When it was the Nine Hundred and Forty-first Night,

She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the baker said to the fisherman, "Take whatso thou needest and I will have patience with thee till better luck betide thee, after the which thou shalt bring me fish for all thou owest me." Said the fisherman, Almighty Allah reward thee, and requite thee for me with all good!" Then he took the bread and the coins and went away, glad at heart, and buying what he could returned to his wife whom he found sitting up, soothing the children, who were weeping for hunger, and saying to them, "At once your father will be here with what ye may eat." So he set the bread before them and they ate, whilst he told his wife what had befallen him, and she said, "Allah is bountiful."[FN#236] On the morrow, he shouldered his net and went forth of his house, saying, "I beseech thee, O Lord, to vouchsafe me this day that which shall whiten my face with the baker!"[FN#237] When he came to the sea- shore, he proceeded to cast his net and pull it in; but there came up no fish therein; and he ceased not to toil thus till ended day but he caught nothing. Then he set out homewards, in great concern, and the way to his house lay past the baker's oven; so he said to himself, "How shall I go home? But I will hasten my pace that the baker may not see me." When he reached the shop, he saw a crowd about it and walked the faster, being ashamed to face his creditor; but the baker raised his eyes to him and cried out to him, saying, "Ho, fisherman! Come and take thy bread and spending-money. Meseems thou forgettest." Quoth Abdullah, "By Allah, I had not forgotten; but I was ashamed to face thee, because I have caught no fish this day;" and quoth the baker, "Be not ashamed. Said I not to thee, At thy leisure,[FN#238] till better luck betide thee?" Then he gave him the bread and the ten Nusfs and he returned and told his wife, who said, "Allah is bountiful. Better luck shall yet betide thee and thou shalt give the baker his due, Inshallah." He ceased not doing on this wise forty days, betaking himself daily to the sea, from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof, and returning home without fish; and still he took bread and spending-money of the baker, who never once named the fish to him nor neglected him nor kept him waiting like the folk,[FN#239] but gave him the bread and the ten half-dirhams without delay. Whenever the fisherman said to him, "O my brother, reckon with me," he would say, "Be off:[FN#240] this is no time for reckoning. Wait till better luck betide thee, and then I will reckon with thee." And the fisherman would bless him and go away thanking him. On the one-and-fortieth day, he said to his wife, "I have a mind to tear up the net and be quit of this life." She asked, "Why wilt thou do this?"; and he answered, "Meseems there is an end of my getting my daily bread from the waters. How long shall this last? By Allah, I burn with shame before the baker and I will go no more to the sea, so I may not pass by his oven, for I have none other way home; and every time I pass he calleth me and giveth me the bread and the ten silvers. How much longer shall I run in debt to him?" The wife replied, "Alhamdolillah— lauded be the Lord, the Most High, who hath inclined his heart to thee, so that he giveth thee our daily bread! What dislikest thou in this?"; and the husband rejoined, "I owe him now a mighty great sum of dirhams, and there is no doubt but that he will demand his due." "Hath he vexed thee with words?" "No, on the contrary, he still refuseth to reckon with me, saying, 'Wait till better luck betide thee.'" "If he press thee, say to him, 'Wait till there come the good luck for which we hope, thou and I.'" "And when will the good luck come that we hope for?" "Allah is bountiful." "Sooth thou speakest!" So saying he shouldered his net and went down to the sea-side, praying, "O Lord provide thou me, though but with one fish, that I may give it to the baker!" And he cast his net into the sea and pulling it in, found it heavy; so he tugged at it till he was tired with sore travail. But when he got it ashore, he found in it a dead donkey swollen and stinking; whereat his senses sickened and he freed it from the net, saying, "There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Indeed, I can no more! I say to that wife of mine, 'There is no more provision for me in the waters; let me leave this craft.' And she still answereth me, 'Allah is bountiful: good will presently betide thee.' Is this dead ass the good whereof she speaketh?" And he grieved with the sorest grief. Then he turned to another place, so he might remove from the stench of the dead donkey, and cast his net there and waited a full hour: then he drew it in and found it heavy. Thereupon quoth he, "Good; we are hauling up all the dead donkeys in the sea and ridding it of its rubbish.[FN#241]" However he gave not over tugging at the net, till blood came from the palms of his hands, and when he got it ashore, he saw a man[FN#242] in it and took him for one of the Ifrits of the lord Solomon, whom he was wont to imprison in cucurbits of brass and cast him into the main, believing that the vessel had burst for length of years and that the Ifrit had come forth and fallen into the net; wherefore he fled from him, crying out and saying, "Mercy, mercy, O Ifrit of Solomon!" But the Adamite called out to him from within the net and said, "Come hither, O fisherman, and flee not from me; for I am human like thyself. Release me, so thou mayst get a recompense for me of Allah." Whenas he heard these words, the fisherman took heart and coming up to him, said to him, "Art thou not an Ifrit of the Jinn?"; and replied the other, "No: I am a mortal and a believer in Allah and His Apostle." Asked the fisherman, "Who threw thee into the sea?"; and the other answered, "I am of the children of the sea, and was going about therein, when thou castest the net over me. We are people who obey Allah's commandments and show loving-kindness unto the creatures of the Almighty, and but that I fear and dread to be of the disobedient, I had torn thy net; but I accept that which the Lord hath decreed unto me; wherefore by setting me free thou becomest my owner and I thy captive. Wilt thou then set me free for the love[FN#243] of Almighty Allah and make a covenant with me and become my comrade? I will come to thee every day in this place, and do thou come to me and bring me a gift of the fruits of the land. For with you are grapes and figs and water-melons and peaches and pomegranates and so forth, and all thou bringest me will be acceptable unto me. Moreover, with us are coral and pearls and chrysolites and emeralds and rubies and other gems, and I will fill thee the basket, wherein thou bringest me the fruit, with precious stones of the jewels of the sea.[FN#244] What sayest thou to this, O my brother?" Quoth the fisherman, "Be the Opening Chapter of the Koran between thee and me upon this!" So they recited together the Ftihah, and the fisherman loosed the Merman from the net and asked him, "What is thy name?" He replied, "My name is Abdullah of the sea; and if thou come hither and see me not, call out and say, 'Where are thou, O Abdullah, O Merman?' and I will be with thee."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundred and Forty-second Night,

