Malayan Literature: Comprising Romantic Tales, Epic Poetry and Royal Chronicles
General
Malayan Literature: Comprising Romantic Tales, Epic Poetry and Royal Chronicles
Malay literature -- Translations into English
The envoy told the whole story and the King of Roum said: "The renown
of Hatim-Thai is deserved; he is the most generous of men." He made an
alliance of friendship with him, and the fame of Hatim-Thai grew apace.
The second one who tested Hatim-Thai's generosity was the King of
Syria. He said: "How can Hatim-Thai, who lives in the woods and the
plains, occupied in pasturing goats, camels, and horses, be more
generous than so great a King as I? I will put him to the proof. I will
ask rich presents that he cannot give, and he will be shamed and
humiliated before kings and peoples."
So the King of Syria sent an envoy to Hatim-Thai to ask for 100 red
camels with long manes, black eyes, and very tall. Camels of this sort
are hard to find, only kings having four or five. When the envoy had
arrived he told Hatim-Thai what the King of Syria asked of him. Hatim-
Thai was full of joy hearing the words of the envoy, and hastened to
regale him bountifully with food and drink. Then he searched among his
camels, but found none such as the King of Syria desired. He ordered
search to be made among the peoples of his nation, Arabs and Bedouins,
offering a large price. By the will of God a Bedouin succeeded in
finding 100, and Hatim-Thai asked only the delay of one month in
payment. The envoy returned home with the red camels and many other
presents. Seeing them, the King of Syria was struck with astonishment
and cried: "Behold, we wished only to test Hatim-Thai, and now he has
gone into debt to satisfy our desire. Yes, truly he is the most
generous man in the world."
He commanded them to send back to Hatim-Thai the 100 red camels loaded
with magnificent presents. As soon as they arrived, Hatim-Thai summoned
the owner and gave him the camels with all their burden of riches,
without keeping anything for himself. When the envoy, returning home
again, recounted all these things, the King of Syria marvelled and
exclaimed: "No one can equal Hatim-Thai. He is generosity itself, in
all its perfection."
The third king, that is, the King of Yemen, was very generous, and
wanted no one to rival him in this particular. So when he heard of the
fame of Hatim-Thai for generosity, he was vexed and full of sorrow. He
said: "How can that poor Hatim equal in generosity a great king like
me? I give alms to the poor, I feed them, and every day I give them
clothing. How is it possible that anyone can dare to mention the name
of Hatim-Thai in my presence as the most generous of men?"
Now, at that time an ambassador of the King of Maghreb arrived at the
Court of the King of Yemen, who spoke of the wonderful generosity of
Hatim-Thai. He felt as if his heart was burning, but did not let his
grief appear, and said to himself:
"Everybody repeats the praises of Hatim, one after another, without
knowing exactly who he is, of what birth, and what are the means which
permit him thus to give hospitality. I shall cause him to perish."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account