Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 6 (of 6)
General
Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 6 (of 6)
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
And anon quoth the Sultan Habib, "Alhamdolillah--laud be to the
Lord, who deigned show me thy face and thy form! Can it be thou
kennest not what it was that harmed me and sickened me for thy
sake, O Durrat al-Ghawwas?" Quoth she, "And what was it hurt thee
and ailed thee?" "It was the love of thee and longing for thee!"
"And who was the first to tell thee and make thee ware of me?" He
replied saying, "One day it so befel, as I was amongst my family
and my tribe, a Jinni Al-Abbus hight became my governor and taught
me the accidents of thrust and cut and cavalarice; and ere he left
he commended thy beauty and loveliness and foretold to me all that
would pass between thee and me. So I was engrossed with affection
for thee ere my eyes had sight of thee, and thenceforwards I lost
all the pleasures of sleep, nor were meat and eating sweet to me,
nor were drink and wine, draughts a delight to me: so
Alhamdolillah--praise be to Allah, who deigned conjoin me in such
union with my heart's desire!" Hereat the twain exchanged an
embrace so long that a swoon came upon them and both fell to the
ground in a fainting fit, but after a time the handmaidens raised
them up and besprinkled their faces with rose-water which at once
revived them. All this happened, withal the Emir Salamah wotted
naught of what had befallen his son the Sultan Habib nor did his
mother weet that had betided her child; and the husband presently
went in to his spouse and said, "Indeed this boy hath worn us out:
we see that o' nights he sleepeth not in his own place and this day
he fared forth with the dawn and suffered us not to see a sight of
him." Quoth the wife, "Since the day he went to Al-Abbus, thy boy
fell into cark and care;" and quoth the husband, "Verily our son
walked about the garden and Allah knoweth that therefrom is no
issue anywhither. So there shalt thou find him and ask him of
himself." And they talked over this matter in sore anger and
agitation. Meanwhile as the Sultan Habib sat in the garden with the
handmaids waiting upon him and upon the Princess Durrat al-Ghawwas,
there suddenly swooped upon them a huge bird which presently
changed form to a Shaykh seemly of aspect and semblance who
approached and kissing their feet humbled himself before the lover
and his beloved. The youth marvelled at such action of the Shaykh,
and signalled to the Princess as to ask, "Who may be this old man?"
and she answered in the same way, "This is the Wazir who caused me
forgather with thee;" presently adding to the Shaykh, "What may be
thy need?" "I came hither for the sake of thee," he replied, "and
unless thou fare forthright to thy country and kingdom the rule of
the Jánn will pass from thy hand; for that the Lords of the land
and Grandees of the realm seek thy loss and not a few of the nobles
have asked me saying, O Wazir, where is our Queen? I answered, She
is within her palace and to-day she is busied with some business.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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