She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdullah of the sea thus enjoined the other, "An thou come hither and see me not, call out and say, 'Where art thou, O Abdullah, O Merman?' and I will be with thee forthwith. But thou, what is thy name?" Quoth the fisherman, "My name also is Abdullah;" and quoth the other, "Thou art Abdullah of the land and I am Abdullah of the Sea; but tarry here till I go and fetch thee a present." And the fisherman repented him of having released him and said to himself, "How know I that he will come back to me? Indeed, he beguiled me, so that I loosed him, and now he will laugh at me.[FN#245] Had I kept him, I might have made a show of him for the diversion of the city-folk and taken silver from all men and gone with him to the houses of the great." And he repented him of having set him free and said, "Thou hast let thy prey from thy hand away." But, as he was thus bemoaning his folly in releasing the prisoner, behold, Abdullah the merman returned to him, with both hands full of pearls and coral and smaragds and rubies and other gems, and said to him, "Take these, O my brother, and excuse me; had I a fish-basket[FN#246] I would have filled it for thee." Abdullah the fisherman rejoiced and took the jewels from the Merman who said to him, "Every day come hither, before sunrise," and farewelling him, went down into the sea; whilst the other returned to the city, rejoicing, and stayed not walking till he came to the baker's oven and said to him, "O my brother, good luck is come to us at last; so do thou reckon with me." Answered the baker, "There needeth no reckoning. An thou have aught, give it me: and if thou have naught, take thy bread and spending-money and begone, against weal betide thee." Rejoined the fisherman, "O my friend, indeed weal hath betided me of Allah's bounty, and I owe thee much money; but take this." So saying, he took for him a handful of the pearls and coral and rubies and other jewels he had with him (the handful being about half of the whole), and gave them to the baker, saying, "Give me some ready money to spend this day, till I sell these jewels." So the baker gave him all the money he had in hand and all the bread in his basket and rejoiced in the jewels, saying, "I am thy slave and thy servant." Then he set all the bread on his head and following the fisherman home, gave it to his wife and children, after which he repaired to the market and brought meat and greens and all manner fruit. Moreover, he left his oven and abode with Abdullah all that day, busying himself in his service and fulfilling all his affairs. Said the fisherman, "O my brother, thou weariest thyself;" and the baker replied, "This is my duty, for I am become thy servant and thou hast overwhelmed me with thy boons." Rejoined the fisherman, "'Tis thou who wast my benefactor in the days of dearth and distress." And the baker passed that night with him enjoying good cheer and became a faithful friend to him. Then the fisherman told his wife what had befallen him with the Merman, whereat she rejoiced and said, "Keep thy secret, lest the government come down upon thee;" but he said, "Though I keep my secret from all men, yet will I not hide it from the baker." On the morrow, he rose betimes and, shouldering a basket which he had filled in the evening with all manner fruits, repaired before sunrise to the sea-shore, and setting down the crate on the water-edge called out, "Where art thou, O Abdullah, O Merman?" He answered, "Here am I, at thy service;" and came forth to him. The fisherman gave him the fruit and he took it and plunging into the sea with it, was absent a full hour, after which time he came up, with the fish-basket full of all kinds of gems and jewels. The fisherman set it on his head and went away; and, when he came to the oven, the baker said to him, "O my lord, I have baked thee forty buns[FN#247] and have sent them to thy house; and now I will bake some firsts and as soon as all is done, I will bring it to thy house and go and fetch thee greens and meat." Abdullah handed to him three handfuls of jewels out of the fish-basket and going home, set it down there. Then he took a gem of price of each sort and going to the jewel-bazar, stopped at the Syndic's shop and said to him, "Buy these precious stones of me." "Show them to me," said the Shaykh. So he showed them to him and the jeweller said, "Hast thou aught beside these?"; and Abdullah replied, "I have a basket-full at home." The Syndic asked, "And where is thine house?" and the fisherman answered, "In such a quarter"; whereupon the Shaykh took the jewels from him and said to his followers, "Lay hold of him, for he is the thief who stole the jewellery of the Queen, the wife of our Sultan." And he bade beat him. So they bastinadoed him and pinioned him; after which the Syndic and all the people of the jewel-market arose and set out for the palace, saying, "We have caught the thief." Quoth one, "None robbed such an one but this villain," and quoth another, "'Twas none but he stole all that was in such an one's house;" and some said this and others said that. All this while he was silent and spake not a word nor returned a reply, till they brought him before the King, to whom said the Syndic, "O King of the age, when the Queen's necklace was stolen, thou sentest to acquaint us of the theft, requiring of us the discovery of the culprit; wherefore I strove beyond the rest of the folk and have taken the thief for thee. Here he standeth before thee, and these be the jewels we have recovered from him." Thereupon the King said to the chief eunuch, "Carry these jewels for the Queen to see, and say to her, 'Are these thy property thou hast lost?'" So the eunuch took the jewels and went in with them to the Queen, who seeing their lustre marvelled at them and sent to the King to say, "I have found my necklace in my own place and these jewels are not my property; nay, they are finer than those of my necklace. So oppress not the man;"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundred and Forty-third Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the King's wife sent to the King to say, "These are not my property; nay, these gems are finer than those of my necklace. So oppress not this man; but, if he will sell them, buy them for thy daughter Umm al-Su'd,[FN#248] that we may set them in a necklace for her." When the eunuch returned and told the King what the Queen said, he damned the Syndic of the jewellers, him and his company, with the damnation of d and Thamd,[FN#249] and they said to him, "O King of the age, we knew this man for a poor fisherman and deemed such things too much for him,[FN#250] so we supposed that he had stolen them." Cried the King, "O ye filthy villains, begrudge ye a True Believer good fortune? Why did ye not make due enquiry of him? Haply Allah Almighty hath vouchsafed him these things from a source whereupon he reckoned not. Why did ye make him out a thief and disgrace him amongst the folk? Begone, and may Allah never bless you!" So they went out affrighted and the King said to Abdullah, "O man (Allah bless thee in all He hath bestowed on thee!), no harm shall befal thee; but tell me truly, whence gottest thou these jewels; for I am a King yet have I not the like of them." The fisherman replied, "O King of the age, I have a fish-basket full of them at home and the case is thus and thus." Then he told him of his friendship with the Merman, adding, "We have made a covenant together that I shall bring him every day a basket full of fruit and that he shall fill me the basket with these jewels." Quoth the King, O man this is thy lucky lot; but wealth needeth rank,[FN#251] I will defend thee for the present against men's domineering; but haply I shall be deposed or die and another rule in my stead, and he shall slay thee because of his love of the goods of this world and his covetousness. So I am minded to marry thee to my daughter and make thee my Wazir and bequeath thee the kingdom after me, so none may hanker for thy riches when I am gone. Then said he, "Hie with this man to the Hammam." So they bore him to the Baths and bathed his body and robed him in royal raiment, after which they brought him back to the King, and he made him his Wazir and sent to his house couriers and the soldiers of his guard and all the wives of the notables, who clad his wife and children in Kingly costume and mounting the woman in a horse- litter, with the little child in her lap, walked before her to the palace, escorted by the troops and couriers and officers. They also brought her elder children in to the King who made much of them, taking them in his lap and seating them by his side; for they were nine children male and the King had no son and heir nor had he been blessed with any child save this one daughter, Umm al-Su'ud hight. Meanwhile the Queen entreated Abdullah's wife with honour and bestowed favours on her and made her Waziress to her. Then the King bade draw up the marriage contract between his daughter and Abdullah of the Land[FN#252] who assigned to her, as her dower, all the gems and precious stones in his possession, and they opened the gates of festival. The King commanded by proclamation to decorate the city, in honour of his daughter's wedding. Then Abdullah went in unto the Princess and abated her maidenhead. Next morning the King looked out of the lattice and saw Abdullah carrying on his head a fish-crate full of fruit. So he called to him, "What hast thou there, O my son- in-law, and whither wendest thou?" The fisherman replied, "To my friend, Abdullah the Merman;" and the King said, "O my son-in- law, this is no time to go to thy comrade." Quoth Abdullah, "Indeed, I fear to break tryst with him, lest he reckon me a liar and say, 'The things of the world have diverted thee from me,'" and quoth the King, "Thou speakest sooth: go to thy friend and God help thee!" So he walked through the city on his way to his companion; and, as he went, he heard the folk who knew him say, "There goeth the King's son-in-law to exchange fruit for gems;" whilst those who knew him not said, "Ho, fellow, how much a pound? Come, sell to me." And he answered, saying, "Wait till I come back to thee," for that he would not hurt the feelings of any man. Then he fared on till he came to the sea-shore and foregathered with his friend Abdullah the Merman, to whom he delivered the fruit, receiving gems in return. He ceased not doing thus till one day, as he passed by the baker's oven, he found it closed; and so he did ten days, during which time the oven remained shut and he saw nothing of the baker. So he said to himself, "This is a strange thing! Would I wot whither the baker went!" Then he enquired of his neighbour, saying, "O my brother, where is thy neighbour the baker and what hath Allah done with him?"; and the other responded, "O my lord, he is sick and cometh not forth of his house." "Where is his house?" asked Abdullah; and the other answered, "In such a quarter." So he fared thither and enquired of him; but, when he knocked at the door, the baker looked out of window and seeing his friend the fisherman, full basket on head, came down and opened the door to him. Abdullah entered and throwing himself on the baker embraced him and wept, saying, "How dost thou, O my friend? Every day, I pass by thine oven and see it unopened; so I asked thy neighbour, who told me that thou wast sick; therefore I enquired for thy house, that I might see thee." Answered the baker, "Allah requite thee for me with all good! Nothing aileth me; but it reached me that the King had taken thee, for that certain of the folk had lied against thee and accused thee of being a robber wherefore I feared and shut shop and hid myself." "True," said Abdullah and told him all that had befallen him with the King and the Shaykh of the jewellers' bazar, adding "Moreover, the King hath given me his daughter to wife and made me his Wazir;" and, after a pause, "So do thou take what is in this fish-basket to thy share and fear naught." Then he left him, after having done away from his affright, and returned with the empty crate to the King, who said to him, "O my son-in-law, 'twould seem thou hast not foregathered with thy friend the Merman to-day." Replied Abdullah, "I went to him but that which he gave me I gave to my gossip the baker, to whom I owe kindness." "Who may be this baker?" asked the King; and the fisherman answered, "He is a benevolent man, who did with me thus and thus in the days of my poverty and never neglected me a single day nor hurt my feelings." Quoth the King, "What is his name?"; and quoth the fisherman "His name is Abdullah the Baker; and my name is Abdullah of the Land and that of my friend the Merman Abdullah of the Sea." Rejoined the King, "And my name also is Abdullah; and the servants of Allah[FN#253] are all brethren. So send and fetch thy friend the baker, that I may make him my Wazir of the left."[FN#254] So he sent for the baker who speedily came to the presence, and the King invested him with the Wazirial uniform and made him Wazir of the left, making Abdullah of the Land his Wazir of the right.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundred and Forty-fourth Night,

