The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 02 (of 10)
General
The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 02 (of 10)
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
the Lady Zubaydah heard her words, she commended the counsel and gave her a
dress of honour and a large sum of money, ordering her to do all she had said.
So the old woman set about the business forthright and bade the carpenter make
her the aforesaid image; and, as soon as it was finished, she brought it to
the Lady Zubaydah, who shrouded it and buried it and built a sepulchre over it,
wherein they lighted candles and lamps, and laid down carpets about the tomb.
Moreover she put on black and she spread abroad in the Harim that Kut al-Kulub
was dead. After a time the Caliph returned from his journey and went up to the
palace, thinking only of Kut al-Kulub. He saw all the pages and eunuchs and
handmaids habited in black, at which his heart fluttered with extreme fear;
and, when he went in to the Lady Zubaydah, he found her also garbed in black.
So he asked the cause of this and they gave him tidings of the death of Kut
al-Kulub, whereon he fell a-swooning. As soon as he came to himself, he asked
for her tomb, and the Lady Zubaydah said to him, "Know, O Prince of the
Faithful, that for especial honour I have buried her in my own palace." Then he
repaired in his travelling-garb[FN#118] to the tomb that he might wail over
her, and found the carpets spread and the candles and lamps lighted. When he
saw this, he thanked Zubaydah for her good deed and abode perplexed, halting
between belief and unbelief till at last suspicion overcame him and he gave
order to open the grave and take out the body. When he saw the shroud and would
have removed it to look upon her, the fear of Allah Almighty restrained him,
and the old woman (taking advantage of the delay) said, "Restore her to her
place." Then he sent at once for Fakirs and Koran-readers, and caused
perlections to be made over her tomb and sat by the side of the grave, weeping
till he fainted; and he continued to frequent the tomb and sit there for a
whole month,— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
When it was the Forty-second Night,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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