Know, O Commander of the Faithful, that in times of old the land of Egypt was ruled by a Sultan endowed with justice and generosity, one who loved the pious poor and kept company with the learned men and scholars. He had a Wazir—a wise and experienced minister well versed in affairs and in the art of government. This Minister, who was very old, had two sons, and they were like two moons. Never did men see their like for beauty and grace. The elder was called Shams al-Din Mohammed, and the younger was Nur al-Din Ali. But the younger surpassed the elder in comeliness and pleasing appearance, so that his fame spread to distant lands, and men journeyed to Egypt simply to see him. In course of time their father, the Wazir, died and was deeply mourned by the Sultan, who sent for his two sons. He invested them with robes of honour and said to them, "Let not your hearts be troubled, for you shall stand in your father's place and be joint Ministers of Egypt." They rejoiced and kissed the ground before him, then performed the ceremonial mourning for their father for a full month. After which they entered upon the Wazirate, and power passed into their hands as it had been in their father's hands, each serving as minister for a week at a time. They lived under the same roof and their word was one. Whenever the Sultan desired to travel, they took turns accompanying him. One night, as the Sultan prepared to set out on a journey the next morning, the elder—whose turn it was to accompany him—sat conversing with his brother and said to him, "O my brother, it is my wish that we both marry two sisters and go in to our wives on the same night."

"Do, O my brother, as you desire," the younger replied, "for your reasoning is sound and surely I will comply with you in whatever you say."

So they agreed, and Shams al-Din said, "If Allah decrees that we marry two damsels and go in to them on the same night, and they conceive on their wedding nights and bear children to us on the same day, and if by God's will your wife bears you a son and my wife bears me a daughter, let us wed them to each other, for they will be cousins." Nur al-Din asked, "O my brother Shams al-Din, what dower will you require from my son for your daughter?"

Shams al-Din replied, "I will take three thousand dinars and three pleasure gardens and three farms, and it would not be proper for the young man to agree to less than this."

When Nur al-Din heard this demand, he said, "What manner of dower is this you would impose upon my son? Do you not know that we are brothers and both, by God's grace, Wazirs of equal rank? You should offer your daughter to my son without marriage settlement, or if one is necessary, it should represent only a nominal value as a formality to the world. After all, you know that the male is worthier than the female, and my son will carry on our line. We shall be remembered through him, not through your daughter." "But what," said Shams al-Din, "will she have?"

Nur al-Din continued, "Through her we shall not be remembered among the emirs of the earth. But I see you are doing with me as the saying goes: 'If you would discourage a buyer, ask him a high price and then ask him higher.' It is like a man who went to a friend asking something of him in his necessity, and was answered, 'In the name of Allah, I will do all you require, but come tomorrow!' Whereupon the other replied with these verses:—

'When he who is asked a favour says "Tomorrow," The wise man wots 'tis vain to beg or borrow.'

Shams al-Din said, "Enough! I see you do not respect me by placing your son above my daughter. It is clear that your understanding is of the lowest order and that you lack manners. You remind me of your partnership in the Wazirate—I admitted you to share with me only out of pity for you, not wishing to shame you, so that you might help me in the manner of an assistant. But since you speak in this way, by God, I will never marry my daughter to your son—not for her weight in gold!" When Nur al-Din heard his brother's words, he grew angry and said, "And I too will never marry my son to your daughter—not even to save my life from death."

Shams al-Din replied, "I would not accept him as a husband for her. He is not worth a shred of her fingernail. Were I not about to travel, I would make an example of you. But when I return, you will see how I assert my dignity and vindicate my honour. But Allah does whatever He wills."

When Nur al-Din heard this speech from his brother, he was filled with fury and lost his wits in rage. He hid what he felt and held his peace. The brothers each passed the night in a separate place, wild with wrath against each other. As soon as morning dawned, the Sultan set out in state and crossed from Cairo to Giza, heading for the Pyramids. He was accompanied by the Wazir Shams al-Din, whose turn it was to serve, while his brother Nur al-Din, who had passed the night in great rage, rose at dawn and prayed the morning prayer. Then he went to his treasury and, taking a small pair of saddlebags, filled them with gold. He remembered his brother's threats and the contempt with which he had been treated, and he recited these verses:—

"Travel! and you will find new friends for old ones left behind, Toil! for the sweets of human life by toil and toil are found: The stay at home no honour wins nor anything attains but want So leave your place of birth and wander all the world around!

I've seen, and very oft I've seen, how standing water stinks, And only flowing sweetens it and trotting makes it sound: And were the moon for ever full and never to grow or wane, Man would not strain his watchful eyes to see its gladsome round: Except the lion leave his lair he never would fell his game, Except the arrow leave the bow never had it reached its bound: Gold dust is dust the while it lies untravelled in the mine, And aloes wood mere fuel is upon its native ground: And gold shall win his highest worth when from his goal ungoal'd; And aloes sent to foreign parts grows costlier than gold."

When he finished his verse, he bade one of his pages saddle his Nubian mare-mule. She was dapple grey, with ears like reed pens and legs like columns, a back high and strong as a dome built on pillars. Her saddle was of gold cloth, her stirrups of Indian steel, and her housing of Ispahan velvet. She had trappings fit for kings, and was like a bride adorned for her wedding night. He also had his servants place a piece of silk on her back for a seat and a prayer carpet under which lay his saddlebags.

When this was done, he said to his pages and slaves, "I am going for a pleasure ride outside the city on the road to Kalyub town. I shall be away three nights, so none of you should follow me, for something troubles my heart."

Then he mounted the mule in haste and, taking provisions for the way, set out from Cairo toward the open country surrounding it. About midday, he reached the city of Bilbays, where he dismounted and rested himself and his mule, eating some provisions. He bought what he needed for himself and fodder for his mule, then continued on into the desert. As night fell, he came to a town called Saadiyah, where he stopped and ate more of his provisions. Then he spread his silk cloth on the sand, placed his saddlebags under his head, and slept in the open air, still overcome with anger.

Tale of Nur Al-Din Ali and His Son. 199

When morning came, he mounted and rode onward until he reached the Holy City of Jerusalem. From there he made his way to Aleppo, where he dismounted at one of the caravanserais and rested for three days, recovering his strength. Determined to travel far, and with Allah having decreed safety in his fate, he set out again, not knowing where he was going. Having fallen in with certain merchants, he did not stop travelling until he reached Bassorah city, though he did not know it was his destination. It was dark night when he arrived at the inn. He spread out his prayer carpet, unloaded the saddlebags from the mule, and gave both the animal and her equipment to the doorkeeper to care for. The man did as instructed. Now it happened that the Wazir of Bassorah, a man advanced in years, was sitting at the latticed window of his palace opposite the inn. He watched the doorkeeper walking the mule back and forth. The animal's costly trappings struck him—she was a fine beast fit for a Wazir or even royalty. The more he looked, the more he was intrigued, until at last he said to one of his pages, "Bring me that doorkeeper." The page brought the doorkeeper to the Wazir, who kissed the ground before the Minister. The Wazir asked him, "Who is the owner of that mule and what sort of man is he?"

The doorkeeper answered, "O my lord, the owner is a handsome young man of pleasant manners, grave and dignified, and doubtless the son of a merchant."

When the Wazir heard this, he rose at once, mounted his horse, and rode to the inn. He went to Nur al-Din, who, seeing the Minister approaching, rose to his feet and came forward to greet and salute him.

The Wazir welcomed him to Bassorah and, dismounting, embraced him and made him sit beside him. "O my son, where do you come from and what do you seek?"

"O my lord," Nur al-Din replied, "I have come from Cairo, where my father was once Wazir, but he has passed to Allah's grace." He told the Wazir everything that had happened to him, then added, "I am resolved never to return home until I have seen all the cities and countries of the world." When the Wazir heard this, he said, "O my son, do not heed the voice of passion, lest it cast you into ruin. Many lands are desolate places, and I fear for you the vicissitudes of fate." He had the saddlebags and the silk and prayer carpets loaded back onto the mule, then took Nur al-Din to his own house. There he lodged him in a pleasant chamber and treated him with great honour, for he had taken a powerful liking to the young man. After a time, he said to him, "O my son, I am now an old man without male children, but Allah has blessed me with a daughter who is your equal in beauty. I have rejected many suitors—men of rank and substance. But affection for you has entered my heart. Tell me, will you become her husband? If you accept, I will go with you to the Sultan of Bassorah and tell him that you are my nephew, the son of my brother. I will have you appointed Wazir in my place so that I may retire, for by God, O my son, I am old and weary."

When Nur al-Din heard the Wazir's words, he bowed his head in modesty and said, "I hear and I obey!" The Wazir was overjoyed and bade his servants prepare a great feast and decorate the assembly hall, where the marriages of emirs and grandees were customarily celebrated. He assembled his friends, the nobles of the realm, and the merchants of Bassorah. When all stood before him, he said, "I had a brother who was Wazir in Egypt. Allah Almighty blessed him with two sons, and He blessed me with a daughter. My brother charged me to marry my daughter to one of his sons, and I agreed. When my daughter came of age, he sent me one of his sons, the young man before you. I intend to marry her to him, drawing up the contract and celebrating the wedding ceremony with proper ceremony. He is nearer and dearer to me than a stranger. After the wedding, if he wishes, he shall remain with me, or if he desires to travel, I will send him and his wife to his father's home."

To this, one and all replied, "Your reasoning is sound." They looked at the bridegroom and were pleased with him. The Wazir sent for the Kazi and legal witnesses, and they drew up the marriage contract. Then the slaves perfumed the guests with incense, served them sherbet, and sprinkled rose water on them, and all departed. The Wazir then bade his servants take Nur al-Din to the public baths and sent him fine robes from his own wardrobe, along with napkins, towels, bowls, perfume burners, and all else that was needed. After bathing and dressing in these fine clothes, Nur al-Din was like the full moon on the fourteenth night. He mounted his mule and rode until he reached the Wazir's palace. There he dismounted and went in to the Minister, kissing his hands. The Wazir welcomed him warmly.

When it was the Twenty first night

So Nur al-Din left him and went in to his wife, the Wazir's daughter. Thus much for him. But as for his elder brother, Shams al-Din, he was away with the Sultan a long time. When he returned from his journey, he found his brother missing. He asked his servants and slaves, who answered, "On the day you departed with the Sultan, your brother mounted his mule, fully equipped as if for a state procession, saying, 'I am going toward Kalyub town and shall be away for one or at most two days, for something troubles my heart, and let none of you follow me.' He went forth, and from that time to this we have heard nothing of him."

Shams al-Din was greatly troubled by his brother's sudden disappearance and grieved deeply. He said to himself, "This is because I chided and reproached him the night before I departed with the Sultan. Perhaps his feelings were hurt and he went travelling. But I must send someone to find him." He went to the Sultan and informed him of what had happened, then wrote letters and dispatches that he sent by swift messengers to his deputies in every province. But during those twenty days, Nur al-Din had travelled far and had reached Bassorah. After thorough searching, the messengers could find no news of him and returned.

Then Shams al-Din despaired of finding his brother and said, "Indeed, I went far beyond all bounds in what I said to him about the marriage of our children. Would that I had not done so! This all comes from my lack of wisdom and lack of caution."

Soon after this, he sought the hand of a Cairo merchant's daughter, drew up the marriage contract, and consummated the marriage. And it so happened that on the very same night when Shams al-Din went in to his wife, Nur al-Din also went in to his wife, the daughter of the Wazir of Bassorah.