She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King made his son-in-law, Abdullah of the Land, Wazir of the right and Abdullah the baker Wazir of the left. In such condition the fisherman abode a whole year, every day carrying for the Merman the crate full of fruit and receiving it back, full of jewels; and when fruit failed from the gardens, he carried him raisins and almonds and filberts and walnuts and figs and so forth; and all that he brought for him the Merman accepted and returned him the fish-basket full of jewels according to his custom. Now it chanced one day that he carried him the crate, full of dry[FN#255] fruits as was his wont, and his friend took them from him. Then they sat down to converse, Abdullah the fisherman on the beach and Abdullah the Merman in the water near the shore, and discoursed; and the talk went round between them, till it fell upon the subject of sepulchres; whereat quoth the Merman, "O my brother, they say that the Prophet (whom Allah assain and save!) is buried with you on the land. Knowest thou his tomb?" Abdullah replied, "Yes; it lieth in a city called Yathrib.[FN#256]" Asked the Merman, "And do the people of the land visit it?" "Yes," answered the fisherman, and the other said, "I give you joy, O people of the land, of visiting[FN#257] that noble Prophet and compassionate, which whoso visiteth meriteth his intercession! Hast thou made such visitation, O my brother?" Replied the fisherman, "No: for I was poor and had not the necessary sum[FN#258] to spend by the way, nor have I been in easy case but since I knew thee and thou bestowedst on me this good fortune. But such visitation behoveth me after I have pilgrimed to the Holy House of Allah[FN#259] and naught withholdeth ,me therefrom but my love to thee, because I cannot leave thee for one day." Rejoined the Merman, "And dost thou set the love of me before the visitation of the tomb of Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!), who shall intercede for thee on the Day of Review before Allah and shall save thee from the Fire and through whose intercession thou shalt enter Paradise? And dost thou, for the love of the world, neglect to visit the tomb of thy Prophet[FN#260] Mohammed, whom God bless and preserve?" Replied Abdullah, "No, by Allah, I set the visitation of the Prophet's tomb above all else, and I crave thy leave to pray before it this year." The Merman rejoined, "I grant thee leave, on condition that when thou shalt stand by his sepulchre thou salute him for me with the Salam. Furthermore I have a trust to give thee; so come thou with me into the sea, that I may carry thee to my city and entertain thee in my house and give thee a deposit; which when thou takest thy station by the Prophet's tomb, do thou lay thereon, saying, 'O apostle of Allah, Abdullah the Merman saluteth thee, and sendeth thee this present, imploring thine intercession to save him from the Fire.'" Said the fisherman, "O my brother, thou wast created in the water and water is thy abiding-place and doth thee no hurt, but, if thou shouldst come forth to the land, would any harm betide thee?" The Merman replied, "Yes; my body would dry up and the breezes of the land would blow upon me and I should die." Rejoined the fisherman, "And I, in like manner, was created on the land and the land is my abiding-place; but, an I went down into the sea, the water would enter my belly and choke me and I should die." Retorted the other, "Have no fear for that, for I will bring thee an ointment, wherewith when thou hast anointed thy body, the water will do thee no hurt, though thou shouldst pass the lave of thy life going about in the great deep: and thou shalt lie down and rise up in the sea and naught shall harm thee." Quoth the fisherman, "An the case by thus, well and good; but bring me the ointment, so that I may make trial of it;" and quoth the Merman, "So be it;" then, taking the fish-basket disappeared in the depths. He was absent awhile, and presently returned with an unguent as it were the fat of beef, yellow as gold and sweet of savour. Asked the fisherman, "What is this, O my brother?"; and answered the Merman, "'Tis the liver-fat of a kind of fish called the Dandan,[FN#261] which is the biggest of all fishes and the fiercest of our foes. His bulk is greater than that of any beast of the land, and were he to meet a camel or an elephant, he would swallow it at a single mouthful." Abdullah enquired, "O my brother, what doth this baleful beast?"; and the Merman replied, "He eateth of the beasts of the sea. Hast thou not heard the saying, 'Like the fishes of the sea: forcible eateth feeble?[FN#262]'" "True; but have you many of these Dandans in the sea?" "Yes, there be many of them with us. None can tell their tale save Almighty Allah." "Verily, I fear lest, if I go down with thee into the deep a creature of this kind fall in with me and devour me." "Have no fear: when he seeth thee, he will know thee for a son of Adam and will fear thee and flee. He dreadeth none in the sea as he dreadeth a son of Adam; for that an he eateth a man he dieth forthright, because human fat is a deadly poison to this kind of creature; nor do we collect its liver-speck save by means of a man, when he falleth into the sea and is drowned; for that his semblance becometh changed and ofttimes his flesh is torn; so the Dandan eateth him, deeming him the same of the denizens of the deep, and dieth. Then we light upon our enemy dead and take the speck of his liver and grease ourselves so that we can over-wander the main in safety. Also, wherever there is a son of Adam, though there be in that place an hundred or two hundred or a thousand or more of these beasts, all die forthright an they but hear him,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundred and Forty-fifth Night,

