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
Her sister, Dunyazad, said to her,"Pray finish for us thy story;" and
she answered, "I will if the King give me leave." "Say on," quoth the
King. And she continued:—It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that
when the Fisherman said to the Ifrit, "If thou hadst spared me I would
have spared thee, but nothing would satisfy thee save my death; so now
I will do thee die by jailing thee in this jar and I will hurl thee
into this sea." Then the Marid roared aloud and cried, "Allah upon
thee, O Fisherman, don't! Spare me, and pardon my past doings; and, as
I have been tyrannous, so be thou generous, for it is said among
sayings that go current:—O thou who doest good to him who hath done
thee evil, suffice for the ill doer his ill deeds, and do not deal with
me as did Umamah to 'Atikah."[FN#101] Asked the Fisherman, "And what
was their case?" and the Ifrit answered, "This is not the time for
story telling and I in this prison; but set me free and I will tell
thee the tale." Quoth the Fisherman, "Leave this language: there is no
help but that thou be thrown back into the sea nor is there any way for
thy getting out of it for ever and ever. Vainly I placed myself under
thy protection,[FN#102] and I humbled myself to thee with weeping,
while thou soughtest only to slay me, who had done thee no injury
deserving this at thy hands; nay, so far from injuring thee by any evil
act, I worked thee nought but weal in releasing thee from that jail of
thine. Now I knew thee to be an evil doer when thou diddest to me what
thou didst, and know, that when I have cast thee back into the sea, I
will warn whomsoever may fish thee up of what hath befallen me with
thee, and I will advise him to toss thee back again; so shalt thou
abide here under these waters till the End of Time shall make an end of
thee." But the Ifrit cried aloud, "Set me free; this is a noble
occasion for generosity and I make covenant with thee and vow never to
do thee hurt and harm; nay, I will help thee to what shall put thee out
of want." The Fisherman accepted his promises on both conditions, not
to trouble him as before, but on the contrary to do him service; and,
after making firm the plight and swearing him a solemn oath by Allah
Most Highest he opened the cucurbit. Thereupon the pillar of smoke rose
up till all of it was fully out; then it thickened and once more became
an Ifrit of hideous presence, who forthright administered a kick to the
bottle and sent it flying into the sea. The Fisherman, seeing how the
cucurbit was treated and making sure of his own death, piddled in his
clothes and said to himself, "This promiseth badly;" but he fortified
his heart, and cried, "O Ifrit, Allah hath said[FN#103]:—Perform your
covenant; for the performance of your covenant shall be inquired into
hereafter. Thou hast made a vow to me and hast sworn an oath not to
play me false lest Allah play thee false, for verily he is a jealous
God who respiteth the sinner, but letteth him not escape. I say to thee
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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