This was in accordance with the will of Almighty Allah, who thus dealt out the decrees of Destiny to His creatures. And as the two brothers had said, so it came to pass: their wives became pregnant on the same night and both gave birth on the same day. Shams al-Din's wife bore a daughter, more beautiful than any girl seen in Cairo, and Nur al-Din's wife bore a son, more handsome than any youth ever seen in his time. As one of the poets said of such a youth:—

That jetty hair, that glossy brow, My slender waisted youth, of yours Can darkness round creation throw, Or make it brightly shine. The dusky mole that faintly shows Upon his cheek, ah! blame it not: The tulip flower never blows Undarkened by its spot.

And as another also said:—

His scent was musk and his cheek was rose, His teeth are pearls and his lips drop wine His form is a brand and his hips a hill; His hair is night and his face moon shine.

They named the boy Badr al-Din Hasan, and his grandfather, the Wazir of Bassorah, rejoiced greatly in him. On the seventh day after his birth, he held grand celebrations and spread banquets befitting the birth of a king's heir. Then he took Nur al-Din and went with him before the Sultan. When Nur al-Din came into the King's presence, he kissed the ground before him and recited these verses, for he was quick of speech, noble of spirit, and good-hearted, and as handsome as he was eloquent:—

"The world's best joys long be your lot, my lord! And last while darkness and the dawn o'erlap: O you who make, when we greet your gifts, The world to dance and Time his palms to clap."

The Sultan rose to honour them and, thanking Nur al-Din for his fine compliment, asked the Wazir, "Who is this young man?"

The Minister answered, "This is my brother's son," and recounted his tale from beginning to end.

The Sultan said, "How is he your nephew when we have never heard of him?"

The Minister replied, "O our lord the Sultan, I had a brother who was Wazir in the land of Egypt. He died, leaving two sons. The elder has taken his father's place, and the younger, whom you see, came to me. I had sworn that I would marry my daughter to no one but him. When he arrived, I married her to him. He is young and I am old, my hearing is failing, and my judgment is weakening. I would beseech our lord the Sultan to appoint him in my place, for he is my brother's son and my daughter's husband. He is fit for the Wazirate, being a man of good counsel and keen judgment." The Sultan looked at Nur al-Din and was pleased with him. He appointed him to office as the Wazir had requested, formally installing him and presenting him with a splendid robe of honour and a she-mule from his own stud. He also assigned him salary, stipends, and supplies. Nur al-Din kissed the Sultan's hand and returned home with his father-in-law, both rejoicing greatly and saying, "All this follows because of young Hasan's birth!"

The next day, Nur al-Din presented himself before the King, kissed the ground, and began reciting:—

"Grow your weal and your welfare day by day: And your luck prevail over the envier's spite; And never cease your days to be white as day, And your foeman's day to be black as night!"

The Sultan bade him take the Wazir's seat, so he sat down and applied himself to the business of his office, examining the cases of the subjects and their suits, as is the custom of Ministers. The Sultan watched him and marvelled at his wit, good sense, judgment, and insight. Therefore he loved him and brought him into his intimate circle. When the Divan was dismissed, Nur al-Din returned to his house and related what had transpired to his father-in-law, who rejoiced.

From that time forward, Nur al-Din administered the Wazirate so well that the Sultan would not part from him, night or day. The Sultan increased his stipends and supplies until his means were abundant. He became the owner of merchant ships that sailed at his command, as well as of Mamelukes and slave servants. He laid out many estates, set up water wheels, and planted gardens. When his son Hasan was four years old, the old Wazir died, and Nur al-Din held a splendid funeral ceremony for his father-in-law before his burial. Then he devoted himself to his son's education. When the boy grew strong and reached the age of seven, Nur al-Din hired a scholar—a doctor of law and religion—to teach him in his own house. He charged the tutor to provide a good education and instruct him in courtesy and proper manners.

The tutor had the boy read and memorise all sorts of useful knowledge, beginning after he had spent some years memorizing the Koran. The boy continued to grow in beauty, stature, and symmetry, just as the poet said:—

In his face sky shines the fullest moon; In his cheeks' anemone glows the sun: He so conquered Beauty that he has won All charms of humanity one by one.

The tutor educated him in his father's palace, teaching him reading, writing, arithmetic, theology, and literature. His grandfather, the old Wazir, had bequeathed all his property to him when he was just four years old. During all his early years, he had never left the house, until one day his father, the Wazir Nur al-Din, dressed him in his finest clothes and, mounting him on an excellent she-mule, took him to the Sultan. The King gazed at Badr al-Din Hasan and marvelled at his beauty, and he loved him. As for the people of the city, when he first passed before them with his father, they marvelled at his surpassing beauty and sat down by the roadside, hoping to see him again so they could gaze fully upon his beauty, loveliness, symmetry, and perfect grace. As the poet said in these verses:—

As the sage watched the stars, the semblance clear Of a fair youth on 's scroll he saw appear. Those jetty locks Canopus over him threw And tinged his temple curls a musky hue Mars dyed his ruddy cheek; and from his eyes The Archer star his glittering arrow flies His wit from Hermes came, and Soha's care (The half seen star that dimly haunts the Bear) Kept off all evil eyes that threaten and ensnare The sage stood mazed to see such fortunes meet, And Luna kissed the earth beneath his feet.

The people blessed him aloud as he passed and called upon Allah to bless him. The Sultan showed the boy special favour and said to his father, "O Wazir, you must bring him to my presence every day," and the Wazir replied, "I hear and I obey."

The Wazir returned home with his son and brought him to court constantly until he reached the age of twenty. At that time, the Minister fell ill. He sent for Badr al-Din Hasan and said to him, "Know, O my son, that the present world is only a house of death, while the world to come is a house of eternity. Before I die, I wish to bequeath you certain charges. Listen well to what I say and take my words to heart."

He gave him final instructions on how to deal with his neighbours and manage his affairs properly. Then his thoughts turned to his brother and his native land, and he wept over his separation from those he had first loved. He wiped away his tears and, turning to his son, said, "Before I continue with my final instructions and injunctions, know that I have a brother, your uncle, named Shams al-Din, the Wazir of Cairo. We parted, and he left against his will. Now take a sheet of paper and write down everything I tell you."

Badr al-Din took a clean page and began to write at his father's direction. He wrote a full account of all that had happened to his father, from beginning to end: the dates of his arrival at Bassorah and his meeting with the Wazir, his marriage, his consummation of the marriage with the Wazir's daughter, and the birth of his son—in short, his entire life of forty years from the day of his dispute with his brother. He added these words: "And this is written at my dictation. May Almighty Allah be with my son when I am gone."

He folded the paper and sealed it, then said, "O Hasan, my son, keep this paper with great care, for it will establish your origins, rank, and lineage. If anything bad happens to you, go to Cairo, find your uncle, show him this paper, and tell him that I died far from my own people, a stranger, yearning to see him and them." Badr al-Din Hasan took the document and folded it. Wrapping it in a piece of cloth, he sewed it as a charm between the inner and outer layers of his skullcap and wound his light turban around it. He wept over his father and the parting, though he was still a boy.

Then Nur al-Din fell into a swoon—a sign of approaching death. He soon recovered and said, "O Hasan, my son, I now bequeath to you five final injunctions. The first is: Do not be overly intimate with anyone, do not associate closely with anyone, do not be familiar with anyone. In this way you will be safe from harm. Security lies in seclusion of thought and withdrawal from the company of others. I have heard a poet say:—

In this world there is none you may count upon To befriend your case in the nick of need: So live for yourself nursing hope of none Such counsel I give you: enow, take heed

The second is, O my son: Be harsh with no one, lest fortune treat you harshly. The fortune of this world is with you one day and against you the next, and all worldly possessions are merely loans to be repaid. I have heard a poet say:—

Take thought nor haste to win the thing you will; Have ruth on man for ruth you may'st require: No hand is there but Allah's hand is higher; No tyrant but shall rue worse tyrant's ire!

The third is: Learn to be silent in company and let your own faults distract your attention from the faults of others. It is said that in silence dwells safety. I have heard these lines:—

Reserve's a jewel, Silence safety is; Whenas you speak many a word withhold: For an of Silence you repent you once, Of speech you will repent times manifold.

The fourth is, O my son: Beware of drinking wine, for wine is the root of all sin and dissolves the human mind. Shun it, and I say again, shun strong drink. I have heard a poet say:—

From wine I turn and whoever wine cups swill; Becoming one of those who deem it ill: Wine drives man to miss salvation's way, And opes the gateway wide to sins that kill.

The fifth is, O my son: Keep your wealth and it will keep you. Guard your money and it will guard you. Do not squander your substance, lest perhaps you come to want and must beg from the lowest of mankind. Save your dinars and consider them the greatest remedy for life's sorrows. I have heard a poet say:—

When fails my wealth no friend will deign befriend: When wealth abounds all friends their friendship tender: How many friends lent aid my wealth to spend, But friends to lack of wealth no friendship render.

Tale of Nur Al-Din Ali and His Son. 209

In this way Nur al-Din continued to counsel his son Badr al-Din Hasan until his time came. Then, with a single, sorrowful sigh, his life departed. The sound of mourning and wailing rose high in his house, and the Sultan and all the grandees grieved for him and attended his burial. But his son did not cease lamenting for two months, during which time he never mounted a horse, did not attend the Divan, and did not present himself before the Sultan. At last, the King, being angered, appointed one of his Chamberlains as Wazir in his place and gave orders to seize and seal all of Nur al-Din's houses, goods, and estates. The new Wazir set out with a large force of Chamberlains, officials of the Divan, watchmen, and a crowd of hangers-on to seize Badr al-Din Hasan and bring him before the King for judgment.

Among the followers was a Mameluke who had served Nur al-Din. When he heard this order, he spurred his horse and rode at full speed to Badr al-Din Hasan's house, for he could not bear to see the ruin of his old master's son. He found him sitting at the gate, his head bowed and sorrowful, mourning for his father, as was his habit. The Mameluke dismounted, kissed his hand, and said to him, "O my lord, son of my lord, flee now before ruin comes and destroys you!"

When Hasan heard this, he trembled and asked, "What is the matter?"

The man answered, "The Sultan is angry with you and has issued a warrant against you. Harm is coming swiftly. Flee for your life!" At these words, Hasan's heart filled with terror, and his rosy cheeks turned pale. He said to the Mameluke, "O my brother, is there time for me to go inside and gather some belongings that might serve me during my exile?"

But the slave replied, "O my lord, rise at once and save yourself. Leave this house while there is still time." And he recited these verses:—

"Escape with your life, if oppression happen you, And let the house tell of its builder's fate! Country for country you'll find, if you seek it; Life for life never, early or late. It is strange men should dwell in the house of abjection, When the plain of God's earth is so wide and so great!"

At the Mameluke's words, Badr al-Din covered his head with his garment and left on foot until he stood outside the city. There he heard people saying, "The Sultan has sent his new Wazir to the house of the old Wazir—may his soul rest—to seal his property and seize his son Badr al-Din Hasan, to bring him before the King for execution." And everyone cried, "What a pity for his beauty and loveliness!" When he heard this, he fled without direction, not knowing where he went, and did not stop hurrying until Fate led him to his father's tomb. He entered the cemetery and, threading his way among the graves, at last reached the sepulchre. There he sat down and let fall from his head the hem of his long robe, which was made of brocade with a gold-embroidered border on which these couplets were worked:—

O you whose forehead, like the radiant East, Tells of the stars of Heaven and bounteous dews: Endure yours honour to the latest day, And Time your growth of glory never refuse!

While he sat by his father's tomb, a Jew appeared—a money changer—with saddlebags full of gold. He approached Hasan and kissed his hand, saying, "Where are you bound, O my lord? It is late in the day, you are lightly clad, and I see signs of trouble in your face."

"I was sleeping just now," Hasan answered, "when my father appeared to me and reproached me for not visiting his tomb. I awoke in terror and came directly, fearing the day would pass without my visit, which would have grieved me greatly."

