whitened, and in its midst was a rope hanging
down as for a bucket and ten bricks, one upon other, and a
scroll, wherein was written, "There is no help against death; so
hang thyself and beg not of any, but kick away the bricks with
thy toes, that there may be no escape for thy life, and thou
shalt be at rest from the exultation of enemies and enviers and
the bitterness of beggary." Now when the youth saw this, he
marvelled at that which his father had done and said, "This is an
ill treasure." Then he went forth and fell to eating and drinking
with the folk, till naught was left him and he passed two days
without tasting food, at the end of which time he took a
handkerchief and selling it for two dirhams, bought bread and
milk with the price and left it on the shelf and went out. Whilst
he was gone, a dog came and seized the bread and polluted the
milk, and when the young man returned and saw this, he beat his
face, and fared forth distraught. Presently, he met a friend, to
whom he discovered his case, and the other said to him, "Art thou
not ashamed to talk thus? How hast thou wasted all this wealth
and now comest telling lies and saying, The dog hath mounted on
the shelf, and talking such nonsense?" And he reviled him. So the
youth returned to his house, and verily the world had waxed black
in his eyes and he cried, "My sire said sooth." Then he opened
the chamber door and piling up the bricks under his feet, put the
rope about his neck and kicked away the bricks and swung himself
off; whereupon the rope gave way with him and he fell to the
ground and the ceiling clave asunder and there poured down on him
a world of wealth. So he knew that his sire meant to chasten him
by means of this and he invoked Allah's mercy on him. Then he got
him again that which he had sold of lands and houses and what not
else and became once more in good case; his friends also returned
to him and he entertained them for some time. Then said he to
them one day, "There was with us bread and the locusts ate it; so
we set in its place a stone, one cubit long and the like broad,
and the locusts came and nibbled away the stone, because of the
smell of the bread." Quoth one of his friends (and it was he who
had given him the lie concerning the dog and the bread and milk),
"Marvel not at this, for rats and mice do more than that."
Thereupon he said, "Get ye home! In the days of my poverty 1 was
a liar when I told you of the dogs jumping upon the shelf and
eating the bread and defiling the milk; and to-day, because I am
rich again, I say sooth when I tell you that locusts devoured a
stone one cubit long and one cubit broad." They were abashed by
his speech and departed from him; and the youth's good prospered
and his case was amended. "Nor" (continued the Wazir), "is this
stranger or more seld-seen than the story of the Prince who fell
in love with the picture." Quoth the king, Shah Bakht, "Haply, an
I hear this story, I shall gain wisdom from it: so I will not
hasten in the slaying of this Minister, nor will I do him die
before the thirty days have expired." Then he gave him leave to
withdraw, and he hied away to his own house.

The Sixth Night of the Month.

When the day absconded and the evening arrived, the king sat
private in his chamber and, summoning the Wazir, who presented
himself to him, questioned him of the story. So the Minister
said, "Hear, O auspicious king,




The Tale of the Prince who Fell in Love with the Picture.