She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdullah of the sea said to Abdullah of the Land, "And if a thousand or more of this kind hear an Adamite cry a single cry, forthright all die nor hath one of them power to remove from his place; so, whenever a son of Adam falleth into the sea, we take him and anoint him with this fat and go round about the depths with him, and whenever we see a Dandan or two or three or more, we bid him cry out and they all die forthright for his once crying." Quoth the fisherman, "I put my trust in Allah;" and, doffing his clothes, buried them in a hole which he dug in the beach; after which he rubbed his body from head to heels which that ointment. Then he descended into the water and diving, opened his eyes and the brine did him no hurt. So he walked right and left, and if he would, he rose to the sea-face, and if he would, he sank to the base. And he beheld the water as it were a tent over his head; yet it wrought him no hurt. Then said the Merman to him, "What seest thou, O my brother?"; and said he, "O my brother, I see naught save weal[FN#263]; and indeed thou spakest truth in that which thou saidst to me; for the water doth me no hurt." Quoth the Merman, "Follow me." So he followed him and they ceased not faring on from place to place, whilst Abdullah discovered before him and on his right and left mountains of water and solaced himself by gazing thereon and on the various sorts of fish, some great and some small, which disported themselves in the main. Some of them favoured buffaloes[FN#264] others oxen and others dogs and yet others human beings; but all to which they drew near fled, whenas they saw the fisherman, who said to the Merman, "O my brother, how is it that I see all the fish, to which we draw near, flee from us afar?" Said the other, "Because they fear thee, for all things that Allah hath made fear the son of Adam.[FN#265]" The fisherman ceased not to divert himself with the marvels of the deep, till they came to a high mountain and fared on beside it. Suddenly, he heard a mighty loud cry and turning, saw some black thing, the bigness of a camel or bigger, coming down upon him from the liquid mountain and crying out. So he asked his friend, "What is this, O my brother?"; and the Merman answered, "This is the Dandan. He cometh in search of me, seeking to devour me; so cry out at him, O my brother, ere he reach us; else he will snatch me up and devour me." Accordingly Abdullah cried out at the beast and behold, it fell down dead; which when he saw, he said, "Glorified be the perfection of God and His praise! I smote it not with the sword nor knife; how cometh it that, for all the vastness of the creature's bulk, it could not bear my cry, but died?" Replied the Merman, "Marvel not, for, by Allah, O my brother, were there a thousand or two thousand of these creatures, yet could they not endure the cry of a son of Adam." Then they walked on, till they made a city, whose inhabitants the fisherman saw to be all women, there being no male among them; so he said to his companion, "O my brother, what city is this and what are these women?" "This is the city of women; for its inhabitants are of the women of the sea." "Are there any males among them?" "No!" "Then how do they conceive and bear young, without males?[FN#266]" "The King of the sea banisheth them hither and they conceive not neither bear children. All the women of the sea, with whom he is wroth, he sendeth to this city, and they cannot leave it; for, should one of them come forth therefrom, any of the beasts of the sea that saw her would eat her. But in other cities of the main there are both males and females." Thereupon asked the fisherman, "Are there then other cities than this in the sea?"; and the Merman answered, "There are many." Quoth the fisherman, "And is there a Sultan over you in the sea?" "Yes," quoth the Merman. Then said Abdullah "O my brother, I have indeed seen many marvels in the main!" But the Merman said, "And what hast thou seen of its marvels?[FN#267] Hast thou not heard the saying, 'The marvels of the sea are more manifold than the marvels of the land?'" "True," rejoined the fisherman and fell to gazing upon those women, whom he saw with faces like moons and hair like women's hair, but their hands and feet were in their middle and they had tails like fishes' tails. Now when the Merman had shown him the people of the city, he carried him forth therefrom and forewalked him to another city, which he found full of folk, both males and females, formed like the women aforesaid and having tails; but there was neither selling nor buying amongst them, as with the people of the land, nor were they clothed, but went all naked and with their same uncovered. Said Abdullah "O my brother, I see males and females alike with their shame exposed,[FN#268]" and the other said, "This is because the folk of the sea have no clothes." Asked the fisherman, "And how do they when they marry?" The Merman answered, "They do not marry; but every one who taketh a liking to a female doth his will of her." Quoth Abdullah, "This is unlawful! Why doth he not ask her in marriage and dower her and make her a wedding festival and marry her, in accordance with that which is pleasing to Allah and His Apostle?"; and quoth the other, "We are not all of one religion: some of us are Moslems, believers in The Unity, others Nazarenes and what not else; and each marrieth in accordance with the ordinances of his creed; but those of us who marry are mostly Moslems." The fisherman continued, "Ye are naked and have neither buying nor selling among you: of what then is your wives' dowry? Do ye give them jewels and precious stones?" The Merman rejoined, "Gems with us are only stones without worth: but upon the Moslem who is minded to marry they impose a dowry of a certain number of fishes of various kinds that he must catch, a thousand or two thousand, more or less, according to the agreement between himself and the bride's father. As soon as he bringeth the amount required, the families of the bride and bridegroom assemble and eat the marriage-banquet; after which they bring him in to his bride, and he catcheth fish and feedeth her; or, if he be unable, she catcheth fish and feedeth him." Enquired the fisherman, "And how if a woman commit adultery?"; and the other replied, "If a woman be convicted of this case, they banish her to the City of Women; and if she be with child by her gallant, they leave her till she be delivered; then, if she give birth to a girl, they banish her with her, calling her adulteress, daughter of adulteress, and she abideth a maid till she die; but, if the woman give birth to a male child, they carry it to the Sultan of the Sea, who putteth it to death." Abdullah marvelled at this and the Merman carried him to another city and thence to another and yet another, till he had diverted him with the sight of eighty cities, and he saw the people of each city unlike those of every other. Then said he to the Merman, "O my brother, are there yet other cities in the main?"; whereto said the other, "And what hast thou seen of the cities of the sea and its wondrous spectacles? By the virtue of the noble Prophet, the benign, the compassionate, were I to show thee every day a thousand cities for a thousand years, and in each city a thousand marvels, I should not have shown thee one carat of the four-and- twenty carats of the cities of the sea and its miracles! I have but shown thee our own province and country, nothing more." The fisherman thus resumed, "O my brother, since this is the case, what I have seen sufficeth me, for I am a-weary of eating fish, and these fourscore days I have been in thy company, thou hast fed me, morning and night, upon nothing but raw fish, neither broiled nor boiled." "And what is broiled or boiled?" "We broil fish with fire and boil it in water and dress it in various ways and make many dishes of it." "And how should we come by fire in the sea? We know not broiled nor boiled nor aught else of the kind." "We also fry it in olive-oil and oil of sesame.[FN#269]" How should be come by olive-oil and oil of sesame in the sea? Verily we know nothing of that thou namest." "True, but O my brother, thou hast shown me many cities; yet hast thou not shown me thine own city." "As for mine own city, we passed it a long way, for it is near the land whence we came, and I left it and came with thee hither, thinking only to divert thee with the sight of the greater cities of the sea." "That which I have seen of them sufficeth me; and now I would have thee show me thine own city." "So be it," answered Abdullah of the Sea; and, returning on his traces, carried him back thither and said to him, "This is my city." Abdullah of the Land looked and saw a city small by comparison with those he had seen; then he entered with his comrade of the deep and they fared on till they came to a cave. Quoth the Merman, "This is my house and all the houses in the city are like this, caverns great and small in the mountains; as are also those of every other city of the sea. For whoso is minded to make him a house must repair to the King and say to him, 'I wish to make me a house in such a place.' Whereupon the King sends with him a band of the fish called 'Peckers,'[FN#270] which have beaks that crumble the hardest rock, appointing for their wage a certain quantum of fish. They betake themselves to the mountain chosen by the intended owner and therein pierce the house, whilst the owner catcheth fish for them and feedeth them, till the cave is finished, when they wend their ways and the house-owner taketh up his abode therein. On such wise do all the people of the sea; they traffic not one with other nor serve each other save by means of fish; and their food is fish and they themselves are a kind of fish.[FN#271]" Then he said to him, "Enter!" So Abdullah entered and the Merman cried out, saying, "Ho, daughter mine!" when behold, there came to him a damsel with a face like the rondure of the moon and hair long, hips heavy, eyes black-edged and waist slender; but she was naked and had a tail. When she saw Abdullah of the Land she said to her sire, "O my father, what is this No-tail[FN#272] thou hast brought with thee?" He replied, "O my daughter this is my friend of the land, from whom I used to bring thee the fruits of the ground. Come hither and salute him with the salam." So she came forward and saluted the fisherman with loquent tongue and eloquent speech; and her father said to her, "Bring meat for our guest, by whose visit a blessing hath betided us:[FN#273]" whereupon she brought him two great fishes, each the bigness of a lamb, and the Merman said to him, "Eat." So he ate for stress of hunger, despite himself; because he was tired of eating fish and they had naught else save fish. Before long, in came the Merman's wife, who was beautiful of form and favour and with her two children, each having in his hand a young fish, which he craunched as a man would craunch a cucumber. When she saw the fisherman with her husband, she said, "What is this No-tail?" And she and her sons and their sister came up to him and fell to examining the back parts of Abdullah of the Land, and saying, "Yea, by Allah, he is tailless!"; and they laughed at him. So he said to the Merman, "O my brother, hast thou brought me hither to make me a butt and a laughing-stock for thy children and thy consort?"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundred and Forty-sixth Night,

She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdullah of the Land said to Abdullah of the sea, "O my brother, hast thou brought me hither to make me a butt and a laughing-stock for thy children and thy consort?" Cried the Merman, "Pardon, O my brother! Those who have no tails are rare among us, and whenever one such is found, the Sultan taketh him, to make fun of him, and he abideth a marvel amongst us, and all who see him laugh at him. But, O my brother, excuse these young children and this woman, for they lack wits." Then he cried out to his family, saying, "Silence!"; so they were afraid and held their peace; whilst he went on to soothe Abdullah's mind. Presently, as they were talking, behold, in came some ten Merman, tall and strong and stout, and said to him, "O Abdullah, it hath reached the King that thou hast with thee a No-tail of the No-tails of the earth." Answered the Merman, "Yes; and this is he; but he is not of us nor of the children of the sea. He is my friend of the land and hath come to me as a guest and I purpose to carry him back to the land." Quoth they, "We cannot depart but with him; so, an thou have aught to say, arise and come with him before the King; and whatso thou wouldst say to us, say thou that same to the King." Then quoth the Merman to the fisherman, "O my brother, my excuse is manifest, and we may not disobey the King: but go thou with me to him and I will do my best to deliver thee from him, Inshallah! Fear not, for he deemeth thee of the children of the sea; but, when he seeth thee, he will know thee to be of the children of the land, and he will surely entreat thee honourably and restore thee to the land." And Abdullah of the Land replied, "'Tis thine to decide, I will trust in Allah and wend with thee." So he took him and carried him to the King, who, when he saw him, laughed at him and said, "Welcome to the No-tail!" And all who were about the King began to laugh at him and say, "Yea, by Allah, he is tailless!" Then Abdullah of the Sea came forward and acquainted the King with the fisherman's case, saying, "This man is of the children of the land and he is my comrade and cannot live amongst us, for that he loveth not the eating of fish, except it be fried or boiled; wherefore I desire that thou give me leave to restore him to the land." Whereto the King replied, "Since the case is so, and he cannot live among us, I give thee leave to restore him to his place, after due entertainment," presently adding, "Bring him the guest-meal." So they brought him fish of various kinds and colours and he ate, in obedience to the royal behest; after which the King said to him, "Ask a boon of me." Quoth he, "I ask of thee that thou give me jewels;" and the King said, "Carry him to the jewel-house and let him choose that whereof he hath need." So his friend carried him to the jewel-house and he picked out whatso he would, after which the Merman brought him back to his own city and pulling out a purse, said to him, "Take this deposit and lay it on the tomb of the Prophet, whom Allah save and assain!" And he took it, knowing not what was therein. Then the Merman went forth with him, to bring him back to land, and by the way he heard singing and merrymaking and saw a table spread with fish and folk eating and singing and holding mighty high festival. So Abdullah of the Land said to his friend, "What aileth these people to rejoice thus? Is there a wedding among them?" Replied Abdullah of the Sea, "Nay; one of them is dead." Asked the fisherman, "Then do ye, when one dieth amongst you, rejoice for him and sing and feast?"; and the Merman answered, "Yes: and ye of the land, what do ye?" Quoth Abdullah of the Land, "When one dieth amongst us, we weep and keen for him and the women beat their faces and rend the bosoms of their raiment, in token of mourning for the dead." But Abdullah the Merman stared at him with wide eyes and said to him, "Give me the deposit!" So he gave it to him. Then he set him ashore and said to him, "I have broken off our companionship and our amity; wherefore from this day forward thou shalt no more see me, nor I see thee." Cried the fisherman, "Why sayst thou this?"; and the other said, "Are ye not, O folk of the land, a deposit of Allah?" "Yes." "Why then," asked the Merman, "is it grievous to you that Allah should take back His deposit and wherefore weep ye over it? How can I entrust thee with a deposit for the Prophet (whom Allah save and assain!), seeing that, when a child is born to you, ye rejoice in it, albeit the Almighty setteth the soul therein as a deposit; and yet, when he taketh it again, it is grievous to you and ye weep and mourn? Since it is hard for thee to give up the deposit of Allah, how shall it be easy to thee to give up the deposit of the Prophet?[FN#274] Wherefore we need not your companionship." Saying thus he left him and disappeared in the sea. Thereupon Abdullah of the Land donned his dress and taking the jewels, went up to the King, who met him lovingly and rejoiced at his return saying, "How dost thou, O my son-in-law, and what is the cause of thine absence from me this while?" So he told him his tale and acquainted him with that which he had seen of marvels in the sea, whereat the King wondered. Then he told him what Abdullah the Merman had said[FN#275]; and the King replied, "Indeed 'twas thou wast at fault to tell him this." Nevertheless, he continued for some time to go down to the shore and call upon Abdullah of the Sea, but he answered him not nor came to him; so, at last, he gave up all hope of him and abode, he and the King his father-in-law and the families of them both in the happiest of case and the practice of righteous ways, till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Severer of societies and they died all. Wherefore glory be to the Living, who dieth not, whose is the empire of the Seen and the Unseen, who over all things is Omnnipotent and is gracious to His servants and knowth their every intent! And amongst the tales they tell is one anent