"O my lord," the Jew replied, "your father had many merchant ships at sea. As some are soon to arrive, it is my wish to buy from you the cargo of the first ship that reaches port. Here are a thousand dinars of gold."

"I agree," Hasan said.

The Jew took out a bag of gold and counted out a thousand dinars, which he gave to Hasan, saying, "Write me a letter of sale and seal it." Hasan took a pen and paper and wrote in duplicate: "The writer, Hasan Badr al-Din, son of Wazir Nur al-Din, has sold to Isaac the Jew all the cargo of the first of his father's ships that comes into port for a thousand dinars, and he has received the price in advance."

After keeping one copy, Hasan gave the other to the Jew, who put it in his pouch and departed. But Hasan wept as he thought of the dignity and prosperity that had once been his, and he began reciting:—

"This house, my lady, since you left is now a home no more For me, nor neighbours, since you left, prove kind and neighbourly: The friend, whilere I took to heart, alas! no more to me Is friend, and even Luna's self displays lunacy: You left and by your going left the world a waste, a wold, And lies a gloomy murk upon the face of hill and lea: O may the raven bird whose cry our hapless parting croaked Find not a nesty home and eke shed all his plumery! At length my patience fails me; and this absence wastes my flesh; How many a veil by severance rent our eyes are doomed see: Ah! shall I ever sight again our fair past nights of old; And shall a single house become a home for me once more?"

Then he wept bitterly and night fell. He leaned his head against his father's grave and fell asleep. Glory be to Him who does not sleep! He slumbered until the moon rose, when his head slipped from the tomb and he lay on his back, his limbs stretched out, his face shining in the moonlight.

Now the cemetery was frequented day and night by Jinns who were believers, and a female Jinn came out. Seeing Hasan asleep, she marvelled at his beauty and loveliness and cried, "Glory be to God! This youth must be one of the servants of Paradise."

She then flew upward to circle the heavens, as was her custom, and met an Ifrit on the wing. He greeted her, and she said to him, "Where do you come from?"

"From Cairo," he replied.

"Will you come with me and see the beauty of a youth who sleeps in that burial place?" she asked.

"I will," he answered.

They flew until they landed at the tomb. She showed him the youth and said, "Did you ever see anything like this in your life?"

The Ifrit gazed upon him and exclaimed, "Praise be to Him who has no equal! But, O my sister, shall I tell you what I have seen this day?"

"What is it?" she asked.

He answered, "I have seen the counterpart of this youth in Egypt. She is the daughter of the Wazir Shams al-Din, and she is a model of beauty and loveliness, of the fairest appearance and graceful form, endowed with symmetry and perfect grace. When she reached nineteen years of age, the Sultan of Egypt heard of her and, summoning her father the Wazir, said to him, 'Hear me, O Wazir. I have learned that you have a daughter, and I wish to ask for her hand in marriage.'

The Wazir replied, 'O our lord the Sultan, accept my excuses and show compassion for my sorrow. You know that my brother, who was partner with me in the Wazirate, disappeared from among us many years ago, and we do not know where he is. The cause of his departure was that one night, as we sat together speaking of future wives and children, we had words and he left in anger. But I swore that I would marry my daughter to no one but my brother's son, on the very day she was born, nearly nineteen years ago. Recently I heard that my brother died in Bassorah, where he had married the daughter of the Wazir, and she bore him a son. I will not marry my daughter to anyone but him, to honour my brother's memory. I recorded the date of my marriage, my wife's conception, and my daughter's birth. From her horoscope, I find that her destiny is joined with that of her cousin. And there are many other maidens for our lord the Sultan.'

Hearing his Minister's answer and refusal, the King grew very angry and cried, 'When one like me asks for a girl from one like you, it is an honour! And you refuse me and put me off with weak excuses? By my life, I will marry her to the lowest of my men, despite your objections!'" In the palace was a horse groom—a hunchback, deformed in his chest and back. The Sultan sent for him and married him to the Wazir's daughter, willing or not, and ordered a grand wedding procession for the wedding night. I have just flown here from Cairo, where I left the Hunchback at the door of the public baths, surrounded by the Sultan's white slaves waving burning torches about him. As for the Minister's daughter, she sits among her nurses and attendants, weeping and wailing, forbidden to have her father near her. Never, O my sister, have I seen a more hideous creature than this Hunchback, while the young lady is beautiful in every way—indeed, even more beautiful than this young man."

When it was the Twenty second night

The Ifrit insisted, "By God, O my sister, the damsel I speak of is more beautiful than this youth. Yet he alone deserves her, for they resemble each other like brother and sister or at least cousins. What a tragedy that she is wasted on that Hunchback!"

Then the Jinniyah said, "O my brother, let us get beneath him and lift him up and carry him to Cairo so that we may compare him with the damsel of whom you speak and determine which of the two is more beautiful."

"I hear and I obey!" he replied. "Your words make perfect sense, and your plan is excellent. I myself will carry him."

So he raised Hasan from the ground and flew with him like a bird soaring through the air, the Ifritah keeping close beside him at equal speed. They flew until they alighted in the city of Cairo and set him down on a stone bench, then woke him up. He awoke and, finding himself no longer at his father's tomb in Bassorah, looked about and saw he was in a strange place. He would have cried out, but the Ifrit gave him a blow that silenced him. Then the Ifrit brought him fine clothes and dressed him in them. Giving him a burning torch, the Ifrit said, "Know that I have brought you here to do you a kindness for the love of Allah. Take this torch and mingle with the people at the public bath door. Walk with them without stopping until you reach the wedding house. Then enter the great hall boldly and take your stand at the right hand of the Hunchback bridegroom. When any of the nurses, attendants, or singing girls approach you, put your hand into your pocket—you will find it filled with gold. Take it out and distribute it generously, for whenever you put your fingers in your pocket, you will find it full of coins."

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Distribute generously and fear nothing. Put your trust in Him who created you, for this is not by your own strength but by Allah Almighty's will, so that His decrees may be carried out upon His creatures."

When Badr al-Din Hasan heard these words, he said to himself, "Would that I understood what this means and why I am treated with such kindness!" Nevertheless, he mingled with the crowd, lighting his torch and moving along with the wedding procession until he reached the public bath, where he found the Hunchback already mounted on horseback.

He made his way through the crowd—a beautiful youth in the finest attire, wearing a tarbush, turban, and long-sleeved robe trimmed with gold. As the singing women stopped to receive gifts from the guests, he thrust his hand into his pocket, found it full of gold, and scattered handfuls of coins into their tambourines for the music girls and attendants. The singers were astonished at his generosity, and the people marvelled at his beauty, loveliness, and splendid dress. He continued this way until he reached the mansion of the Wazir—who was his uncle. The Chamberlains drove back the crowd and forbade them to proceed further. But the singing girls and attendants said, "By God, we will not enter unless this young man enters with us, for his generosity has blessed our lives, and we will not display the bride unless he is present."

They carried him into the bridal hall and seated him down, defying the angry glances of the hunchbacked bridegroom. The wives of emirs, wazirs, chamberlains, and courtiers stood in two lines, each holding a lighted candle. All wore thin veils, and the two rows extended from the bride's throne to the hall adjoining the chamber where she would emerge.

When the ladies saw Badr al-Din Hasan and noted his beauty, loveliness, and radiant face shining like the new moon, their hearts inclined toward him. The singing girls said to everyone present, "Know that this handsome youth has showered us with such riches that only gold has passed through our hands. So show him womanly kindness and comply with whatever he asks of us."

All the women crowded around Hasan with their torches, gazing upon his loveliness and envying his beauty. One and all would gladly have lain on his breast for an hour—or better yet, a year. Their hearts were so moved that they let their veils fall from their faces and said, "Blessed is she who belongs to this youth, or to whom he belongs!" They cursed the twisted groom and him who had arranged his marriage to this beautiful girl. As often as they blessed Badr al-Din Hasan, they cursed the Hunchback, saying, "Truly, this youth alone deserves our bride! What a tragedy—such a lovely one with this hideous creature! May God's curse fall upon his head and upon the Sultan who commanded this marriage!" Then the singing girls beat their drums and trilled with joy, announcing the bride's arrival. The Wazir's daughter entered, surrounded by her attendants, who had prepared her beautifully. They had perfumed her, burned incense for her, adorned her hair, and clothed her in robes and ornaments fit for great kings. The most striking part of her dress was a loose robe worn over her other garments. It was decorated with red gold figures of wild beasts and birds whose eyes and beaks were made of gems, with claws of red rubies and green beryl. Around her neck hung a necklace of Yemeni work, worth thousands of gold pieces, adorned with large round jewels such as no king or emperor had ever owned.

The bride was like the full moon on the fourteenth night. As she paced into the hall, she was like one of the beautiful maidens of Heaven. Praise be to Him who created her

Tale of Nur Al-Din Ali and His Son. 217 in such splendor of beauty! The ladies surrounded her as the white surrounds the pupil of the eye, they clustering like stars while she shone among them like the moon breaking through clouds.

Now Badr al-Din Hasan of Bassorah was sitting in full view, when the bride came forward with her graceful, swaying gait. Her hunchbacked bridegroom rose to meet and greet her, but she turned away from the crowd and walked forward until she stood before her cousin Hasan, the son of her uncle. At this, the people laughed.

When the wedding guests saw her drawn toward Badr al-Din, they made a great commotion and the singing women shouted loudly. Hasan put his hand into his pocket, pulled out a handful of gold, and cast it into their tambourines. The girls rejoiced and said, "If only we could have our wish, this bride would be yours!" At this, he smiled and the crowd gathered around him, their torches in hand like the iris surrounding the pupil of the eye, while the Hunchback bridegroom sat alone, much like a tailless baboon. Every time they lit a candle for him, it went out on its own, leaving him in darkness and silence, looking only at himself.

When Badr al-Din Hasan saw the bridegroom sitting lonely in the dark with all the wedding guests and their burning torches crowded around him, he was bewildered and amazed. But when he looked at his cousin, the daughter of his uncle, he rejoiced and felt deep delight. He longed to greet her and gazed intently at her radiant face, bright with light and beauty. Then the attendants removed her veil and displayed her in her first bridal dress of scarlet satin. Hasan's view of her dazzled his sight and dazed his mind as she moved back and forth, swaying gracefully. She turned the heads of all the guests, both women and men, for she was just as the master poet described:—

A sun on wand in knoll of sand she showed, Clad in her cramoisy hued chemisette: Of her lips honey dew she gave me drink, And with her rosy cheeks quencht fire she set.

Then they changed that dress and displayed her in a robe of azure; and she reappeared like the full moon when it rises over the horizon, with her coal black hair and cheeks delicately fair and teeth shown in sweet smiling and breasts firm rising and crowning sides of the softest and waist of the roundest. And in this second suit she was as a certain master of high conceits says of the like of her:—

She came apparelled in an azure vest, Ultramarine, as skies are deckt and dressed: I view'd th' unparallel'd sight, which show'd my eyes A moon of Summer on a Winter night.

Then they changed that suit for another and, veiling her face in the luxuriance of her hair, loosed her lovelocks, so dark, so long that their darkness and length outvied the darkest nights, and she shot through all hearts with the magical shaft of her eye babes. They displayed her in the third dress and she was as said of her the sayer:—

Veiling her cheeks with hair a morn she comes, And I her mischiefs with the cloud compare: Saying, "You veilest morn with night!" "Ah no!" She said, "I shroud full moon with darkling air!"

Then they displayed her in the fourth bridal dress and she came forward shining like the rising sun and swaying to and fro with lovesome grace and supple ease like a gazelle fawn. And she clave all hearts with the arrows of her eyelashes, even as says one who described a charmer like her:—

The sun of beauty she to sight appears And, lovely coy, she mocks all loveliness; And when he fronts her favour and her smile A morn, the Sun of day in clouds must dress.

