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
Quoth her sister Dunyazad, "Finish for us thy story;" and she answered,
"With joy and goodly gree." It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that
the damsels stinted not saying to the Porter "Thy prickle, thy pintle,
thy pizzle," and he ceased not kissing and biting and hugging until his
heart was satisfied, and they laughed on till they could no more. At
last one said, "O our brother, what, then, is it called?" Quoth he,
"Know ye not?" Quoth they, "No!" "Its veritable name," said he, "is
mule Burst all, which browseth on the basil of the bridges, and
muncheth the husked sesame, and nighteth in the Khan of Abu Mansur."
Then laughed they till they fell on their backs, and returned to their
carousel, and ceased not to be after this fashion till night began to
fall. Thereupon said they to the Porter, “Bismillah,[FN#164] O our
master, up and on with those sorry old shoes of thine and turn thy face
and show us the breadth of thy shoulders!” Said he, "By Allah, to part
with my soul would be easier for me than departing from you: come let
us join night to day, and tomorrow morning we will each wend our own
way." "My life on you," said the procuratrix, "suffer him to tarry with
us, that we may laugh at him: we may live out our lives and never meet
with his like, for surely he is a right merry rogue and a
witty."[FN#165] So they said, "Thou must not remain with us this night
save on condition that thou submit to our commands, and that whatso
thou seest, thou ask no questions there anent, nor enquire of its
cause." "All right," rejoined he, and they said, "Go read the writing
over the door." So he rose and went to the entrance and there found
written in letters of gold wash; WHOSO SPEAKETH OF WHAT CONCERNETH HIM
NOT, SHALL HEAR WHAT PLEASETH HIM NOT![FN#166] The Porter said, Be ye
witnesses against me that I will not speak on whatso concerneth me
not." Then the cateress arose, and set food before them and they ate;
after which they changed their drinking-place for another, and she
lighted the lamps and candles and burned ambergris and aloes wood, and
set on fresh fruit and the wine service, when they fell to carousing
and talking of their lovers. And they ceased not to eat and drink and
chat, nibbling dry fruits and laughing and playing tricks for the space
of a full hour when lo! a knock was heard at the gate. The knocking in
no wise disturbed the seance, but one of them rose and went to see what
it was and presently returned, saying, "Truly our pleasure for this
night is to be perfect." "How is that?" asked they; and she answered,
"At the gate be three Persian Kalandars[FN#167] with their beards and
heads and eyebrows shaven; and all three blind of the left eye—which is
surely a strange chance. They are foreigners from Roum-land with the
mark of travel plain upon them; they have just entered Baghdad, this
being their first visit to our city; and the cause of their knocking at
our door is simply because they cannot find a lodging. Indeed one of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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