HARUN AL-RASHID AND ABU HASAN, THE MERCHANT OF OMAN.



The Caliph Harun al-Rashid was one night wakeful exceedingly; so he called Masrur and said to him as soon as he came, "Fetch me Ja'afar in haste." Accordingly, he went out and returned with the Wazir, to whom said the Caliph, "O Ja'afar wakefulness hath mastered me this night and forbiddeth sleep from me, nor wot I what shall drive it away from me." Replied Ja'afar, "O Commander of the Faithful, the wise say, 'Looking on a mirror, entering the Hamman-bath and hearkening unto song banish care and chagrin.'" He rejoined, "O Ja'afar I have done all this, but it hath brought me naught of relief, and I swear by my pious forbears unless thou contrive that which shall abate from me this insomny, I will smite thy neck." Quoth Ja'afar, "O Commander of the Faithful, wilt thou do that which I shall counsel thee?" whereupon quoth the Caliph, "And what is that thou counselleth?" He replied, "It is that thou take boat with us and drop down Tigris River with the tide to a place called Karn al-Sirat, so haply we may hear what we never heard or see what we never saw, for 'tis said, 'The solace of care is in one of three things; that a man see what he never before saw or hear what he never yet heard or tread an earth he erst hath never trodden.' It may be this shall be the means of remedying thy restlessness, O Commander of the Faithful, Inshallah! There, on either side of the river, are windows and balconies one facing other, and it may be we shall hear or see from one of these somewhat wherewith our hearts may be heartened." Ja'afar's counsel pleased the Caliph, so he rose from his place and taking with him the Wazir and his brother Al-Fazl and Isaac[FN#276] the boon-companion and Abu Nowas and Abu Dalaf[FN#277] and Masrur the Sworder,— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundred and Forty-seventh Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Caliph arose from his seat with Ja'afar and the rest of the party, all entered the wardrobe, where they donned merchant's gear. Then they went down to the Tigris and embarking in a gilded boat, dropped down with the stream, till they came to the place they sought, when they heard the voice of a damsel singing to the lute and chanting these couplets,

"To him when the wine cup is near I declare, * While in coppice loud shrilleth and trilleth Hazr, 'How long this repining from joys and delight? * Wake up for this life is a borrowed ware!' Take the cup from the hand of the friend who is dear * With languishing eye-lids and languorous air. I sowed on his cheek a fresh rose, which amid * His side-locks the fruit of granado-tree bare. Thou wouldst deem that the place where he tare his fair cheek[FN#278] * Were ashes, while cheeks hues incendiary wear. Quoth the blamer, 'Forget him! But where's my excuse * When his side-face is growing the downiest hair?[FN#279]'"

When the Caliph heard this, he said, "O Ja'afar, how goodly is that voice!"; and the Wazir replied, "O our lord, never smote my hearing aught sweeter or goodlier than this singing! But, good my lord, hearing from behind a wall is only half hearing; how would it be an we heard it from behind a curtain?" Quoth the Caliph, "Come, O Ja'afar, let us play the parasites with the master of this house; and haply we shall look upon the songstress, face to face;" and quoth Ja'afar, "I hear and I obey." So they landed and sought admittance; when behold, there came out to them a young man, fair of favour, sweet of speech and fluent of tongue, who said to them, "Well come and welcome, O lords that honour me with your presence! Enter in all comfort and convenience!" So they went in (and he with them) to a saloon with four faces, whose ceiling was decorated with gold and its walls adorned with ultramarine.[FN#280] At its upper end was a dais, whereon stood a goodly row of seats[FN#281] and thereon sat an hundred damsels like moons. The house-master cried out to them and they came down from their seats. Then he turned to Ja'afar and said to him, "O my lord, I know not the honourable of you from the more honourable: Bismillah! deign he that is highest in rank among you favour me by taking the head of the room, and let his brethren sit each in his several stead." So they sat down, each according to his degree, whilst Masrur abode standing before them in their service; and the host asked them, "O my guests, with your leave, shall I set somewhat of food before you?" and they answered, "Yes." Hearing this he bade his handmaids bring food, whereupon four damsels with girded waists placed in front of them a table, whereon were rare meats of that which flieth and walketh earth and swimmeth seas, sand-grouse and quails and chickens and pigeons; and written on the raised edge of the tray were verses such as sorted with the entertainment. So they ate till they had enough and washed their hands, after which said the young man, "O my lords, if you have any want, let us know it, that we may have the honour of satisfying it." They replied, "'Tis well: we came not to thy dwelling save for the sake of a voice we heard from behind the wall of thy house, and we would fain hear it again and know her to whom it belongeth. So, an thou deem right to vouchsafe us this favour, it will be of the generosity of thy nature, and after we will return whence we came." Quoth the host, "Ye are welcome;" and, turning to a black slave-girl, said to her, "Fetch me thy mistress such an one." So she went away and returning with a chair of chinaware, cushioned with brocade, set it down: then withdrew again and presently returned with a damsel, as she were the moon on the night of its full, who sat down on the chair. Then the black girl gave her a bag of satin wherefrom she brought out a lute, inlaid with gems and jacinths and furnished with pegs of gold.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundred and Forty-eighth Night,

She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel came forward, she took her seat upon the chair and brought out from its case a lute and behold, it was inlaid with gems and jacinths and furnished with pegs of gold. Then she tuned its strings, even as saith the poet of her and her lute in these lines,

"She sits it in lap like a mother fond * And she strikes the strings that can make it speak: And ne'er smiteth her right an injurious touch * But her left repairs of her right the wreak.[FN#282]"

Then she strained the lute to her bosom, bending over it as mother bendeth over babe, and swept the strings which complained as child to mother complaineth; after which she played upon it and began improvisng these couplets,

"An Time my lover restore me I'll blame him fain, * Saying, 'Pass, O my dear, the bowl and in passing drain The wine which hath never mixed with the heart of man * But he passes to joy from annoy and to pleasure from pain.' Then Zephyr arose to his task of sustaining the cup: * Didst e'er see full Moon that in hand the star hath ta'en?[FN#283] How oft I talked thro' the night, when its rounded Lune * Shed on darkness of Tigris' bank a beamy rain! And when Luna sank in the West 'twas as though she'd wave * O'er the length of the watery waste a gilded glaive."