Then she came forth in the fifth dress, a very light of loveliness like a wand of waving willow or a gazelle of the thirsty wold. Those locks which stung like scorpions along her cheeks were bent, and her neck was bowed in blandishment, and her hips quivered as she went. As says one of the poets describing her in verse:—

She comes like fullest moon on happy night; Taper of waist, with shape of magic might: She has an eye whose glances quell mankind, And Ruby on her cheeks reflects his light:

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Enveils her hips the blackness of her hair; Beware of curls that bite with viper bite! Her sides are silken soft, the while the heart Mere rock behind that surface lurks from sight: From the fringed curtains of her eyne she shoots Shafts which at farthest range on mark alight: When round her neck or waist I throw my arms Her breasts repel me with their hardened height Ah, how her beauty all excels! ah how That shape transcends the graceful waving bough!

Then they dressed her in the sixth outfit, a green gown. Now she shamed the slender straightness of the nutbrown spear with her elegance. Her radiant face outshone the brightest beams of the full moon, and she surpassed the bending branches in graceful movement and supple grace. Her loveliness elevated the beauty of the four quarters of earth, and she broke men's hearts with the power of her appearance. As one of the poets said in these lines:—

A damsel 'twas the tirer's art had decked with snares and sleight: And robed in rays as though the sun from her had borrowed light: She came before us wondrous clad in chemisette of green, As veiled by its leafy screen pomegranate hides from sight: And when he said "How callest you the manner of your dress?" She answered us in pleasant way with double meaning dressed "We call this garment crève coeur; and rightly is it called, For many a heart wi' this we broke and conquered many a sprite!"

Then they displayed her in the seventh dress, coloured between safflower and saffron, even as one of the poets says:

In vest of saffron pale and safflower red Musk d, sandal'd, ambergris'd, she came to front: "Rise!" he criedr youth, "go forth and show yourself!" "Sit!" he said hips, "we cannot bear the brunt!" And when I craved a bout, her Beauty said "Do, do!" and he said pretty shame, "Don't, don't!"

Thus they displayed the bride in all her seven dresses before Hasan of Bassorah, paying no attention to the Hunchback who sat moping alone. When she opened her eyes, she said, "O Allah, make this man my husband and deliver me from the evil of this hunchbacked groom."

When the ceremony ended, they dismissed the wedding guests, who departed, women, children, and all. Only Hasan and the Hunchback remained, while the attendants led the bride to an inner room to change her clothes and prepare her for the bridegroom.

Then the Hunchback approached Badr al-Din Hasan and said, "O my lord, you have delighted us with your good company and overwhelmed us with your kindness and courtesy. But now, should you not take your leave?"

"In Allah's name, so be it," Hasan answered. Rising, he went toward the door, where the Ifrit met him and said, "Stay where you are, O Badr al-Din. When the Hunchback goes to the privy, go in immediately and seat yourself in the bridal chamber. When the bride comes, say to her, 'I am your husband. The King devised this trick only to protect you from the evil eye. The one you saw is merely a groom, one of our stablemen.' Then boldly approach her and unveil her face, for I am jealous in this matter." While Hasan was still speaking with the Ifrit, the groom left the hall and entered the privy, sitting down on the seat. Barely had he done so when the Ifrit came out of the water tank in the form of a mouse and squeaked, "Zeek!"

The Hunchback said, "What ails you?"

The mouse grew larger until it became a coal-black cat that caterwauled, "Meeow! Meeow!"

It continued growing until it became a dog that barked, "Woof! Woof!"

When the bridegroom saw this, he was terrified and cried out:

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"Leave me alone, you cursed one!"

But the dog continued growing and swelling until it became a young ass that brayed and snorted in his face, "Hee-haw! Hee-haw!"

The Hunchback trembled and cried, "Help me, O people of the house!"

But behold, the young ass grew larger and became as big as a buffalo. It blocked the way before him and spoke with a human voice, saying, "Woe to you, O Hunchback, you wretch, you filthiest of grooms!"

Hearing this, the groom was seized with terror and sat on the seat in his clothes, his teeth chattering.

The Ifrit said, "Is the world so narrow that you could find no one to marry but my beloved?"

When the Hunchback remained silent, the Ifrit continued, "Answer me, or I will bury you in the earth!"

"By God, O King of the Buffaloes," replied the Hunchback, "this is not my fault. They forced me to marry her. I did not know she had a lover among the buffaloes. But now I repent, first before Allah and then before you."

The Ifrit said to him, "I swear to you: if you leave this place or speak a word before sunrise, I will wring your neck. When the sun rises, go away and never return to this house."

So saying, the Ifrit took the Hunchback and placed him upside down in the opening of the privy, saying to him, "I will leave you here, but I will watch you until sunrise. If you move before then, I will grab you by the feet and dash your brains against the wall. So guard your life!" Thus much for the Hunchback. But as for Badr al-Din Hasan of Bassorah, he left the Hunchback and the Ifrit arguing and went into the house, sitting in the centre of the bridal chamber. Behold, in came the bride, attended by an old woman who stood at the door and said, "O Father of Uprightness, arise and accept what God gives you."

Then the old woman departed, and the bride, called Sitt al-Husn—the Lady of Beauty—entered the inner chamber with a broken heart, saying to herself:

"By God, I will never yield my body to him, not even if he kills me!"

But when she came to the far end of the chamber, she saw Badr al-Din Hasan sitting there. She said, "Beloved! Are you still here? By God, I wished that you were my bridegroom, or at least that you and the hunchbacked groom shared me between you."

He replied, "O beautiful lady, how could the groom approach you? How could he share you with me?"

"Then," she said, "who is my husband—you or he?"

"Sitt al-Husn," Hasan replied, "we did not do this as a joke, but only to protect you from the evil eye. When the attendants, singers, and wedding guests saw your beauty displayed to me, they feared your beauty might bewitch them. So your father hired the groom for ten dinars and a bowl of meat to divert the evil eye from us. Now he has received his payment and gone away."

When the Lady of Beauty heard these words, she smiled with joy and laughed pleasantly. Then she whispered to him, "By God, you have quenched a fire that burned me. Now, by God, O my dark-haired beloved, take me to you and hold me to your chest!"

Then she began to sing:—

"By God, set your foot upon my soul; Since long, long years for this alone I long: And whisper tale of love in ear of me; To me 'tis sweeter than the sweetest song! No other youth upon my heart shall lie; So do it often, dear, and do it long."

Then she removed her outer garments and opened her chemise from the neckline downward, revealing her body and the fullness of her hips. When Badr al-Din saw this beautiful sight, his passion was aroused. He rose and removed his clothes. He placed the purse of gold that he had taken from the Jew—containing the thousand dinars—wrapped in his trousers, under the edge of the bedding. Then he removed his turban and placed it on the settle with his other clothes, remaining in only his blue silk shirt trimmed with gold and his skullcap.

The Lady of Beauty drew him to her and he drew her to him. He embraced her and drew her legs around his waist. When he had finished consummating the marriage, he found her to be a virgin, untouched by any man. He took her virginity and enjoyed her youth while in the fullness of his manhood. After his first encounter, he lay with her again and then once more. And when their passionate encounter had ended, he had possessed her some fifteen times, and she became pregnant by him that very night. Then he laid his hand under her head and she did the same, and they embraced and fell asleep in each other's arms, as a certain poet said of such lovers in these couplets:—

Visit your lover, spurn what envy told; No envious churl shall smile on love ensoul'd. Merciful Allah made no fairer sight Than coupled lovers single couch does hold; Breast pressing breast and robed in joys their own, With pillowed forearms cast in finest mould: And when heart speaks to heart with tongue of love, Folk who would part them hammer steel ice cold: If a fair friend you find who cleaves to you, Live for that friend, that friend in heart enfold. O you who blame for love us lover kind Say, can you minister to diseased mind?

Thus much for Badr al-Din Hasan and Sitt al-Husn, his cousin.

As for the Ifrit, as soon as he saw the two asleep, he said to the Ifritah, "Rise now. Get under the youth and let us carry him back to his place before dawn. The day is approaching."

She came forward and, slipping under him as he lay asleep, lifted him up in only his fine blue shirt, leaving the rest of his garments behind. They flew on (the Ifrit keeping pace with her) until dawn caught them midway. The Muezzin began his call from the minaret: "Hasten to prayer! Hasten to prayer!" Then Allah caused His angels to strike down the Ifrit with a shooting star, and he was consumed. But the Ifritah escaped.

She descended with Badr al-Din at the place where the Ifrit had burned, and did not carry him back to Bassorah, fearing he might be harmed. By the will of Him who ordains all things, they alighted at Damascus in Syria. The Ifritah set down her burden at one of the city gates and flew away.

When day broke and the gates were opened, people who came forth saw a handsome youth wearing only a blue silk shirt embroidered with gold and a skullcap, lying on the ground in deep sleep after the night's exertion, which had left him too weary to wake. The people looking at him said, "How fortunate is she who spent the night with this one! But would that he had put his clothes back on."

Another said, "A poor lot, these sons of great families! Perhaps he came from a tavern and wine went to his head, causing him to miss his destination and wander until he reached the city gate. Finding it closed, he lay down to sleep."

As the people exchanged guesses about him, suddenly the morning breeze blew over Badr al-Din, raising his shirt to his middle and revealing his belly, navel, and what lay below, along with legs and thighs clear as crystal and smooth as cream.

The people cried, "By God, what a beautiful fellow!"

At their outcry, Badr al-Din awoke.

Tale of Nur Al-Din Ali and His Son. 225

He found himself lying at a city gate with a crowd gathered around him. He was greatly amazed and asked, "Where am I, O good people? Why do you gather around me? What have I to do with you?"

They answered, "We found you lying here asleep during the dawn call to prayer. That is all we know. But where did you sleep last night?"

"By God, O good people," he replied, "I slept in Cairo last night."

One man said, "You must have been smoking hashish."

Another said, "He is a fool."

A third said, "He is an idiot."

A fourth asked him, "Are you mad? You slept in Cairo and you wake at the gates of Damascus!"

He cried, "By God, good people, I speak the truth! I slept in Egypt last night, and yesterday afternoon I was in Bassorah."

One said, "Well, well!"

Another said, "Hmm!"

A third said, "Indeed!"

A fourth cried, "This youth is mad—possessed by a Jinn!"

They clapped their hands and said to each other, "What a tragedy for one so young! By God, he is mad! And madness knows no boundaries."

Then they said to him, "Calm yourself and come to your senses! How could you be in Bassorah yesterday and in Cairo last night and here in Damascus this morning?" But he insisted, "I tell you, I was a bridegroom in Cairo last night."

"Perhaps you have been dreaming," they replied, "and saw all this in your sleep."

Hasan paused and said to them, "By God, this is no dream, nor does it seem like a vision! I was certainly in Cairo where the bride was displayed before me in the presence of a third person—the Hunchback groom who sat nearby. By God, this is no dream, and if it were, where is the bag of gold I carried? Where are my turban, my robe, and my trousers?"

He rose and entered the city, walking through its streets and bazaars. People crowded around him and mocked him, crying, "Madman! Madman!" Until, beside himself with anger, he took refuge in a cook's shop.

Now this Cook had once been a rogue and a thief, but Allah had caused him to repent and turned from his evil ways. He had opened a cook shop, and all the people of Damascus feared his boldness and trickery. When the crowd saw the youth enter the shop, they scattered in fear of the Cook and went away. The Cook looked at Badr al-Din and, noting his beauty and loveliness, fell in love with him at once. He said, "Where do you come from, O youth? Tell me your story at once, for you have become dearer to me than my own life."

