Story Of The Youth Who Would Futter His Father's Wives.

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A Thousand Nights and One Night

The Eight Hundred and Twenty third Night

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It is related that there was a man who had a grown up son, but the youth was a never do well, and whatever wife his sire wedded, the son would devise him a device to lie with her and have his wicked will of her, and he so managed the matter that his father was forced to divorce her. Now the man once married a bride beautiful exceedingly and, charging her beware of his son, jealously guarded her from him. Then her sister Dunyazad said, "How sweet and tasteful is your tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" She said, "And where is this compared with what I would relate to you on the coming night if the Sovran permits me to survive?"

Now when it was the next night, and that was

The Eight Hundred and Thirty second Night

Dunyazad said to her, "In God's name, O my sister, If you be other than sleepy, finish for us your tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love and good will!" It has reached me, the director, the right guiding, lord of the counsel which is benefiting and of deeds fair seeming and worthy celebrating, that the father applied himself to safe guarding his wife and gave her a charge warning her with threats against his son and saying, "Whenas I wed ever a woman, that youth by his cunning manages to have his wicked will of her." she said, "O Man, what be these words you speak? This your son is a dog, nor has he power to do with me anything, and I am a lady amongst women." he said, "Indeed I but charge you to have a care of yourself. Perhaps I may hie me forth to journey and he will lay some deep plot for you and work with you as he wrought with others." She replied, "O Man, hold yourself secure from it for If he bespeak me with a single word

The Youth Who Would Futter His Father's Wives. 319

I will slipper him with my papoosh;" and he rejoined, "May safety be yours!" He cohabited with her for a month till one day of the days when he was compelled to travel; so he went in to his wife and cautioned her and was earnest with her saying, "Have a guard of yourself from my son the debauchee for 'tis a froward fellow, a thief, a miserable, lest he come over you with some wile and have his will of you." She said, "What words are these? Your son is a dog nor has he any power over me in anything whereof you talkest, and if he bespeak me with one injurious word, I will slipper him soundly with my foot gear." He rejoined, "If you happen to need anything never even mention it to him;" and she, "I hear and I obey."

So he farewelled her and fared forth wholly intent upon his journey. Now when he was far enough from the town the youth came to the grass widow but would not address a single word to her, albeit fire was lighted in his heart by reason of her being so beautiful. Accordingly he contrived a wile. It happened to be summer tide so he went to the house and repaired to the terrace roof, and there he raised his clothes from his sitting place and exposed his backside stark naked to the cooling breeze; then he leant forwards propped on either elbow and, spreading his hands upon the ground, perked up his bottom. His stepmother looked at him and marvelling much said in her mind, "Would Heaven I knew of this froward youth what may be his object!" However he never looked at her nor ever turned towards her but he abode quiet in the posture he had chosen. She stared hard at him and at last could no longer refrain from asking him, "Why do you in this way?" He answered, "And why not? I am doing that shall benefit me in the future, but what that is I will never tell you; no, never."

She repeated her question again and again, and at last he replied, "I do thus when 'tis summer tide and a something of caloric enters my belly through my backside and when 'tis winter the same comes forth and warms my body; and in the cool season I do the same and the frigoric comes forth in the dog days and keeps me in heats like these, fresh and comfortable." She asked, "If I do what you do, shall it be the same to me?" And he answered, "Aye." Herewith she came forward beside him and raised her raiment from her behind till the half of her below the waist was stark naked; Then her sister Dunyazad said, "How sweet and tasteful is your tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" She said, "And where is this compared with what I would relate to you on the coming night if the Sovran permits me to survive?"

Now when it was the next night, and that was

The Eight Hundred and Thirty third Night

Dunyazad said to her, "In God's name, O my sister, If you be other than sleepy, finish for us your tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love and good will!" It has reached me, the director, the right guiding, lord of the counsel which is benefiting and of deeds fair seeming and worthy celebrating, that the grass widow came forward beside her stepson and raised her raiment from her behind until the half of her below the waist was stark naked; and she did even as her husband's son had done, and perked up her buttocks, leaning heavily upon her knees and elbows. Now when she acted in this way the youth addressed her saying, "You can not do it aright." "How so?" "Because the wind passing in through the postern passes out through your portal, your solution of continuity." "Then how shall I do?" "Stopper your slit wherethrough the air passes." "How shall I stopper it?" "If you stopper it not your toil will be in vain." "Do you know how to stopper it?" "Indeed I do!" "Then rise up and stopper it." Hearing these words he arose, because

The Youth Who Would Futter His Father's Wives. 321 indeed he greeded for her, and came up behind her as she rested upon her elbows and knees and hending in hand his prickle nailed it into her coynte and did manly devoir. And after having his will of her he said, "You have now done your best for me and your belly is filled full of the warm breeze." in this way he continued every day, enjoying the wife of his father for some time during his journey, till the traveller returned home, and on his entering the house the bride rose and greeted him and said, "You have been absent overlong!" The man sat with her awhile and presently asked of her case for that he was fearful of his son; so she answered, "I am hale and hearty!" "Did my son ask you of anything?" "Nay, he asked me not, nor did he ever address me: as well, O Man, he has admirable and excellent expedients and indeed he is deeply versed in natural philosophy." "What expedients and what natural philosophy?" "He tucks up his dress and exposes his backside to the breeze which now passes into his belly and benefits him throughout the cold season, and in winter he does exactly what he did in summer with effect as beneficial. And I also have done as he did."