When she had made an end of her verse, she wept with sore weeping and all who were in the place wept aloud till they were well-nigh dead; nor was there one of them but took leave of his wits and rent his raiment and beat his face, for the goodliness of her singing. Then said Al-Rashid, "This damsel's song verily denoteth that she is a lover departed from her beloved." Quoth her master, "She hath lost father and mother;" but quoth the Caliph, "This is not the weeping of one who hath lost mother and father, but the yearning of one who hath lost him she loveth." And he was delighted with her singing and said to Isaac, "By Allah, never saw I her like!"; and Isaac said, "O my lord, indeed I marvel at her with utterest marvel and am beside myself for delight." Now Al-Rashid with all this stinted not to look upon the house-master and note his charms and the daintiness of his fashion; but he saw on his face a pallor as he would die; so he turned to him and said, "Ho, youth!" and the other said, "Adsum!—at thy service, O my lord." The Caliph asked, "Knowest thou who we are?"; and he answered, "No." Quoth Ja'afar, "Wilt thou that I tell thee the names of each of us?"; and quoth the young man "Yes;" when the Wazir said, "This is the Commander of the Faithful, descendant of the uncle of the Prince of the Apostles," and named to him the others of the company; after which quoth Al-Rashid, "I wish that thou acquaint me with the cause of the paleness of thy face, whether it be acquired or natural from thy birthtide." Quoth he, "O Prince of True Believers, my case is wondrous and my affair marvellous; were it graven with gravers on the eye-corners it were a warner to whoso will be warned." Said the Caliph, "Tell it to me: haply thy healing may be at my hand." Said the young man, "O Commander of the Faithful, lend me thine ears and give me thy whole mind." And he, "Come; tell it me, for thou makest me long to hear it." So the young man began,—"Know then, O Prince of True Believers, that I am a merchant of the merchants of the sea and come from Oman city, where my sire was a trader and a very wealthy trader, having thirty ships trafficking upon the main, whose yearly hire was thirty thousand dinars; and he was a generous man and had taught me writing and all whereof a wight hath need. When his last hour drew near, he called me to him and gave me the customary charge; then Almighty Allah took him and admitted him to His mercy and may He continue the Commander of the Faithful on life! Now my late father had partners trading with his coin and voyaging on the ocean. So one day, as I sat in my house with a company of merchants, a certain of my servants came in to me and said, 'O my lord, there is at the door a man who craveth admittance to thee!' I gave leave and he came in, bearing on his head a something covered. He set it down and uncovered it, and behold it was a box wherein were fruits out of season and herbs conserved in salt and fresh, such as are not found in our land. I thanked him and gifted him with an hundred dinars, and he went away grateful. Then I divided these things amongst my friends and guests who were present and asked them whence they came. Quoth they, 'They come from Bassorah,' and praised them and went on to portray the beauties of Bassorah and all agreed that there was naught in the world goodlier than Baghdad and its people. Then they fell to describing Baghdad and the fine manners of its folk and the excellence of its air and the beauty of its ordinance, till my soul longed for it and all my hopes clave to looking upon it. So I arose and selling my houses and lands, ships and slaves, negroes and handmaids, I got together my good, to wit, a thousand thousand dinars, besides gems and jewels, wherewith I freighted a vessel and setting out therein with the whole of the property, voyaged awhile. Then I hired a barque and embarking therein with all my monies sailed up the river some days till we arrived at Baghdad. I enquired where the merchants abode and what part was pleasantest for domicile and was answered, 'The Karkh quarter.' So I went thither and hiring a house in a thoroughfare called the Street of Saffron, transported all my goods to it and took up my lodging therein for some time. At last one day which was a Friday, I sallied forth to solace myself taking with me somewhat of coin. I went first to a cathedral-mosque, called the Mosque of Mansur, where the Friday service was held, and when we had made an end of congregational prayers, I fared forth with the folk to a place hight Karn al-Sirat, where I saw a tall and goodly mansion, with a balcony overlooking the river-bank and pierced with a lattice- window. So I betook myself thither with a company of folk and sighted there an old man sitting, handsomely clad and exhaling perfumes. His beard forked upon his breast in two waves like silver-wire, and about him were four damsels and five pages. So I said to one of the folk, 'What is the name of this old man and what is his business?'; and the man said, 'His name is Thir ibn al-Ala, and he is a keeper of girls: all who go into him eat and drink and look upon fair faces.' Quoth I, 'By Allah, this long while have I wandered about in search of something like this!'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundred and Forty-ninth Night,

She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the young merchant cried, "'By Allah this long while I have gone about in search of something like this!' So I went up to the Shaykh, O Commander of the Faithful, and saluting him said to him, 'O my lord, I need somewhat of thee!' He replied, 'What is thy need?' and I rejoined, ''Tis my desire to be thy guest to-night.' He said, 'With all my heart; but, O my son, with me are many damsels, some whose night is ten dinars, some forty and others more. Choose which thou wilt have.' Quoth I, 'I choose her whose night is ten dinars.' And I weighed out to him three hundred dinars, the price of a month; whereupon he committed me to a page, who carried me to a Hammam within the house and served me with goodly service. When I came out of the Bath he brought me to a chamber and knocked at the door, whereupon out came a handmaid, to whom said he, 'Take thy guest!' She met me with welcome and cordiality, laughing and rejoicing, and brought me into a mighty fine room decorated with gold. I considered her and saw her like the moon on the night of its fulness having in attendance on her two damsels as they were constellations. She made me sit and seating herself by my side, signed to her slave-girls who set before us a tray covered with dishes of various kinds of meats, pullets and quails and sand-grouse and pigeons. So we ate our sufficiency, and never in my life ate I aught more delicious than this food. When we had eaten she bade remove the tray and set on the service of wine and flowers, sweetmeats and fruits; and I abode with her a month in such case. At the end of that time, I repaired to the Bath; then, going to the old man, I said to him, 'O my lord, I want her whose night is twenty dinars.' 'Weigh down the gold,' said he. So I fetched money and weighed out to him six hundred dinars for a month's hire, whereupon he called a page and said to him, 'Take thy lord here.' Accordingly he carried me to the Hammam and thence to the door of a chamber, whereat he knocked and there came out a handmaid, to whom quoth he, 'Take thy guest!' She received me with the goodliest reception and I found in attendance on her four slave-girls, whom she commanded to bring food. So they fetched a tray spread with all manner meats, and I ate. When I had made an end of eating and the tray had been re- moved, she took the lute and sang thereto these couplets,

'O waftings of musk from the Babel-land! * Bear a message from me which my longings have planned: My troth is pledged to that place of yours, * And to friends there 'biding—a noble band; And wherein dwells she whom all lovers love * And would hend, but she cometh to no man's hand.'

I abode with her a month, after which I returned to the Shaykh and said to him, 'I want the forty dinar one.' 'Weigh out the money,' said he. So I weighed out to him twelve hundred dinars, the mensual hire, and abode with her one month as it were one day, for what I saw of the comeliness of her semblance and the goodliness of her converse. After this I went to the Shaykh one evening and heard a great noise and loud voices; so I asked him, 'What is to do?'; and he answered, saying, 'This is the night of our remarkablest nights, when all souls embark on the river and divert themselves by gazing one upon other. Hast thou a mind to go up to the roof and solace thyself by looking at the folk?' 'Yes,' answered I, and went up to the terrace roof,[FN#284] whence I could see a gathering of people with flambeaux and cressets, and great mirth and merriment. Then I went up to the end of the roof and beheld there, behind a goodly curtain, a little chamber in whose midst stood a couch of juniper-wood[FN#285] plated with shimmering gold and covered with a handsome carpet. On this sat a lovely young lady, confounding all beholders with her beauty and comeliness and symmetry and perfect grace, and by her side a youth, whose hand was on her neck; and he was kissing her and she kissing him. When I saw them, O Prince of True Believers, I could not contain myself nor knew where I was, so dazed and dazzled was I by her beauty: but, when I came down, I questioned the damsel with whom I was and described the young lady to her. 'What wilt thou with her?' asked she; and I, 'She hath taken my wit.' 'O Abu al-Hasan, hast thou a mind to her?' 'Ay, by Allah! for she hath captivated my heart and soul.' 'This is the daughter of Tahir ibn al-Alaa; she is our mistress and we are all her handmaids; but knowest thou, O Abu al-Hasan, what be the price of her night and her day?' 'No!' 'Five hundred dinars, for she is a regret to the heart of Kings!'[FN#286] 'By Allah, I will spend all I have on this damsel!' So saying I lay, heartsore for desire, through the livelong night till the morning, when I repaired to the Hammam and presently donned a suit of the richest royal raiment and betaking myself to Ibn al-Alaa, said to him, 'O my lord, I want her whose night is five hundred dinars.' Quoth he, 'Weigh down the money.' So I weighed out to him fifteen thousand dinars for a month's hire and he took them and said to the page, 'Carry him to thy mistress such an one!' Accordingly he took me and carried me to an apartment, than which my eyes never saw a goodlier on the earth's face and there I found the young lady seated. When I saw her, O Commander of the Faithful, my reason was confounded with her beauty, for she was like the full moon on its fourteenth night,"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundred and Fiftieth Night,