So Hasan recounted everything that had happened to him from beginning to end, and the Cook said, "O my lord Badr al-Din, doubtless you know that your case is wondrous and your story is remarkable. So I say to you, keep what has happened to you hidden until Allah dispels your troubles. Stay with me meanwhile, for I have no child and I will adopt you as my son."

Badr al-Din replied, "So be it, O my uncle!"

The Cook went to the bazaar and bought him fine clothes and dressed him. Then he took him to the judge and formally declared that Badr al-Din was his son. So Badr al-Din Hasan became known in Damascus as the Cook's son. He sat with the Cook in the shop, handling the money, and lived this way for some time. Thus much for Badr al-Din Hasan. But as for his cousin, the Lady of Beauty, when morning came she awoke and found Badr al-Din Hasan gone from her side. She thought he had gone to the privy and sat waiting for him, but he did not return. Just then, her father, Shams al-Din Mohammed, the Wazir of Egypt, entered her chamber. He was grieved because of what had happened to him through the Sultan, who had treated him harshly and forced him to marry his daughter to the lowest of his servants—and a hunchbacked groom at that. He said to himself, "I will slay my daughter if she has willingly yielded her body to this accursed wretch." So he came to the door of his daughter's chamber and said, "Ho! Sitt al-Husn."

She answered, "Here I am! Here I am! O my lord," and came out with unsteady gait, having experienced the pleasures of the night. She kissed his hand, her face glowing with brightness and beauty, for she had lain in the arms of her beloved cousin.

When her father, the Wazir, saw her in this state, he asked, "O you cursed girl, are you rejoicing because of this horse groom?"

Sitt al-Husn smiled sweetly and answered, "By God, do not mock me! I have endured enough from yesterday when people laughed at me and compared me to that groom, who is not worthy to bring my husband's shoes or slippers—nay, not even worthy of the nail of my husband's finger! By God, never in my life have I experienced such a sweet night as last night! Do not tease me by mentioning the Hunchback." When her father heard these words, he was filled with fury. His eyes widened until only the whites showed, and he cried, "How dare you speak such words! It was the hunchbacked groom who lay with you last night!"

"In God's name," replied the Lady of Beauty, "do not trouble me about the Hunchback—may God curse his father. Stop teasing me! That groom was hired for only ten dinars and a bowl of food, and he took his wage and left. As for me, I entered the bridal chamber where I found my true husband sitting, the one the singers had displayed me to—the same man who had showered gold on them until every poor person present became wealthy. I spent the night on the breast of my beloved, a most lovely man with black eyes and joined eyebrows." When her father heard these words, the light drained from his face and he cried out to her, "O you shameless girl! What are you saying? Have you lost your mind?"

"O my father," she replied, "you break my heart. Surely you have been hard enough on me. My true husband, who took my virginity, has just gone to the privy, and I know that I have conceived by him."

The Wazir rose in amazement and entered the privy, where he found the hunchbacked groom with his head in the hole and his feet in the air.

At this sight, he was confounded and said, "This is indeed the rascal Hunchback!"

He called to him, "Ho, Hunchback!"

The Hunchback groaned, "Ow! Ow!" Thinking it was the Ifrit speaking to him.

The Wazir shouted at him, "Speak, or I will cut off your head with this sword!"

Then the Hunchback said, "By God, O Master of the Ifrits, since you placed me here, I have not moved my head. In God's name, have mercy and treat me kindly!"

When the Wazir heard this, he asked, "What are you saying? I am the bride's father, not an Ifrit!"

"That is enough," answered the Hunchback. "You have nearly killed me. Go away before he comes back to torment me further. Why could you not marry me to any woman but the lover of buffaloes and the beloved of Ifrits? May God curse her and him who married me to her and caused this disaster for me!"

And Shahrazad perceived the approach of dawn and ceased speaking.

When it was the Twenty third night

Then the Wazir said to him, "Get up and get out of here!"

"Am I mad," cried the groom, "that I would leave without the Ifrit's permission? His last words were: 'When the sun rises, go your way.' Has the sun risen? I dare not move from this place until it does."

The Wazir asked, "Who brought you here?"

The groom answered, "I came here last night to use the privy, and a mouse came out of the water, squeaked at me, and grew until it was as big as a buffalo. It spoke to me, and then left me here. May God curse the bride and him who married me to her!"

The Wazir helped him out of the cesspool and the Hunchback fled, running for his life, hardly believing the sun had risen. He went to the Sultan and told him everything that had happened with the Ifrit.

But the Wazir returned to his daughter's private chamber, greatly troubled in spirit, and said to her, "O my daughter, explain this strange matter to me!"

She said, "It is simple. The bridegroom to whom they displayed me last night lay with me all night, took my virginity, and I am with child by him. He is my husband. If you do not believe me, there is his turban on the settle and his dagger, and his trousers under the bed with something wrapped in them." When her father heard this, he entered the private chamber and found the turban left there by Badr al-Din Hasan, his brother's son. He took it in hand and turned it over, saying, "This is a Wazir's turban, though it is made of Mosul cloth."

He opened it and, finding what seemed to be a charm sewn into the crown, he carefully unsewed the lining and removed it. Then he lifted the trousers and found the purse containing a thousand gold pieces. Opening it, he found a written paper inside.

He read it, and it was a bill of sale from the Jew in the name of Badr al-Din Hasan, son of Nur al-Din Ali, the Egyptian. The thousand dinars were also there.

As soon as Shams al-Din read this, he cried out loudly and fell to the ground in a faint. When he revived and understood the matter, he marvelled and said, "There is no God but Allah, whose might is over all things! Do you know, O my daughter, who it was that took your virginity?"

"No," she answered.

He said, "Truly he is the son of my brother, your cousin, and this thousand dinars is your dowry. Praise be to Allah! But I wish to know how this came to pass!"

Then he opened the charm and found within it a paper written in the hand of his deceased brother, Nur al-Din the Egyptian, father of Badr al-Din Hasan. When he saw the handwriting, he kissed it again and again, weeping and wailing over his dead brother. He improvised these verses:—

"I see their traces and with pain I melt, And on their whilome homes I weep and yearn: And Him I pray who dealt this parting blow Some day he deign vouchsafe a safe return."

When he finished reading the verses, he read the scroll and found recorded in it the dates of his brother's marriage to the daughter of the Wazir of Bassorah, his consummation of the marriage, her conception, the birth of Badr al-Din Hasan, and the complete history of his brother's life until his death. He marvelled greatly and trembled with joy. Comparing the dates with those of his own marriage, consummation with his wife, and the birth of his daughter Sitt al-Husn, he found that they matched exactly.

So he took the document and went to the Sultan, relating everything from beginning to end. The King marvelled and ordered the matter to be recorded in the official records.

The Wazir waited that day to see his brother's son, but he did not come. He waited a second day, a third day, and so on until the seventh day, but there was no news of him. Then he said, "By God, I will do something unprecedented!"

He took a pen and ink and drew a detailed plan of the entire house on a sheet of paper, showing where the private chamber was, the placement of the curtain, the furniture, and everything else in the room. He folded up the sketch and had all the furniture collected. He took Badr al-Din's garments, turban, cap, robe, and purse, carried them all to his house, and locked them away securely against the arrival of his nephew, Badr al-Din Hasan, the son of his lost brother. He sealed the door with an iron padlock and his seal.

As for the Wazir's daughter, when her time was fulfilled, she bore a son like the full moon, the very image of his father in beauty, loveliness, fine proportions, and perfect grace.

Tale of Nur Al-Din Ali and His Son. 231

They cut his navel string and applied kohl to his eyelids to strengthen his eyes. They gave him to nurses and nursemaids, naming him Ajib, the Wonderful One. He grew rapidly—each day as a month, each month as a year. When seven years had passed, his grandfather sent him to school, instructing the schoolmaster to teach him to recite the Koran and to educate him well. He remained at school for four years, until he began to bully his schoolmates, abusing them, beating them, and thrashing them, saying, "Who among you is like me? I am the son of the Wazir of Egypt!"

At last the boys came together and complained to the Monitor about the rough treatment they suffered from Ajib. The Monitor said to them, "I will tell you what to do so that he will stop coming to school. When he enters tomorrow, gather around him and say to one another, 'By God, none shall play with us at this game except he tell us the names of his mother and his father, for whoever does not know his parents' names is a bastard, a child of shame, and shall not play with us.'" When morning came, the boys came to school, Ajib among them. They gathered around him and said, "We will play a game in which only those who know their mother's and father's names may participate."

They all cried, "Agreed!"

One boy said, "My name is Majid, my mother's name is Alawiyah, and my father's name is Izz al-Din."

Another spoke similarly, and then a third, until it was Ajib's turn. He said, "My name is Ajib, my mother's name is Sitt al-Husn, and my father's name is Shams al-Din, the Wazir of Cairo."

"By God," the boys cried, "the Wazir is not your true father."

Ajib replied, "The Wazir is truly my father."

Then the boys all laughed and clapped their hands at him, saying, "He does not know who his father is. Get away from us, for none shall play with us unless they know their father's true name."

They left him and laughed him to scorn.

His heart was torn and he nearly choked with tears and hurt. Then the Monitor said to him, "We know that the Wazir is your grandfather, your mother's father, not your father. As for your father, neither you nor we know who he is. The Sultan forced your mother to marry the hunchbacked groom, but a Jinn came and lay with her, so you have no known father. Stop boasting among the other boys until you know that you have a lawful father, or else you will be called a bastard. Even the son of a peddler knows his father! Your grandfather is the Wazir of Egypt, but as for your father—we do not know him, and we say you have none. So come to your senses!"

When Ajib heard these insulting words from the Monitor and the schoolboys and understood the shame they heaped upon him, he left immediately and ran to his mother Sitt al-Husn to complain. But he wept so bitterly that tears prevented him from speaking at first. When she heard his sobs and saw his tears her heart burned as though with fire for him, and she said, "O my son, why do you weep? Allah keep the tears from yours eyes! Tell me what has happened you?" So he told her all that he heard from the boys and from the Monitor and ended with asking, "And who, O my mother, is my father?" She answered, "Your father is the Wazir of Egypt;" but he said, "Do not lie to me. The Wazir is your father, not mine! Who then is my father? Except you tell me the very truth I will kill myself with this hanger." When his mother heard him speak of his father she wept, remembering her cousin and her bridal night with him and all that occurred there and then, and she repeated these couplets:—

"Love in my heart they lit and went their ways, And all I love to furthest lands withdrew And when they left me sufferance also left, And when we parted Patience bade adieu: They fled and flying with my joys they fled, In very constancy my spirit flew: They made my eyelids flow with severance tears And to the parting pang these drops are due:

Tale of Nur Al-Din Ali and His Son. 233

And when I long to see reunion day, My groans prolonging sore for ruth I sue: Then in my heart of hearts their shapes I trace, And love and longing care and cark renew: O you, whose names cling round me like a cloak, Whose love yet closer than a shirt I drew, Beloved ones! how long this hard despite? How long this severance and this coy shy flight?"

Then she wailed and shrieked aloud and her son did the like; and behold, in came the Wazir whose heart burnt within him at the sight of their lamentations, and he said, "What makes you weep?" So the Lady of Beauty acquainted him with what had happened between her son and the school boys; and he also wept, calling to mind his brother and what had past between them and what had happened his daughter and how he had failed to find out what mystery there was in the matter. He rose at once and went to the audience hall, going directly to the King. He told his story and asked permission to travel eastward to the city of Bassorah to search for his brother's son. Furthermore, he begged the Sultan to write letters authorizing him to seize Badr al-Din, his nephew and son-in-law, wherever he might find him.

He wept before the King, who was moved with pity. The Sultan wrote royal letters to all his deputies in every land and city. The Wazir rejoiced and prayed for blessings upon him.

