Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 3 (of 6) Part 1
General
Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 3 (of 6) Part 1
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
hoards of wealth which shall replace whatso thou hast wasted and will
double it more than twofold.” Now when the Prince was aroused from his
sleep he recounted to his mother all he had seen in his dream; but his
parent began to laugh at him, and he said to her, “Mock me not: there is
no help but that I wend Egypt-wards.” Rejoined she, “O my son, believe
not in swevens which be mere imbroglios of sleep and lying phantasies;”
and he retorted saying, “In very sooth my vision is true and the man
whom I saw therein is of the Saints of Allah and his words are
veridical.” Then on a night of the nights mounting horse alone and
privily, he abandoned his Kingdom and took the highway to Egypt; and he
rode day and night until he reached Cairo-city. He entered it and saw it
to be a mighty fine capital; then, tethering his steed he found shelter
in one of its Cathedral-mosques, and he worn out by weariness; however,
when he had rested a little he fared forth and bought himself somewhat
of food. After eating, his excessive fatigue caused him fall asleep in
the mosque; nor had he slept long ere the Shaykh[17] appeared to him a
second time in vision and said to him, “O Zayn al-Asnam,”——And Shahrazad
was surprised by the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Five Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night,
Quoth Dunyazad, “O sister mine, an thou be other than sleepy, tell us
one of thy fair tales, so therewith we may cut short the waking hours of
this our night,” and quoth Shahrazad:——It hath reached me, O King of the
Age, that the Shaykh again appeared to the Prince in a vision and said
to him, “O Zayn al-Asnam, thou hast obeyed me in whatso I bade thee and
I only made trial of thee to test an thou be valiant or a craven. But
now I wot thy worth, inasmuch as thou hast accepted my words and thou
hast acted upon my advice: so do thou return straightway to thy capital
and I will make thee a wealthy ruler, such an one that neither before
thee was any king like unto thee nor shall any like unto thee come after
thee.” Hereat Zayn al-Asnam awoke and cried, “Bismillah,—in the name of
Allah, the Compassionating, the Compassionate—what be this Shaykh who
verily persecuted me until I travelled to Cairo; and I having faith in
him and holding that he was either the Apostle (whom Allah save and
assain!) or one of the righteous Hallows of God; and there is no Majesty
and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! By the
Lord, but I did right well in not relating my dream to any save to my
mother and in warning none of my departure. I had full faith in this
oldster; but now, meseemeth, the man is not of those who know the Truth
(be He extolled and exalted!); so by Allah I will cast off all
confidence in this Shaykh and his doings.” With this resolve the Prince
slept that night in the Mosque and on the morrow took horse and after a
few days of strenuous travel arrived at his capital Bassorah. Herein he
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