She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the young man continued to describe before the Prince of True Believers the young lady's characteristics, saying, "She was like the full moon on her fourteenth night, a model of grace and symmetry and loveliness. Her speech shamed the tones of the lute, and it was as it were she whom the poet meant in these verses,

'She cried while played in her side Desire, * And Night o'er hung her with blackest blee:— 'O Night shall thy murk bring me ne'er a chum * To tumble and futter this coynte of me?' And she smote that part with her palm and sighed * Sore sighs and a-weeping continued she, 'As the toothstick beautifies teeth e'en so * Must prickle to coynte as a toothstick be. O Moslems, is never a stand to your tools, * To assist a woman's necessity?' Thereat rose upstanding beneath its clothes * My yard, as crying, 'At thee! at thee!' And I loosed her trouser-string, startling her: * 'Who art thou?' and I said, 'A reply to thy plea!' And began to stroke her with wrist-thick yard, * Hurting hinder cheeks by its potency: And she cried as I rose after courses three * 'Suit thy gree the stroke!' and I—'suit thy gree!'

And how excellent is the saying of another![FN#287],

'A fair one, to idolaters if she her face should show, They'd leave their idols and her face for only Lord would know. If in the Eastward she appeared unto a monk, for sure, He'd cease from turning to the West and to the East bend low; And if into the briny sea one day she chanced to spit, Assuredly the salt sea's floods straight fresh and sweet would grow.'

And that of another,

'I looked at her one look and that dazed me * Such rarest gifts of mind and form to see, When doubt inspired her that I loved her, and * Upon her cheeks the doubt showed showily.'

I saluted her and she said to me, 'Well come and welcome, and fair welcome!'; and taking me by the hand, O Prince of True Believers, made me sit down by her side; whereupon, of the excess of my desire, I fell a-weeping for fear of severance and pouring forth the tears of the eye, recited these two couplets,

'I love the nights of parting though I joy not in the same * Time haply may exchange them for the boons of Union-day: And the days that bring Union I unlove for single thought, * Seeing everything in life lacking steadfastness of stay.'

Then she strave to solace me with soft sweet speech, but I was drowned in the deeps of passion, fearing even in union the pangs of disunion, for excess of longing and ecstasy of passion; and I bethought me of the lowe of absence and estrangement and repeated these two couplets,

'I thought of estrangement in her embrace * And my eyes rained tears red as 'Andam-wood. So I wiped the drops on that long white neck; * For camphor[FN#288] is wont to stay flow of blood.'

Then she bade bring food and there came four damsels, high-bosomed girls and virginal, who set before us food and fruits and confections and flowers and wine, such as befit none save kings. So, O Commander of the Faithful, we ate, and sat over our wine, compassed about with blooms and herbs of sweet savour, in a chamber suitable only for kings. Presently, one of her maids brought her a silken bag, which she opened and taking thereout a lute, laid it in her lap and smote its strings, whereat it complained as child complaineth to mother, and she sang these two couplets,

'Drink not pure wine except from hand of slender youth * Like wine for daintiness and like him eke the wine: For wine no joyance brings to him who drains the cup * Save bring the cup-boy cheek as fair and fain and fine.'

So, I abode with her, O Commander of the Faithful, month after month in similar guise, till all my money was spent; wherefore I began to bethink me of separation as I sat with her one day and my tears railed down upon my cheeks like rills, and I became not knowing night from light. Quoth she, 'Why dost thou weep?'; and quoth I, 'O light of mine eyes, I weep because of our parting.' She asked, 'And what shall part me and thee, O my lord?'; and I answered, 'By Allah, O my lady, from the day I came to thee, thy father hath taken of me, for every night, five hundred dinars, and now I have nothing left. Right soothfast is the saw, 'Penury maketh strangerhood at home and money maketh a home in strangerhood'; and indeed the poet speaks truth when he saith,

'Lack of good is exile to man at home; * And money shall house him where'er he roam.'

