The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 01 (of 10)
General
The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 01 (of 10)
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
"This house, my lady, since you left is now a home no more * For me,
nor neighbours, since you left, prove kind and neighbourly:
The friend, whilere I took to heart, alas! no more to me * Is friend;
and even Luna's self displayeth lunacy:
You left and by your going left the world a waste, a wold, * And lies a
gloomy murk upon the face of hill and lea:
O may the raven-bird whose cry our hapless parting croaked * Find ne'er
a nesty home and eke shed all his plumery!
At length my patience fails me; and this absence wastes my flesh; * How
many a veil by severance rent our eyes are doomed see:
Ah! shall I ever sight again our fair past nights of yore; * And shall
a single house become a home for me once more?"
Then he wept with exceeding weeping and night came upon him; so he
leant his head against his father's grave and sleep overcame him: Glory
to him who sleepeth not! He ceased not slumbering till the moon rose,
when his head slipped from off the tomb and he lay on his back, with
limbs outstretched, his face shining bright in the moonlight. Now the
cemetery was haunted day and night by Jinns who were of the True
Believers, and presently came out a Jinniyah who, seeing Hasan asleep,
marvelled at his beauty and loveliness and cried, "Glory to God! This
youth can be none other than one of the Wuldan of Paradise.[FN#399]
Then she flew firmament-wards to circle it, as was her custom, and met
an Ifrit on the wing who saluted her and she said to him, "Whence
comest thou?" "From Cairo," he replied. "Wilt thou come with me and
look upon the beauty of a youth who sleepeth in yonder burial place?"
she asked and he answered, "I will." So they flew till they lighted at
the tomb and she showed him the youth and said, "Now diddest thou ever
in thy born days see aught like this?" The Ifrit looked upon him and
exclaimed, "Praise be to Him that hath no equal! But, O my sister,
shall I tell thee what I have seen this day?" Asked she, "What is
that?" and he answered, "I have seen the counterpart of this youth in
the land of Egypt. She is the daughter of the Wazir Shams al-Din and
she is a model of beauty and loveliness, of fairest favour and formous
form, and dight with symmetry and perfect grace. When she had reached
the age of nineteen, [FN#400] the Sultan of Egypt heard of her and,
sending for the Wazir her father, said to him, 'Hear me, O Wazir: it
hath reached mine ear that thou hast a daughter and I wish to demand
her of thee in marriage." The Wazir replied, "O our lord the Sultan,
deign accept my excuses and take compassion on my sorrows, for thou
knowest that my brother, who was partner with me in the Wazirate,
disappeared from amongst us many years ago and we wot not where he is.
Now the cause of his departure was that one night, as we were sitting
together and talking of wives and children to come, we had words on the
matter and he went off in high dudgeon. But I swore that I would marry
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