Then, taking leave of his Sovereign, he returned to his house where he outfitted himself, his daughter, and his adopted son Ajib with everything necessary for a long journey. They set out and travelled day after day until they arrived at the city of Damascus. He found it a beautiful place abounding in trees and streams, as the poet said:—

When I nighted and dayed in Damascus town, Time sware such another he never should view: And careless we slept under wing of night, Till dappled Morn 'gan her smiles renew: And dew drops on branch in their beauty hung, Like pearls to be dropt when the Zephyr blew: And the Lake was the page where birds read and note, And the clouds set points to what breezes wrote.

The Wazir camped in the open space called al-Hasa. After pitching his tents, he said to his servants, "We will rest here for two days."

They went into the city for various purposes—some to sell, some to buy, some to visit the public baths, and some to pray at the great mosque of the Umayyads, which has no equal in the world.

Ajib also went into the city for leisure and entertainment, accompanied by his attendant eunuch, who carried a thick almond-wood staff so heavy that if he struck a camel with it, the animal would never rise again.

When the people of Damascus saw Ajib's beauty, brilliance, perfect grace, and symmetry—for he was a marvel of loveliness and charm, softer than a cool northern breeze, sweeter than fresh water to a thirsty man, and more pleasant than health to one who has been ill—many people followed him. Others ran ahead and sat on the road to gaze at him as he passed. By the decree of Destiny, the eunuch stopped opposite the shop of Ajib's father, Badr al-Din Hasan. His beard had grown long and thick, and his wits had matured during the twelve years that had passed. The Cook, the former rogue, had died, and Hasan of Bassorah had inherited his goods and shop, for he had been formally adopted before the judge and witnesses.

When his son and the eunuch stopped before him, he gazed upon Ajib. Seeing how beautiful the boy was, his heart trembled and raced. Blood called to blood, and natural affection stirred within him. His heart ached with longing for the boy.

He had just prepared a conserve of pomegranate grains with sugar, and love, placed in his heart by Heaven, moved him. So he called to Ajib and said, "O my lord, O you who have seized my heart and my deepest being, you for whom my soul yearns, will you not enter my house and bring joy to my heart by tasting my food?"

His eyes filled with tears that he could not restrain, as he thought of what he had been and what he had become.

When Ajib heard his father's words, his own heart yearned toward him. He looked at the eunuch and said to him,

Tale of Nur Al-Din Ali and His Son. 235

"O my friend, my heart is drawn to this cook. He is a man whose son is far from him. Let us enter and gladden his heart by tasting his hospitality. Perhaps through our kindness, Allah will reunite me with my father."

When the eunuch heard these words, he cried, "By God, what is this! Should the sons of Wazirs eat in an ordinary cook shop? I keep the people away from you with this staff so they do not even gaze upon you. I cannot let you enter this shop at all."

When Hasan of Bassorah heard this, he was amazed. He turned to the eunuch with tears streaming down his cheeks.

Ajib said, "Truly my heart loves him!"

But the eunuch replied, "Say no more. You will not go in." Then the father turned to the eunuch and said, "O worthy sir, why will you not gladden my heart by entering my shop? O you who are like a chestnut—dark without but white of heart within! O you of whom a certain poet said—" The eunuch burst out laughing and asked, "Said what? Speak out, by God, and be quick about it!"

So Hasan of Bassorah began reciting these verses:—

"If not master of manners or anything but discreet In the household of Kings no trust could he take: And then for the Harem! What Eunuch is he Whom angels would serve for his service sake."

The Eunuch marvelled and was pleased at these words, so he took Ajib by the hand and went into the cook's shop: whereupon Hasan the Bassorite ladled into a saucer some conserve of pomegranate grains wonderfully good, dressed with almonds and sugar, saying, "You have honoured me with your company: eat then and health and happiness to you!" Thereupon Ajib said to his father, "Sit you down and eat with us; so perchance Allah may unite us with him we long for." Hasan, said, "O my son, have you then been afflicted in your tender years with parting from those you love?" Ajib, said, "Even so, O nuncle mine; my heart burns for the loss of a beloved one who is none other than my father; and indeed I come forth,

I and my grandfather, to circle and search the world for him. Oh, the pity of it, and how I long to meet him!" Then he wept with exceeding weeping, and his father also wept seeing him weep and for his own bereavement, which recalled to him his long separation from dear friends and from his mother; and the Eunuch was moved to pity for him. Then they ate together till they were satisfied; and Ajib and the slave rose and left the shop. at this Hasan the Bassorite felt as though his soul had departed his body and had gone with them; for he could not lose sight of the boy during the twinkling of an eye, albeit he knew not that Ajib was his son. So he closed his shop and hastened after them. He walked so quickly that he caught up with them before they had left the western gate. The eunuch turned and asked him, "What do you want?"

Badr al-Din answered, "When you left me, it seemed my soul went with you. I have business outside the city gate, so I thought I would walk with you until that is settled, and then return."

The eunuch was angered. He said to Ajib, "This is exactly what I feared! We ate that unlucky food (which we now honour him for), and here he is following us from place to place. The common people are always common."

Ajib turned and saw the cook close behind him. He grew angry, his face reddening with rage. He said to the eunuch, "Let him walk on the public road. But if he follows us when we leave for our tents, we will send him away with harsh words."

Then he bowed his head and walked on, the eunuch behind him. But Hasan of Bassorah followed them to the plain of al-Hasa. As they drew near the tents, they turned and saw him still close behind them. Ajib was very angry now, fearing that the eunuch might tell his grandfather what had happened. His fury grew hotter from fear that someone might say that after Ajib ate in a cook shop, the cook followed him.

So he turned and looked at Hasan of Bassorah. Their eyes met. The father had become like a body without a soul. It seemed to Ajib that the cook's gaze was unwholesome or that he was some wicked man. His rage redoubled. Stooping down, he picked up a stone weighing half a pound and threw it at his father. It struck him on the forehead, cutting it open

Tale of Nur Al-Din Ali and His Son. 237 from eyebrow to eyebrow, and blood streamed down his face. Hasan fell to the ground in a swoon while Ajib and the eunuch hurried to the tents.

When the father came to himself, he wiped away the blood and tore off a strip of his turban to bind up his head. He blamed himself, saying, "I was wrong to close my shop and follow him, so that he thought I was some dishonourable man."

Then he returned to his place and busied himself selling his sweets. He longed for his mother in Bassorah and wept for her, crying out as he recited:—

"Unjust it were to bid the World be just And blame her not: She never was made for justice: Take what she gives you, leave all grief aside, For now to fair and then to foul her lust is."

So Hasan of Bassorah dedicated himself to selling his sweets. But his uncle the Wazir rested in Damascus for three days, then marched toward Emesa. As he passed through that city and every place where he stopped, he made inquiries. He continued through Hamah, Aleppo, Diyar Bakr, Mardin, and Mosul, always searching, until he reached Bassorah city.

As soon as he had secured lodgings, he presented himself before the Sultan, who received him with great honour and respect befitting his rank and asked why he had come.

The Wazir told him his story and revealed that Minister Nur al-Din had been his brother. The Sultan exclaimed, "May Allah have mercy upon him! He was my Wazir for fifteen years, and I loved him greatly. He died, leaving a son who lived only a month after his father. Since then, the boy has disappeared, and we have had no word of him. But his mother, the daughter of my former Minister, is still here."

When Wazir Shams al-Din heard that his nephew's mother was alive and well, he rejoiced and said, "O King, I greatly desire to meet her."

The King immediately gave him permission to visit her. So he went to the mansion of his brother Nur al-Din and looked sorrowfully at everything around him and kissed the threshold. He thought of his brother Nur al-Din Ali, how he had died in a foreign land far from his family and friends, and he wept, reciting these lines:—

"I wander 'mid these walls, my Layla's walls, And kissing this and other wall I roam: 'Tis not the walls or roof my heart so loves, But those who in this house had made their home."

He passed through the gate into a courtyard and found a vaulted doorway built of solid stone and inlaid with many-coloured marble. He walked through it and wandered about the house. Glancing around, he saw his brother Nur al-Din's name written in gold upon the walls. He went up to the inscription and kissed it, weeping as he thought of how he had been separated from his brother and had now lost him forever. He recited these verses:—

"I ask of you from every rising sun, And eke I ask when fiashes leven light: Restless I pass my nights in passion pain, Yet never I 'plain me of my pain ful plight My love! if longer last this parting throe Little by little shall it waste my sprite. If you would bless these eyne with sight of you One day on earth, I crave none other sight: Think not another could possess my mind Nor length nor breadth for other love I find."

He walked on until he came to the apartment of his brother's widow, the mother of Badr al-Din Hasan. From the time her son had disappeared, she had never ceased weeping and wailing, day and night. As the years passed, she built a marble tomb for him in the centre of the hall, where she would weep for him day and night, never sleeping except beside it.

When the Wazir drew near her apartment, he heard her voice. He stood behind the door and listened as she addressed the tomb in verse, saying:—

Tale of Nur Al-Din Ali and His Son. 239

"Answer, By God! Sepulchre, are all his beauties gone? Has change the power to blight his charms, that Beauty's paragon? You are not earth, O Sepulchre! nor are you sky to me; How comes it then, in you I see conjoint the branch and moon?"

While she was lamenting, the Wazir entered and greeted her. He told her he was her husband's brother and related everything that had happened between them. He told her the whole story of how her son Badr al-Din Hasan had spent a night with his daughter ten years ago but had disappeared in the morning. He ended by saying, "My daughter became pregnant by your son and bore a male child, who is now with me. He is your grandchild—the son of your son through my daughter."

When she heard that her son Badr al-Din was still alive and saw her brother-in-law before her, she rose and threw herself at his feet, kissing them and reciting these verses:—

"Allah be good to him that gives glad tidings of your steps; In very truth for better news my ears would never sue: Were he content with worn out robe, upon his back I'd throw A heart to pieces rent and torn when heard the word Adieu."

Then the Wazir sent for Ajib. His grandmother stood up, embraced him, and wept. But Shams al-Din said to her, "This is not the time for weeping. It is the time to prepare yourself to travel with us to the land of Egypt. Perhaps Allah will reunite us with your son and my nephew."

She replied, "I hear and I obey."

At once, she gathered her belongings, treasures, and jewels, and outfitted herself and her slave girls for the journey. Meanwhile, the Wazir went to take his leave of the Sultan of Bassorah, who sent with him gifts and valuables for the Sultan of Egypt.

They set out immediately on the journey home and travelled until they reached Damascus, where they alighted in their usual place and pitched their tents. The Wazir said to his companions, "We will rest here for a week to purchase gifts and rare items for the Sultan."

Now Ajib remembered the past and said to the eunuch, "O my friend, I want some entertainment. Let us go to the great bazaar of Damascus and see what has become of the cook whose sweets we ate and whose head we injured. Indeed, he was kind to us, and we treated him badly."

The eunuch answered:

"I obey!"

They left the tents. The tie of blood drew Ajib toward his father. They passed through the gateway called Bab al-Faradis and entered the city, walking through the streets until they reached the cook shop, where they found Hasan of Bassorah standing at the door.

It was near the time of the midafternoon prayer, and he had just finished preparing a pomegranate conserve. When the two approached and Ajib saw him, his heart was drawn toward the cook. Noticing the scar of the blow, which time had darkened on his forehead, Ajib said to him, "Peace be upon you, O man. Know that my heart is with you."

But when Badr al-Din looked upon his son, his heart ached and trembled. He lowered his gaze and tried to speak, but could not find words. Then he raised his head humbly toward his son and recited these verses:—

"I longed for my beloved but when I saw his face, Abashed I held my tongue and stood with downcast eye And hung my head in dread and would have hid my love, But do whatever I would hidden it would not lie: Volumes of plaints I had prepared, reproach and blame, But when we met, no single word remembered I."

