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
thou shalt descry a ship under way and do thou cry aloud to the
crew who shall come to thee and bear thee aboard. After this I wot
not what shall befal thee in this ocean, and such is the end of my
say and the last of my speech, O Habib, and--The Peace!" Hereat the
youth joyed with joy galore than which naught could be more and
taking the hand Of Al-Abbus he kissed it and said, "O my brother,
thou hast given kindly token in what thou hast spoken, and Allah
requite thee for me with all weal, and mayest thou be fended from
every injurious ill!" Quoth Al-Abbus, "O Habib, take this scymitar
and baldrick thyself therewith, indeed twill enforce thee and
hearten thy heart, and don this dress which shall defend thee from
thy foes." The youth did as he was bidden; then he farewelled the
Jinni and set forth on his way, and he ceased not pacing forward
until he reached the end of the cavern and here he came upon the
door whereof his governor had informed him. So he went to its
threshold and dug thereunder and drew forth a black bag creased and
stained by the lapse of years. This he unclosed and it yielded him
a key which he applied to the lock and it forthwith opened and
admitted him into the Treasury where, for exceeding murk and
darkness, he could not see what he hent in hand. Then quoth he to
himself, "What is to do? Haply Al-Abbus hath compassed my
destruction!" And the while he sat on this wise sunken in thought,
behold, he beheld a light gleaming from afar, and as he advanced
its sheen guided him to the curtain whereof he had been told by the
Jinni. But as he looked he saw above it a tablet of emerald dubbed
with pearls and precious stones, while under it lay the hoard which
lighted up the place like the rising sun. So he hastened him
thither and found inscribed upon the tablet the following two
couplets,
"At him I wonder who from woe is free, * And who no joy
displays[FN#419] when safe is he:
And I admire how Time deludes man when * He views the past; but ah,
Time's tyranny."
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