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
This is how it fared with Queen Budur; but as regards Kamar al- Zaman,
he abode with the gardener in the garden for no short time, weeping
night and day and repeating verses bewailing the past time of enjoyment
and delight; whilst the gardener kept comforting him and assuring him
that the ship would set sail for the land of the Moslems at the end of
the year. And in this condition he continued till one day he saw the
folk crowding together and wondered at this; but the gardener came in
to him and said, "O my son, give over work for this day nor lead water
to the trees; for it is a festival day, whereon folk visit one another.
So take thy rest and only keep shine eye on the garden, whilst I go
look after the ship for thee; for yet but a little while and I send
thee to the land of the Moslems." Upon this, he went forth from the
garden leaving to himself Kamar al-Zaman, who fell to musing upon his
case till his heart was like to break and the tears streamed from his
eyes. So he wept with excessive weeping till he swooned away and, when
he recovered, he rose and walked about the garden, pondering what Time
had done with him and bewailing the long endurance of his estrangement
and separation from those he loved. As he was thus absorbed in
melancholy thought, his foot stumbled and he fell on his face, his
forehead striking against the projecting root of a tree; and the blow
cut it open and his blood ran down and mingled with his tears Then he
rose and, wiping away the blood, dried his tears and bound his brow
with a piece of rag; then continued his walk about the garden engrossed
by sad reverie. Presently, he looked up at a tree and saw two birds
quarrelling thereon, and one of them rose up and smote the other with
its beak on the neck and severed from its body its head, wherewith it
flew away, whilst the slain bird fell to the ground before Kamar
al-Zaman. As it lay, behold, two great birds swooped down upon it
alighting, one at the head and the other at the tail, and both drooped
their wings and bowed their bills over it and, extending their necks
towards it, wept. Kamar al-Zaman also wept when seeing the birds thus
bewail their mate, and called to mind his wife and father, And
Shahrazed perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Thirteenth Night,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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