The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 08 (of 10)
General
The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 08 (of 10)
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Hasan with
his wife, his children and the ancient dame ascended the mountain-flank
after they had dismissed the coursers. Presently, up came Queen Nur
al-Huda, with the troops right and left, and the captains went round
about among the host and ranged them rank by rank in battle array.
Then the hosts charged down upon each other and clashed together the
twain with a mighty strain, the brave pressed on amain and the coward
to fly was fain and the Jinn cast flames of fire from their mouths,
whilst the smoke of them rose up to the confines of the sky and the two
armies appeared and disappeared. The champions fought and heads flew
from trunks and the blood ran in rills; nor did brand leave to play and
blood to flow and battle fire to flow, till the murk o' night came,
when the two hosts drew apart and, alighting from their steeds rested
upon the field by the fires they had kindled. Therewith the Seven Kings
went up to Hasan and kissed the earth before him. He pressed forwards
to meet them and thanked them and prayed Allah to give them the victory
and asked them how they had fared with the Queen's troops. Quoth they,
"They will not withstand us more than three days, for we had the better
of them to-day, taking some two thousand of them prisoners and slaying
of them much folk whose compt may not be told. So be of good cheer and
broad of breast." Then they farewelled him and went down to look after
the safety of their troops; and they ceased not to keep up the fires
till the morning rose with its sheen and shone, when the fighting-men
mounted their horses of noble strain and smote one another with
thin-edged skean and with brawn of bill they thrust amain nor did they
cease that day battle to darraign. Moreover, they passed the night on
horseback clashing together like dashing seas; raged among them the
fires of war and they stinted not from battle and jar, till the armies
of Wak were defeated and their power broken and their courage quelled;
their feet slipped and whither they fled soever defeat was before them;
wherefore they turned tail and of flight began to avail: but the most
part of them were slain and their Queen and her chief officers and the
grandees of her realm were captive ta'en. When the morning morrowed,
the Seven Kings presented themselves before Hasan and set for him a
throne of alabaster inlaid with pearls and jewels, and he sat down
thereon. They also set thereby a throne of ivory, plated with
glittering gold, for the Princess Manar al-Sana and another for the
ancient dame Shawahi Zat al-Dawahi. Then they brought before them the
prisoners and among the rest, Queen Nur al-Huda with elbows pinioned
and feet fettered, whom when Shawahi saw, she said to her, "Thy
recompense, O harlot, O tyrant, shall be that two bitches be starved
and two mares stinted of water, till they be athirst: then shalt thou
be bound to the mares' tails and these driven to the river, with the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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