And then he said to them, "Heal my broken heart and taste my sweetmeats. By God, I cannot look at you without my heart trembling. I should not have followed you the other day, but I was beside myself with longing."

"By God," answered Ajib, "you do love us! We ate at your house once before and you made us regret it by following us and nearly disgracing us. So now we will eat with you only on one condition: you must swear that you will not leave the shop to follow us afterward, nor dog us. Otherwise we will not visit you again during our stay, for we will be here a week while my grandfather buys gifts for the King." Hasan of Bassorah said, "I promise you this."

So Ajib and the eunuch entered the shop. His father set before them a dish full of pomegranate conserve.

Ajib said, "Sit down and eat with us, so that perhaps Allah will dispel our sorrows."

Hasan of Bassorah was joyful. He sat down and ate with them, but his eyes never left Ajib's face, for his heart and soul were bound to the boy. At last the boy said to him, "Did I not tell you that you are an annoying old man? Stop staring at my face!"

When Hasan of Bassorah heard his son's words, he recited these verses:—

"You have some art the hearts of men to clip; Close veiled, far hidden mystery dark and deep: O you whose beauties shame the lustrous moon, Wherewith the saffron Morn fears rivalship! Your beauty is a shrine shall never decay; Whose signs shall grow until they all outstrip; Must I be thirst burnt by that Eden brow And die of pine to taste that Kausar lip?"

Hasan kept placing morsels of food into Ajib's mouth and then the eunuch's mouth, and they ate until they were satisfied and could eat no more.

Then they all rose. The cook poured water on their hands and, removing a silk sash, dried them and sprinkled them with rose water from a flask he had. Then he went out and returned with a flask of sherbet flavored with rose water, scented with musk, and cooled with snow. He set this before them, saying, "Complete your favour to me!"

Ajib took the flask and drank, then passed it to the eunuch. It circulated among them until their stomachs were full and they were surfeited with a meal larger than they usually ate.

Then they departed and walked quickly until they reached the tents. Ajib went to his grandmother, who embraced him. Thinking of her son Badr al-Din Hasan, she groaned aloud and wept, reciting these verses:—

"I still had hoped to see you and enjoy your sight, For in yours absence life had lost its kindly light: I swear my vitals know none other love but yours By God, who can read the secrets of the sprite!"

Then she asked Ajib, "O my son, where have you been?"

He answered, "In the city of Damascus."

She rose and set before him some bread and a dish of pomegranate conserve that was not well-sweetened. She said to the eunuch, "Sit down with your master!"

The eunuch said to himself, "By God, we have no appetite. I cannot bear even the smell of bread." But he sat down, as did Ajib, though his stomach was already full from what he had eaten and drunk.

Nevertheless, Ajib took some bread and dipped it in the pomegranate conserve and tried to eat it. But he found it under-sweetened, for he was already full and surfeited. So he said, "Ugh! What is this horrible stuff?"

His grandmother cried, "O my son, do you criticize my cooking? I prepared this myself, and no one can make it as well as I can except your father, Badr al-Din Hasan!"

Ajib answered, "By God, O my lady, this dish is awful. We just saw a cook in the city who prepares pomegranate conserve so excellently that the very smell draws you in, and the taste makes even a full man want to eat more. Compared to his, this is worthless."

When his grandmother heard these words, she grew very angry and looked at the eunuch.—

Tale of Nur Al-Din Ali and His Son. 243

When it was the Twenty fourth night

The eunuch was frightened and denied, "We did not enter the shop. We only passed by."

"By God," Ajib cried, "but we did go in and ate until we were completely full. The food was much better than yours!"

Then his grandmother rose and went to tell her brother-in-law, the Wazir, who was angry with the eunuch. He sent for him and asked, "Why did you take my grandson into a cook shop?"

The eunuch, frightened, answered, "We did not go in."

But Ajib said, "We did go inside and ate pomegranate conserve until we were full. The cook gave us iced, sweetened sherbet to drink."

The Wazir's anger grew. He questioned the eunuch, but when the man still denied it, the Wazir said to him, "If you speak the truth, sit down and eat before us."

The eunuch came forward and tried to eat, but could not. He threw away the food, crying, "O my lord! I am too full from yesterday!"

By this, the Wazir was certain that the eunuch had eaten at the cook's shop. He ordered the slaves to beat him. They struck him until he cried for mercy and help from Allah, saying, "O my master, stop beating me and I will tell you the truth!"

The Wazir stopped the beating and said, "Now speak the truth!"

The eunuch said, "Know that we did enter a cook's shop while he was preparing pomegranate conserve. He set some before us. By God! I have never eaten anything like it in my life, nor tasted anything worse than this food before us." Hasan's mother was angry and said, "You must go back to the cook and bring me a dish of his pomegranate conserve and show it to your master, so he can judge which is better—his or mine."

The eunuch said, "I will."

She immediately gave him a dish and half a dinar, and he returned to the shop. He said to the cook, "O Master of all Cooks, my lord and lady have made a wager about your cooking, for they also have pomegranate conserve in their house. Give me half a dinar's worth, and be careful—I have received a beating because of your food, so I do not wish to taste it again."

Hasan of Bassorah laughed and answered, "By God, none can prepare this dish properly except me and my mother, and she is in a far country now."

Then he ladled out a full dish and, finishing it with musk and rose water, wrapped it in cloth and sealed it, giving it to the eunuch, who hurried back with it.

No sooner had Hasan's mother tasted it and perceived its excellent flavor and fine preparation than she knew who had made it. She screamed and fell down fainting.

The Wazir, startled, sprinkled rose water on her face. After a time she revived and said, "If my son is still alive in this world, none but he could have prepared this conserve. This cook is my very son Badr al-Din Hasan! There is no doubt of it whatsoever, for only I and he know how to prepare it, and it was I who taught him." When the Wazir heard her words, he was overjoyed and said, "Oh, how I long to see my brother's son! I wonder if the days will unite us with him! Yet it is only to Almighty Allah that we look to bring about this meeting."

Then he rose without delay and said to his men, "Quickly, take fifty men with sticks and staves to the cook's shop and tear it down. Then bind his arms behind him with his own turban, saying, 'It was you who made that awful pomegranate conserve!' and bring him here. Do not harm him, but bring him by force."

They replied, "It shall be done."

The Wazir then rode immediately to the Palace and met with the Viceroy of Damascus, showing him the Sultan's orders. After reading the letter carefully, the Viceroy kissed it, placed it on his head, and said to the Wazir, "Who is this offender of yours?"

The Wazir said, "A man—a cook."

The Viceroy immediately sent his officials to the shop, which they found demolished with everything broken to pieces. While the Wazir had been riding to the palace, his men had already

Tale of Nur Al-Din Ali and His Son. 245 done their work.

Then they waited for his return from the audience with the Viceroy, who had officially given the Wazir permission to take the cook and depart with him. When the Wazir returned to the tents, he called for the cook. They brought him forward, bound with his own turban.

When Badr al-Din Hasan saw his uncle, he wept bitterly and said, "O my lord, what have I done against you?"

The Wazir asked, "Are you the man who prepared that pomegranate conserve?"

"Yes," he answered. "Did you find something in it that warrants cutting off my head?"

The Wazir replied, "That would be too small a punishment for what you deserve!"

The cook said, "O my lord, will you not tell me my crime? What is wrong with the conserve?"

"Presently," replied the Wazir. He called aloud to his men, "Bring the camels!"

They struck the tents. By the Wazir's orders, they placed Badr al-Din Hasan in a chest, locked it, and put it on a camel. They departed and travelled until nightfall, when they halted, ate food, took Badr al-Din Hasan out of the chest, gave him a meal, and locked him up again.

They set out again and travelled until they reached Kimrah, where they took him from the box and brought him before the Wazir, who asked, "Are you the one who prepared that pomegranate conserve?"

He answered, "Yes, O my lord!"

The Wazir said, "Put him in chains!"

They fettered him, returned him to the chest, and continued travelling until they reached Cairo, where they camped in the quarter called al-Raydaniyah.

The Wazir ordered Badr al-Din Hasan taken from the chest and sent for a carpenter, saying to him, "Build me a wooden cross for this man!"

Badr al-Din Hasan cried out, "And what will you do with it?" the Wazir replied, "I will crucify you on it, nail you to it, and parade you throughout the city."

"And why will you do this to me?"

"Because of your wretched cooking of pomegranate conserve! How dare you prepare it and sell it without proper pepper?"

"For lacking pepper in the conserve you will do all this? Is it not enough that you have destroyed my shop, smashed my equipment, locked me in a chest, and fed me only once a day?"

"Too little pepper! Too little pepper! This crime can only be punished by crucifixion!"

Then Badr al-Din Hasan marvelled and mourned for his life. The Wazir asked him, "What do you think?"

He answered, "Of your foolish head! If you had one grain of sense, you would not treat me this way."

The Wazir said, "We must punish you so you do not do this again."

Badr al-Din Hasan said, "My offense has already been over-punished by the least of what you have already done. May God curse all pomegranate conserve and curse the hour I cooked it! I wish I had died before this!"

But the Wazir replied, "There is no escape. I must crucify a man who sells pomegranate conserve lacking pepper."

All this time, the carpenter was preparing the wood. Badr al-Din watched. They continued until night, when his uncle took him and locked him in the chest, saying, "It will be done tomorrow!"

He waited until Badr al-Din Hasan fell asleep. Then he mounted his horse, took the chest before him, entered the city, and rode to his own house. He alighted and said to his daughter Sitt al-Husn, "Praise be to Allah, who has reunited you with your husband, the son of your uncle! Now, prepare the house as it was on your wedding night." So the servants arose and lit the candles; and the Wazir took out his plan of the nuptial chamber, and directed them what to do till they had set everything in its stead, so that whoever saw it would have no doubt but it was the very night of the marriage. Then he bade them put down Badr al-Din Hasan's turband on the settle, as he had deposited it with his own hand, and in like manner

Tale of Nur Al-Din Ali and His Son. 247 his bag trousers and the purse which were under the mattress: and told his daughter to undress herself and go to bed in the private chamber as on her wedding night, adding, "When the son of yours uncle comes in to you, say to him:— You have loitered while going to the privy; and call him to lie by your side and keep him in converse till daybreak, when we will explain the whole matter to him." Then he bade take Badr al-Din Hasan out of the chest, after loosing the fetters from his feet and stripping off all that was on him save the fine shirt of blue silk in which he had slept on his wedding night; so that he was well near naked and trouserless. All this was done whilst he was sleeping on utterly unconscious. Then, by doom of Destiny, Badr al-Din Hasan turned over and awoke; and, finding himself in a lighted vestibule, said to himself, "Surely I am in the mazes of some dream." So he rose and went on a little to an inner door and looked in and lo! he was in the very chamber in which the bride had been displayed to him; and there he saw the bridal alcove and the settle and his turband and all his clothes.

When he saw this he was confounded and kept advancing with one foot, and retiring with the other, saying, "Am I sleeping or waking?" And he began rubbing his forehead and saying (for indeed he was thoroughly astounded),"By God, truly this is the chamber of the bride who was displayed before me! Where am I then? I was surely but now in a box!" Whilst he was talking with himself, Sitt al-Husn suddenly lifted the corner of the chamber curtain and said, "O my lord, will you not come in? Indeed you have loitered long in the water closet." When he heard her words and saw her face he burst out laughing and said, "Of a truth this is a very nightmare among dreams!" Then he went in sighing, and pondered what had come to pass with him and was perplexed about his case, and his affair became yet more obscure to him when he saw his turband and bag trousers and when, feeling the pocket, he found the purse containing the thousand gold pieces. So he stood still and muttered, "Allah is all knowing! Assuredly I am dreaming a wild waking dream!" Then said the Lady of Beauty to him, "What ails you to look puzzled and perplexed?"; adding, "You were a very different man during the first of the night!"