There was once, in a province of Persia, a king of the kings, who
was great of degree, a magnifico, endowed with majesty and girt
by soldiery; but he was childless. Towards the end of his life,
his Lord vouchsafed him a male-child, and that boy grew up and
was comely and learned all manner of lore. He made him a private
place, which was a towering palace, edified with coloured marbles
and jewels and paintings. When the Prince entered the palace, he
saw in its ceiling the picture of a maiden, than whom he had
never beheld a fairer of aspect, and she was surrounded by
slave-girls; whereupon he fell down in a fainting fit and became
distracted for love of her. Then he sat under the picture till
his father came in to him one day, and finding him lean of limb
and changed of complexion (which was by reason of his continual
looking on that picture), imagined that he was ill and summoned
the sages and the leaches, that they might medicine him. He also
said to one of his cup-companions, "An thou canst learn what
aileth my son, thou shalt have of me the white hand."[FN#358]
Thereupon he went in to him and spake him fair and cajoled him,
till he confessed to him that his malady was caused by the
picture. Then the courtier returned to the king and told him what
ailed his son, whereupon he transported the Prince to another
palace and made his former lodging the guest-house; and whoso of
the Arabs was entertained therein, him he questioned of the
picture, but none could give him tidings thereof, till one day,
when there came a wayfarer who seeing the picture, cried, "There
is no god but the God! My brother painted this portrait." So the
king sent for him and questioned him of the affair of the picture
and where was he who had painted it. He replied, "O my lord, we
are two brothers and one of us went to the land of Hind and fell
in love with the Indian king's daughter, and 'tis she who is the
original of the portrait. He is wont in every city he entereth to
limn her likeness, and I follow him, and longsome is my way."
When the king's son heard this, he said, "Needs must I travel to
this damsel." So he took all manner rare store and riches galore
and journeyed days and nights till he entered the land of Hind,
nor did he reach it save after sore travail. Then he asked of the
King of Hind who also heard of him, and invited him to the
palace. When the Prince came before him, he sought of him his
daughter in marriage, and the king said, "Indeed, thou art her
match, but there is one objection, to wit, none dare name a male
before her because of her hate for men." So he pitched his tents
under her palace windows, till one day of the days he gat hold of
a girl, one of her favourite slave-girls, and gave her a mint of
money. Quoth she to him, "Hast thou a need?" and quoth he, "Yes,"
and presently acquainted her with his case; when she said "'In
very sooth, thou puttest thyself in peril." Then he tarried,
flattering himself with false hopes, till all that he had with
him was gone and the servants fled from him; whereupon he said to
one in whom he trusted, "I am minded to repair to my country and
fetch what may suffice me and return hither." The other answered,
"'Tis for thee to judge." So they set out to return, but the way
was long to them and all that the Prince had with him was spent
and his company died and there abode but one with him whom he
loaded with the little that remained of the victual and they left
the rest and fared on. Then there came out a lion and devoured
the servant, and the king's son found himself alone. He went on,
till his hackney stood still, whereupon he left it and walked
till his feet swelled. Presently he came to the land of the
Turks,[FN#359] and he naked, hungry, nor having with him aught
but somewhat of jewels, bound about his fore-arm.[FN#360] So he
went to the bazar of the goldsmiths and calling one of the
brokers gave him the gems. The broker looked and seeing two great
rubies, said to him, "Follow me." Accordingly, he followed him,
till he brought him to a goldsmith, to whom he gave the jewels,
saying, "Buy these." He asked, "Whence hadst thou these?" and the
broker answered, "This youth is the owner of them." Then said the
goldsmith to the Prince, "Whence hadst thou these rubies?" and he
told him all that had befallen him and that he was a king's son.
The goldsmith sat astounded at his adventures and bought of him
the rubies for a thousand gold pieces. Then said the Prince to
him, "Equip thyself to go with me to my country." So he made
ready and went with him till the king's son drew near the
frontiers of his sire's kingdom, where the people received him
with most honourable reception and sent to acquaint his father
with his son's arrival. The king came out to meet him and they
entreated the goldsmith with respect and regard. The Prince abode
a while with his sire, then set out, he and the goldsmith, to
return to the country of the fair one, the daughter of the king
of Hind; but there met him highwaymen by the way and he fought
the sorest of fights and was slain. The goldsmith buried him and
set a mark[FN#361] on his grave and returned to his own country
sorrowing and distraught, without telling any of the Prince's
violent death. Such was the case of the king's son and the
goldsmith; but as regards the Indian king's daughter of whom the
Prince went in quest and on whose account he was slain, she had
been wont to look out from the topmost terrace of her palace and
to gaze on the youth and on his beauty and loveliness; so she
said to her slave-girl one day, "Out on thee! What is become of
the troops which were camped beside my palace?" The maid replied,
"They were the troops of the youth, son to the Persian king, who
came to demand thee in wedlock, and wearied himself on thine
account, but thou hadst no ruth on him." Cried the Princess, "Woe
to thee! Why didst thou not tell me?" and the damsel replied, "I
feared thy fury." Then she sought an audience of the king her
sire and said to him, "By Allah, I will go in quest of him, even
as he came in quest of me; else should I not do him justice as
due." So she equipped herself and setting out, traversed the
wastes and spent treasures till she came to Sistan, where she
called a goldsmith to make her somewhat of ornaments. Now as soon
as the goldsmith saw her, he knew her (for that the Prince had
talked with him of her and had depictured her to him), so he
questioned her of her case, and she acquainted him with her
errand, whereupon he buffeted his face and rent his raiment and
hove dust on his head and fell a-weeping. Quoth she, "Why dost
thou all this?" And he acquainted her with the Prince's case and
how he was his comrade and told her that he was dead; whereat she
grieved for him and faring on to his father and mother,
acquainted them with the case. Thereupon the Prince's father and
his uncle and his mother and the lords of the land repaired to
his grave and the Princess made mourning over him, crying aloud.
She abode by the tomb a whole month; then she caused fetch
painters and bade them limn her likeness and the portraiture of
the king's son. She also set down in writing their story and that
which had befallen them of perils and afflictions and placed it,
together with the pictures, at the head of the grave; and after a
little, they departed from the spot. "Nor" (continued the Wazir),
"is this stranger, O king of the age, than the story of the
Fuller and his Wife and the Trooper and what passed between
them." With this the king bade the Minister hie away to his
lodging, and when he arose in the morning, he abode his day in
his house.

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