The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 03 (of 10)
General
The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 03 (of 10)
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
When it was the One Hundred and Ninety-fifth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the ship
capsized with all on board, each sought his own safety; and as for
Marzawan the set of the sea carried him under the King's palace,
wherein was Kamar al-Zaman. And by the decree of destiny it so happened
that this was the day on which King Shahriman gave audience to his
Grandees and high officers, and he was sitting, with his son's head on
his lap, whilst an eunuch fanned away the flies; and the Prince had not
spoken neither had he eaten nor drunk for two days, and he was grown
thinner than a spindle.[FN#286] Now the Wazir was standing respectfully
a-foot near the latticed window giving on the sea and, raising his
eyes, saw Marzawan being beaten by the billows and at his last gasp;
whereupon his heart was moved to pity for him, so he drew near to the
King and moving his head towards him said, "I crave thy leave, O King,
to go down to the court of the pavilion and open the water-gate that I
may rescue a man who is at the point of drowning in the sea and bring
him forth of danger into deliverance; peradventure, on this account
Allah may free thy son from what he hath!" The King replied, "O thou
Wazir, enough is that which hath befallen my son through thee and on
shine account. Haply, if thou rescue this drowning man, he will come to
know our affairs, and look on my son who is in this state and exult
over me; but I swear by Allah, that if this half-drowned wretch come
hither and learn our condition and look upon my son and then fare forth
and speak of our secrets to any, I will assuredly strike off thy head
before his; for thou, O my Minister art the cause of all that hath
betided us, first and last. Now do as thou wilt." Thereupon the Wazir
sprang up and, opening the private pastern which gave upon the sea,
descended to the causeway; then walked on twenty steps and came to the
water where he saw Marzawan nigh unto death. So he put out his hand to
him and, catching him by his hair, drew him ashore in a state of
insensibility, with belly full of water and eyes half out of his head.
The Wazir waited till he came to himself, when he pulled off his wet
clothes and clad him in a fresh suit, covering his head with one of his
servants' turbands; after which he said to him, Know that I have been
the means of saving thee from drowning: do not thou requite me by
causing my death and shine own."ÄAnd Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the One Hundred and Ninety-sixth Night,
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