He laughed and he asked, "How long have I been away from you?"; and she answered him, "Allah preserve you and His Holy Name be about you! You did but go out an hour ago for an occasion and return. Are your wits clean gone?" When Badr al-Din Hasan heard this, he laughed, and said, "You have spoken truth; but, when I went out from you, I forgot myself awhile in the draught house and dreamed that I was a cook at Damascus and abode there ten years; and there came to me a boy who was of the sons of the great, and with him an Eunuch." Here he passed his hand over his forehead and, feeling the scar, cried, "By God, O my lady, it must have been true, for he struck my forehead with a stone and cut it open from eye brow to eye brow; and here is the mark: so it must have been on wake." Then he added, "But perhaps I dreamt it when we fell asleep, I and you, in each other's arms, for meseems it was as though I travelled to Damascus without tarbush and trousers and set up as a cook there."

Then he was perplexed and considered for awhile, and said, "By God, I also fancied that I dressed a conserve of pomegranate grains and put too little pepper in it. By God, I must have slept in the numerocent and have seen the whole of this in a dream; but how long was that dream!" "In God's name," said Sitt al-Husn, "and what more saw you?" So he related all to her; and presently said, "By God had I not woke up they would have nailed me to a cross of wood!" "Why?" she asked; and he answered, "For putting too little pepper in the conserve of pomegranate grains, and meseemed they demolished my shop and dashed to pieces my pots and pans, destroyed all my stuff and put me in a box; they then sent for the carpenter to fashion a cross for me and would have crucified me thereon. Now praise be to God! Thanks be to Allah, for that all this happened to me in sleep, and not on wake." Sitt al-Husn laughed and clasped him to her bosom and he her to his: then he thought again and said, "By God, it could not be save while I was awake: truly I know not what to think of it."

Then he lay him down and all the night he was bewildered about his case, now saying, "I was dreaming!" And then saying, "I was awake!", till morning, when his uncle Shams al-Din, the Wazir, came to him and saluted him. When Badr al-Din Hasan saw him he said, "By God, are you not he who bade bind my hands behind me and smash my shop and nail me to a cross on a matter of conserved pomegranate grains be cause the dish lacked a sufficiency of pepper?" Whereupon the Wazir said to him, "Know, O my son,

Tale of Nur Al-Din Ali and His Son. 249 that truth has shown it truthful and the concealed has been revealed! You are the son of my brother, and I did all this with you to certify myself that you were indeed he who went in unto my daughter that night. I could not be sure of this, till I saw that you knew the chamber and your turband and your trousers and your gold and the papers in your writing and in that of your father, my brother; for I had never seen you afore that and knew you not; and as to your mother I have prevailed upon her to come with me from Bassorah." So saying, he threw himself on his nephew's breast and wept for joy; and Badr al-Din Hasan, hearing these words from his uncle, marvelled with exceeding marvel and fell on his neck and also shed tears for excess of delight. Then said the Wazir to him, "O my son, the sole cause of all this is what passed between me and your sire;" and he told him the manner of his father wayfaring to Bassorah and all that had occurred to part them. Lastly the Wazir sent for Ajib; and when his father saw him he cried, "And this is he who struck me with the stone!" The Wazir said,"This is your son!" And Badr al-Din Hasan threw himself upon his boy and began repeating:—

"Long have I wept over severance' ban and bane, Long from my eyelids tear rills rail and rain: And vowed I if Time re union bring My tongue from name of "Severance" I 11 restrain: Joy has o' rcome me to this stress that I From joy's revulsion to shed tear am glad: You are so trained to tears, O eyne of me! You weep with pleasure as you weep with pain."

When he had ended his verse his mother came in and threw herself upon him and began reciting:—

"When we met we complained, Our hearts were sore wrung: But plaint is not pleasant Fro' messenger's tongue."

Then she wept and related to him what had befallen her since his departure, and he told her what he had suffered, and they thanked

Allah Almighty for their reunion. Two days after his arrival the Wazir Shams al-Din went in to the Sultan and, kissing the ground between his hands, greeted him with the greeting due to Kings. The Sultan rejoiced at his return and his face brightened and, placing him close by his side, asked him to relate all he had seen in his wayfaring and whatever had happened him in his going and coming. So the Wazir told him all that had passed from beginning to end and the Sultan said, "Thanks be to Allah for your victory and the winning of your wish and your safe return to your children and your people! And now I needs must see the son of your brother, Hasan of Bassorah, so bring him to the audience hall tomorrow." Shams al-Din replied, "Your slave shall stand in your presence tomorrow, God willing, if it be God's will." Then he saluted him and, returning to his own house, informed his nephew of the Sultan's desire to see him, whereto replied Hasan, whilome the Bassorite, "The slave is obedient to the orders of his lord." And the result was that next day he accompanied his uncle, Shams al-Din, to the Divan; and, after saluting the Sultan and doing him reverence in most ceremonious obeisance and with most courtly obsequiousness, he began improvising these verses:—

"The first in rank to kiss the ground shall deign Before you, and all ends and aims attain: You are Honour's fount; and all that hope of you, Shall gain more honour than Hope hoped to gain."

The Sultan smiled and signed to him to sit down. So he took a seat close to his uncle, Shams al-Din, and the King asked him his name. Badr al-Din Hasan, said, "The meanest of your slaves is known as Hasan the Bassorite, who is instant in prayer for you day and night." The Sultan was pleased at his words and, being minded to test his learning and prove his good breeding, asked him, "Do you remember any verses in praise of the mole on the cheek?" He answered, "I do," and began reciting:—

"When I think of my love and our parting smart, My groans go forth and my tears upstart: He's a mole that reminds me in colour and charms O' the black o' the eye and the grain of the heart."

The King admired and praised the two couplets and said to him, "Quote something else; Allah bless your sire and may your tongue never tire!" So he began:—

"That cheek mole's spot they evened with a grain Of musk, nor did they here the simile strain: Nay, marvel at the face comprising all Beauty, nor falling short by single grain.

The King shook with pleasure and said to him, "Say more: Allah bless your days!" So he began:—

"O you whose mole on cheek enthroned recalls A dot of musk upon a stone of ruby, Grant me your favours! Be not stone at heart! Core of my heart whose only sustenance you be!"

the King, said, "Fair comparison, O Hasan! You have spoken excellently well and have proved yourself accomplished in every accomplishment! Now explain to me how many meanings be there in the Arabic language for the word Khál or mole." He replied, "Allah keep the King! Seven and fifty and some by tradition say fifty." Said the Sultan, "You say truth," presently adding, "Have you knowledge as to the points of excellence in beauty?" "Yes," answered Badr al-Din Hasan, "Beauty consists in brightness of face, clearness of complexion, shapeliness of nose, gentleness of eyes, sweetness of mouth, cleverness of speech, slenderness of shape and seemliness of all attributes. But the acme of beauty is in the hair and, indeed, al-Shiháb the Hijazi has brought together all these items in his doggrel verse of the metre Rajaz and it is this:

Say you to skin "Be soft," to face "Be fair," And gaze, nor shall they blame however you stare: Fine nose in Beauty's list is high esteemed; Nor less an eye full, bright and debonair: Eke did they well to laud the lovely lips (Which even the sleep of me will never spare); A winning tongue, a stature tall and straight; A seemly union of gifts rarest rare: But Beauty's acme in the hair one views it; So hear my strain and with some few excuse it!"

The Sultan was captivated by his converse and, regarding him as a friend, asked, "What meaning is there in the saw 'Shurayh is foxier than the fox'? " And he answered, "Know, O King (whom Almighty Allah keep!) that the legist Shurayh was wont, during the days of the plague, to make a visitation to al-Najaf; and, whenever he stood up to pray, there came a fox which would plant himself facing him and which, by mimicking his movements, distracted him from his devotions. Now when this became longsome to him, one day he doffed his shirt and set it upon a cane and shook out the sleeves; then placing his turband on the top and girding its middle with a shawl, he stuck it up in the place where he used to pray. Presently, up trotted the fox according to his custom and stood over against the figure, whereupon Shurayh came behind him, and took him. Hence the sayer says, 'Shurayh foxier than the fox.' " When the Sultan heard Badr al-Din Hasan's explanation he said to his uncle, Shams al-Din, "Truly this the son of your brother is perfect in courtly breeding and I do not think that his like can be found in Cairo." At this Hasan arose and kissed the ground before him and sat down again as a Mameluke should sit before his master. When the Sultan had thus assured himself of his courtly breeding and bearing and his knowledge of the liberal arts and belles lettres, he joyed with exceeding joy and invested him with a splendid robe of honour and promoted him

Tale of Nur Al-Din Ali and His Son. 253 to an office by which he might better his condition. Then Badr al-Din Hasan arose and, kissing the ground before the King, wished him continuance of glory and asked leave to retire with his uncle, the Wazir Shams al-Din. The Sultan gave him leave and he issued forth and the two returned home, where food was set before them and they ate what Allah had given them. After finishing his meal Hasan repaired to the sitting chamber of his wife, the Lady of Beauty, and told her what had past between him and the Sultan; whereupon She said, "He cannot fail to make you a cup companion and give you largesse in excess and load you with favours and bounties; so will you, By God's blessing, dispread, like the greater light, the rays of your perfection wherever you be, on shore or on sea." he said to her, "I purpose to recite a Kasídah, an ode, in his praise, that he may redouble in affection for me." "You are right in yours intent," she answered, "so gather your wits together and weigh your words, and I shall surely see my husband favoured with his highest favour." Thereupon Hasan shut him self up and composed these couplets on a solid base and abounding in inner grace and copied them out in a hand writing of the nicest taste. They are as follows:—

My is a Chief who reached most haught estate, Treading the pathways of the good and great: His justice makes all regions safe and sure, And against froward foes bars every gate: Bold lion, hero, saint, even if you call Seraph or Sovran he with all may rate! The poorest suppliant rich from him returns, All words to praise him were inadequate.

He to the day of peace is saffron Morn, And murky Night in furious warfare's bate. Bow 'neath his gifts our necks, and by his deeds As King of freeborn souls he 'joys his state: Allah increase for us his term of years, And from his lot avert all risks and fears!

When he had finished transcribing the lines, he despatched them, in charge of one of his uncle's slaves, to the Sultan, who perused them and his fancy was pleased; so he read them to those present and all praised them with the highest praise. Thereupon he sent for the writer to his sitting chamber and said to him, "You are from this day forth my boon companion and I appoint to you a monthly solde of a thousand dirhams, over and above that I bestowed on you aforetime." So Hasan rose and, kissing the ground before the King several times, prayed for the continuance of his greatness and glory and length of life and strength. Thus Badr al-Din Hasan the Bassorite grew high in honour and his fame flew forth to many regions and he abode in all comfort and solace and delight of life with his uncle and his own folk till Death overtook him. When the Caliph Harun al-Rashid heard this story from the mouth of his Wazir, Ja'afar the Barmecide, he marvelled much and said, "It behoves that these stories be written in letters of liquid gold." Then he set the slave at liberty and assigned to the youth who had slain his wife such a monthly stipend as sufficed to make his life easy; he also gave him a concubine from amongst his own slave girls and the young man be came one of his cup companions. "Yet this story" (continued Shahrazad) "is in no wise stranger than the tale of the Tailor and the Hunchback and the Jew and the Reeve and the Nazarene, and what happened them." the King, said, "And what may that be?" So Shahrazad began, in these words,

The Hunchback's Tale. 255