Turkish Literature; Comprising Fables, Belles-lettres, and Sacred Traditions
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Turkish Literature; Comprising Fables, Belles-lettres, and Sacred Traditions
Turkey -- Literary collections; Turkish literature -- Translations into English
“The vezir heard this wail of the king and said, ‘O king, how thou
weepest! thou hast forsaken manhood, and art become a by-word in the
world.’ The king replied, ‘Henceforth advice profits me not; lo,
begone.’ Quoth the vezir, ‘O king, if God most high took pity on thee
and brought the boy to life, wouldst thou forgive his fault? and what
wouldst thou give to him who brought thee news thereof?’ The king said,
‘O would that it could be so! all the wealth that I have in my treasury
would I give to him who brought me news thereof, and my kingdom would I
give to the boy; and I should be content to look from time to time on
the boy’s face.’ Then the vezir beckoned to the boy and he came in, and
went and kissed the king’s hand. As soon as the king saw the boy his
senses forsook him, and the vezir sprinkled rose-water on the king’s
face and withdrew. When the king’s senses returned he saw the boy beside
him and he thought that his soul had gone and returned.
“When it was morning the vezir came before the king, and the king said,
‘As thou hast brought the boy to me whole, go, all that is in my
treasury is thine.’ The vezir answered, ‘O king of the world, rather is
the wealth which is in my treasury thine; we are both of us the meanest
of the king’s slaves. May God (glorified and exalted be he!) grant
fortune to our king and long life! We too shall live in thy felicity.’
The king was glad at the words of the vezir, and bestowed many towns and
villages on the son of the vezir, and offered up many sacrifices, and
gave away much alms.
“O king, I have told this story for that the king may take profit and
not do a deed without reflection, that he be not afterward repentant,
like that king, and suffer not bitter regret and remorse. That king
suffered so great regret and remorse for a vezir’s son, yet this one is
the darling of thine own heart. The rest the king knows. Beware, O king,
slay not the prince on the woman’s word.” And he kissed the ground and
made intercession for the prince for that day. So the king sent the
youth to the prison and went himself to the chase.
When it was evening the king returned from the chase and came to the
palace, and the lady rose to greet him, and they sat down. After the
repast the lady commenced to speak about the youth. The king said,
“To-day too such an one of my vezirs made intercession for him and I
sent him to the prison.” The lady said, “O king, three things are the
signs of folly; the first is to put off to-day’s business till
to-morrow, the second is to speak words foolishly, and the third is to
act upon senseless words. O king, whatsoever thy vezirs say, that thou
believest straightway and actest upon. Satan is of a surety entered into
these thy vezirs and into thy boy; in whose heart soever he plants the
love of office or of wealth, him in the end does he leave without the
faith. Mayhap the king has not heard the story of the King and the
Weaver.” The king said, “Relate it, let us hear.” Quoth the lady:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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