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 -- Arab countries; Folklore -- Arab countries
Then they adorned her with the sixth toilette, a dress which was green.
And now she shamed in her slender straightness the nut-brown spear; her
radiant face dimmed the brightest beams of full moon and she outdid the
bending branches in gentle movement and flexile grace. Her loveliness
exalted the beauties of earth's four quarters and she broke men's
hearts by the significance of her semblance; for she was even as saith
one of the poets in these lines:—
A damsel 'twas the tirer's art had decked with snares and sleight:[414]
✿ And robed in rays as though the sun from her had borrowed light:
She came before us wondrous clad in chemisette of green, ✿ As veilèd by
its leafy screen pomegranate hides from sight:
And when he said "How callest thou the manner of thy dress?" ✿ She
answered us in pleasant way with double meaning dight;
"We call this garment _crève-cœur_; and rightly is it hight, ✿ For many
a heart wi' this we broke[415] and conquered many a sprite!"
Then they displayed her in the seventh dress, coloured between
safflower[416] and saffron, even as one of the poets saith:—
In vest of saffron pale and safflower red ✿ Musk'd, sandal'd,
ambergris'd, she came to front:
"Rise!" cried her youth, "go forth and show thyself!" ✿ "Sit!" said her
hips, "we cannot bear the brunt!"
And when I craved a bout, her Beauty said ✿ "Do, do!" and said her
pretty shame, "Don't, don't!"
Thus they displayed the bride in all her seven toilettes before Hasan
al-Basri, wholly neglecting the Gobbo who sat moping alone; and, when
she opened her eyes[417] she said, "O Allah make this man my goodman
and deliver me from the evil of this hunchbacked groom." As soon as
they had made an end of this part of the ceremony they dismissed the
wedding guests who went forth, women children and all, and none
remained save Hasan and the Hunchback, whilst the tirewomen led the
bride into an inner room to change her garb and gear and get her ready
for the bridegroom. Thereupon Quasimodo came up to Badr al-Din Hasan
and said, "O my lord, thou hast cheered us this night with thy good
company and overwhelmed us with thy kindness and courtesy; but now why
not get thee up and go?" "Bismillah;" he answered, "In Allah's name so
be it!"; and rising, he went forth by the door, where the Ifrit met him
and said, "Stay in thy stead, O Badr al-Din, and when the Hunchback
goes out to the closet of ease go in without losing time and seat
thyself in the alcove; and when the bride comes say to her:—'Tis I am
thy husband, for the King devised this trick only fearing for thee the
evil eye, and he whom thou sawest is but a Syce, a groom, one of our
stablemen. Then walk boldly up to her and unveil her face; for jealousy
hath taken us of this matter." While Hasan was still talking with the
Ifrit behold, the groom fared forth from the hall and entering the
closet of ease sat down on the stool. Hardly had he done this when the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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