She replied, 'Know that it is my father's custom, whenever a merchant abideth with him and hath spent all his capital, to entertain him three days; then doth he put him out and he may return to us nevermore. But keep thou thy secret and conceal thy case and I will so contrive that thou shalt abide with me till such time as Allah will;[FN#289] for, indeed, there is in my heart a great love for thee. Thou must know that all my father's money is under my hand and he wotteth not its full tale; so, every morning, I will give thee a purse of five hundred dinars which do thou offer to my sire, saying, 'Henceforth, I will pay thee only day by day.' He will hand the sum to me, and I will give it to thee again, and we will abide thus till such time as may please Allah.' Thereupon I thanked her and kissed her hand; and on this wise, O Prince of True Believers, I abode with her a whole year, till it chanced on a certain day that she beat one of her handmaids grievously and the slave-girl said, 'By Allah, I will assuredly torture thy heart, even as thou hast tortured me!' So she went to the girl's father and exposed to him all that had passed, first and last, which when Tahir ibn Alaa heard he arose forthright and coming in to me, as I sat with his daughter, said, 'Ho, such an one!'; and I said, 'At thy service.' Quoth he, ''Tis our wont, when a merchant grow poor with us, to give him hospitality three days; but thou hast had a year with us, eating and drinking and doing what thou wouldst.' Then he turned to his pages and cried to them, 'Pull off his clothes.' They did as he bade them and gave me ten dirhams and an old suit worth five silvers; after which he said to me, 'Go forth; I will not beat thee nor abuse thee; but wend thy ways and if thou tarry in this town, thy blood be upon thine own head.' So I went forth, O Commander of the Faithful, in my own despite, knowing not whither to hie, for had fallen on my heart all the trouble in the world and I was occupied with sad thought and doubt. Then I bethought me of the wealth which I had brought from Oman and said in myself, 'I came hither with a thousand thousand dinars, part price of thirty ships, and have made away with it all in the house of yonder ill-omened man, and now I go forth from him, bare and broken-hearted! But there is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!' Then I abode three days in Baghdad, without tasting meat or drink, and on the fourth day seeing a ship bound for Bassorah, I took passage in her of the owner, and when we reached our port, I landed and went into the bazar, being sore anhungered. Presently, a man saw me, a grocer, whom I had known aforetime, and coming up to me, embraced me, for he had been my friend and my father's friend before me. Then he questioned me of my case, seeing me clad in those tattered clothes; so I told him all that had befallen me, and he said, 'By Allah, this is not the act of a sensible man! But after this that hath befallen thee what dost thou purpose to do?' Quoth I, 'I know not what I shall do,' and quoth he, 'Wilt thou abide with me and write my outgo and income and thou shalt have two dirhams a day, over and above thy food and drink?' I agreed to this and abode with him, O Prince of True Believers, selling and buying, till I had gotten an hundred dinars; when I hired me an upper chamber by the river-side, so haply a ship should come up with merchandise, that I might buy goods with the dinars and go back with them to Baghdad. Now it fortuned that one day, there came ships with merchandise, and all the merchants resorted to them to buy, and I went with them on board, when behold, there came two men out of the hold and setting themselves chairs on the deck, sat down thereon. The merchants addressed themselves to the twain with intent to buy, and the man said to one of the crew, 'Bring the carpet.' Accordingly he brought the carpet and spread it, and another came with a pair of saddle-bags, whence he took a budget and emptied it on the carpet; and our sights were dazzled with that which issued therefrom of pearls and corals and jacinths and carnelians and other jewels of all sorts and colours."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundred and Fifty-first Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the young merchant, after recounting to the Caliph the matter of the bag and its containing jewels of all sorts, continued, "Presently, O Commander of the Faithful, said one of the men on the chairs, 'O company of merchants, we will sell but this to-day, by way of spending-money, for that we are weary.' So the merchants fell to bidding one against other for the jewels and bid till the price reached four hundred dinars. Then said to me the owner of the bag (for he was an old acquaintance of mine, and when he saw me, he came down to me and saluted me), 'Why dost thou not speak and bid like the rest of the merchants?' I said, 'O my lord, by Allah, the shifts of fortune have run against me and I have lost my wealth and have only an hundred dinars left in the world.' Quoth he, 'O Omni, after this vast wealth, can only an hundred dinars remain to thee?' And I was abashed before him and my eyes filled with tears; whereupon he looked at me and indeed my case was grievous to him. So he said to the merchants, 'Bear witness against me that I have sold all that is in this bag of various gems and precious stones to this man for an hundred gold pieces, albeit I know them to be worth so many thousand dinars, and this is a present from me to him.' Then he gave me the saddle-bag and the carpet, with all the jewels that were thereon, for which I thanked him, and each and every of the merchants present praised him. Presently I carried all this to the jewel-market and sat there to sell and buy. Now among the precious stones was a round amulet of the handi-work of the masters,[FN#290] weighing half a pound: it was red of the brightest, a carnelian on both whose sides were graven characts and characters, like the tracks of ants; but I knew not its worth. I sold and bought a whole year, at the end of which I took the amulet[FN#291] and said, 'This hath been with me some while, and I know not what it is nor what may be its value.' So I gave it to the broker who took it and went round with it and returned, saying, 'None of the merchants will give me more than ten dirhams for it.' Quoth I, 'I will not sell it at that price;' and he threw it in my face and went away. Another day I again offered it for sale and its price reached fifteen dirhams; whereupon I took it from the broker in anger and threw it back into the tray. But a few days after, as I sat in my shop, there came up to me a man, who bore the traces of travel, and saluting me, said, 'By thy leave, I will turn over what thou hast of wares.' Said I, ''Tis well,' and indeed, O Commander of the Faithful, I was still wroth by reason of the lack of demand for the talisman. So the man fell to turning over my wares, but took nought thereof save the amulet, which when he saw, he kissed his hand and cried, 'Praised be Allah!' Then said he to me, 'O my lord, wilt thou sell this?'; and I replied, 'Yes,' being still angry. Quoth he, 'What is its price?' And I asked, 'How much wilt thou give?' He answered 'Twenty dinars': so I thought he was making mock of me and exclaimed, 'Wend thy ways.' But he resumed, 'I will give thee fifty dinars for it.' I made him no answer, and he continued, 'A thousand dinars.' But I was silent, declining to reply, whilst he laughed at my silence and said, 'Why dost thou not return me an answer?' 'Hie thee home,' repeated I and was like to quarrel with him. But he bid thousand after thousand, and I still made him no reply, till he said, 'Wilt thou sell it for twenty thousand dinars?' I still thought he was mocking me; but the people gathered about me and all of them said, 'Sell to him, and if he buy not, we will all up and at him and drub him and thrust him forth the city.' So quoth I to him, 'Wilt thou buy or dost thou jest?'; and quoth he, 'Wilt thou sell or dost thou joke?' I said, 'I will sell if thou wilt buy;' then he said, 'I will buy it for thirty thousand dinars; take them and make the bargain;' so I cried to the bystanders, 'Bear witness against him,' adding to him, 'But on condition that thou acquaint me with the virtues and profit of this amulet for which thou payest all this money.' He answered, 'Close the bargain, and I will tell thee this;' I rejoined, 'I sell it to thee;' and he retorted, 'Allah be witness of that which thou sayst and testimony!' Then he brought out the gold and giving it to me took the amulet, and set it in his bosom; after which he turned to me and asked, 'Art thou content?' Answered I, 'Yes,' and he said to the people, 'Bear witness against him that he hath closed the bargain and touched the price, thirty thousand dinars.' Then he turned to me and said, 'Harkye, my poor fellow, hadst thou held back from selling, by Allah I would have bidden thee up to an hundred thousand dinars, nay, even to a thousand thousand!' When I heard these words, O Commander of the Faithful, the blood fled my face, and from that day there overcame it this pallor thou seest. Then said I to him, 'Tell me the reason of this and what is the use of this amulet.' And he answered, saying, 'Know that the King of Hind hath a daughter, never was seen a thing fairer than she, and she is possessed with a falling sickness.[FN#292] So the King summoned the Scribes and men of science and Divines, but none of them could relieve her of this. Now I was present in the assembly; so I said to him, 'O King, I know a man called Sa'adu'llh the Babylonian, than whom there is not on the face of the earth one more masterly in these matters, and if thou see fit to send me to him, do so.' Said he, 'Go to him;' and quoth I, 'Bring me a piece of carnelian.' Accordingly he gave me a great piece of carnelian and an hundred thousand dinars and a present, which I took, and with which I betook myself to the land of Babel. Then I sought out the Shaykh and when he was shown to me I delivered to him the money and the present, which he accepted and sending for a lapidary, bade him fashion the carnelian into this amulet. Then he abode seven months in observation of the stars, till he chose out an auspicious time for engraving it, when he graved upon it these talismanic characters which thou seest, and I took it and returned with it to the King.'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundred and Fifty-second Night,

She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the young man said to the Commander of the Faithful, "'So after the Shaykh had spoken, I took this talisman and returned with it to the King. Now the Princess was bound with four chains, and every night a slave-girl lay with her and was found in the morning with her throat cut. The King took the amulet and laid it upon his daughter who was straightway made whole. At this he rejoiced with exceeding joy and invested me with a vest of honour and gave alms of much money; and he caused set the amulet in the Princess's necklace. It chanced, one day, that she embarked with her women in a ship and went for a sail on the sea. Presently, one of her maids put out her hand to her, to sport with her, and the necklace brake asunder and fell into the waves. From that hour the possessor[FN#293] of the Princess returned to her, wherefore great grief betided the King and he gave me much money, saying, 'Go thou to Shaykh Sa'adu'llah and let him make her another amulet, in lieu of that which is lost.' I journeyed to Babel, but found the old man dead; whereupon I returned and told the King, who sent me and ten others to go round about in all countries, so haply we might find a remedy for her: and now Allah hath caused me happen on it with thee.' Saying these words, he took from me the amulet, O Commander of the Faithful, and went his ways. Such, then, is the cause of the wanness of my complexion. As for me, I repaired to Baghdad, carrying all my wealth with me, and took up my abode in the lodgings where I lived whilome. On the morrow, as soon as it was light, I donned my dress and betook myself to the house of Tahir ibn al-Alaa, that haply I might see her whom I loved, for the love of her had never ceased to increase upon my heart. But when I came to his home, I saw the balcony broken down and the lattice builded up; so I stood awhile, pondering my case and the shifts of Time, till there came up a serving-man, and I questioned him, saying, 'What hath God done with Tahir ibn al-Alaa?' He answered, 'O my brother, he hath repented to Almighty Allah.[FN#294]' Quoth I, 'What was the cause of his repentance?'; and quoth he, 'O my brother, in such a year there came to him a merchant, by name Abu al-Hasan the Omani, who abode with his daughter awhile, till his wealth was all spent, when the old man turned him out, broken-hearted. Now the girl loved him with exceeding love, and when she was parted from him, she sickened of a sore sickness and came nigh upon death. As soon as her father knew how it was with her, he sent after and sought for Abu al-Hasan through the lands, pledging himself to bestow upon whoso should produce him an hundred thousand dinars; but none could find him nor come on any trace of him; and she is now hard upon death.' Quoth I, 'And how is it with her sire?' and quoth the servant, 'He hath sold all his girls, for grief of that which hath befallen him, and hath repented to Almighty Allah.' Then asked I, 'What wouldst thou say to him who should direct thee to Abu al-Hasan the Omani?'; and he answered, 'Allah upon thee, O my brother, that thou do this and quicken my poverty and the poverty of my parents![FN#295]' I rejoined, 'Go to her father and say to him, Thou owest me the reward for good news, for that Abu al-Hasan the Omani standeth at the door.' With this he set off trotting, as he were a mule loosed from the mill, and presently came back, accompanied by Shaykh Tahir himself, who no sooner saw me than he returned to his house and gave the man an hundred thousand dinars which he took and went away blessing me. Then the old man came up and embraced me and wept, saying, 'O my lord, where hast thou been absent all this while? Indeed, my daughter hath been killed by reason of her separation from thee; but come with me into the house.' So we entered and he prostrated himself in gratitude to the Almighty, saying, 'Praised be Allah who hath reunited us with thee!' Then he went in to his daughter and said to her, 'The Lord hath healed thee of this sickness;' and said she, 'O my papa, I shall never be whole of my sickness, save I look upon the face of Abu al-Hasan.' Quoth he, 'An thou wilt eat a morsel and go to the Hammam, I will bring thee in company with him.' Asked she, 'Is it true that thou sayst?'; and he answered, 'By the Great God, 'tis true!' She rejoined, 'By Allah, if I look upon his face, I shall have no need of eating!' Then said he to his page, 'Bring in thy lord.' Thereupon I entered, and when she saw me, O Prince of True Believers, she fell down in a swoon, and presently coming to herself, recited this couplet,