Now when the husband heard these her words he knew that the youth had practised upon her and had enjoyed his desire of her; so he asked, "And what was it you did?" She answered, "I did even as he did. However the breeze would not at first enter into my belly for whatever passed through the back postern passed out of the front portal, and the youth said to me, 'Stopper up your solution of continuity.' I asked him, 'Do you know how to stopper it?' and he answered, 'Indeed I do!' Then he arose and blocked it with his prickle; and every day I continued to do likewise and he to stopper up the peccant part with the wherewithal he has." All this was said to the husband who listened with his head bowed groundwards; but presently he raised it and cried, "There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great;" and suddenly as they were speaking on that subject the youth came in to them Then her sister Dunyazad said, "How sweet and tasteful is your tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" she said, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night if the Sovran permits me to survive?"

Now when it was the next night, and that was

The Eight Hundred and Thirty fourth Night

So the father knew that his son had played this trick in order to have his will of her. at this he flew into a fury and directly divorced her, giving her the contingent dowry; and she went her ways. Then the man said in his mind, "I shall never get the better of this boy until I marry two wives and ever keep them each with other, so that he may not cozen the twain."

Now after a couple of weeks he espoused a fair woman fairer than his former and during the next month he wived with a second and cohabited with the two brides. Then the youth in his mind said, "My papa has wedded two perfect beauties and here am I abiding in single blessedness. By God, there is no help but that I play a prank upon both of them!"

Then he fell to seeking a contrivance but he could not hit upon anything for that whenever he entered the house he found his two step mothers sitting together and thus he could not avail to address either. But his father never fared forth from home or returned to it without warning his wives and saying, "Have a care of yourselves against that son of mine. He is a whoremonger and he has made my life distraught, for whenever I take to myself a wife he serves some sleight upon her; then he laughs at her and so manages that I must divorce her.' At such times the two wives would cry,

The Youth Who Would Futter His Father's Wives. 323

"Walláhi, If he come near us and ask us of amorous mercy we will slap him with our slippers." Still the man would insist, saying, "Be you on your guard against him," and they would reply, "We are ever on our guard."

Now one day the women said to him, "O man, our wheat is finished," and he said, "Be you watchful while I fare to the Bazar in our market town which lies close by and fetch you the corn."

So he left them and made for the town, Then her sister Dunyazad said, "How sweet and tasteful is your tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" She said, "And where is this compared with what I would relate to you on the coming night if the Sovran permits me to survive?"

Now when it was the next night, and that was

The Eight Hundred and Thirty fifth Night

Dunyazad said to her, "In God's name, O my sister, If you be other than sleepy, finish for us your tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love and good will!" It has reached me, the director, the right guiding, lord of the counsel which is benefiting and of deeds fair seeming and worthy celebrating, that when the father had gone forth and was making for the market town, his son happened to meet him, and the two wives went up to the terrace wishing to see if their husband be gone or not. Now by the decree of the Decreer the man had in some carelessness forgotten his papooshes, so he turned to the youth who was following him and said, "O my son, go back and bring me my shoes." The women still stood looking, and the youth returned in mighty haste and hurry till he stood under the terrace, when he looked up and said, "My father has just now charged me with a charge saying, 'Do you go sleep with my wives, the twain of them, and have each of them once.' " They replied, "What, O dog, O accursed, your father bespake you in this way? By God, indeed you lie, O hog, O ill omened people." "Walláhi," he rejoined, "I lie not!"

So he walked back till he was near his father when he shouted his loudest so as to be heard by both parties, "O my papa, O my papa, one of them or the two of them? One of them or the two of them?" The father shouted in reply, "The two, the two! Allah disappoint you: did I say one of them or the two of them?"

So the youth returned to his father's wives and cried, "You have heard what my papa said. I asked him within your hearing, 'One of them or the two of them?' and you heard him say, 'Both, both.' "

Now the man was speaking of his slippers, to wit, the pair; but the women understood that his saying, "the two of them" referred to his wives. So one turned to her sister spouse and said, "So it is, our ears heard it and the youth has on no wise lied: let him lie with me once and once with you even as his father bade him." Both were satisfied herewith; but meanwhile the son stole quietly into the house and found his father's papooshes: then he caught him up on the road and gave them to him and the man went his ways. Presently, the youth returned to the house and taking one of his father's wives lay with her and enjoyed her and she also had her joy of him; and when he had done all he wanted with her he fared forth from her to the second wife in her chamber and stretched himself beside her and toyed with her and futtered her. She saw in the son a something she had not seen in the sire, so she joyed in him and he joyed in her. Now when he had won his will of the twain and had left the house the women forgathered and began talking and saying, "By God, this youth has given us both much amorous pleasure, far more than his father ever did; but when our husband shall return let us keep our secret even though he spoke the words we heard: Perhaps he may not brook too much of this thing."

So as soon as the man came back with the wheat he asked the women saying, "What befell you?" and they answered, "O Man, are you not ashamed to say to your son, 'Go sleep with both your father's wives?' 'Tis lucky that you have escaped." he said, "Never said I anything of this"; and they said, "But we heard you cry, 'The two of them.' " He rejoined, "Allah disappoint you: I forgot my papooshes and said to him, 'Go fetch them.' He cried out, 'One of them or the two of them?' and I replied, 'The two of them,' meaning my shoes, not you." "And we," they said, "when he spoke to us such words slippered him and turned him out and now he never comes near us." "Right well have you done," he rejoined, " 'tis a fulsome fellow." This was their case; but as regards the youth, he fell to watching and dogging his father's path, and whenever the man left the Youth Who Would Futter His Father's Wives. 325 house and went afar from it he would go in to the women who rejoiced in his coming. Then he would lie with one, and when he had won his will of her he would go to the sister wife and tumble her. This lasted for some time, until the women said each to other, "What need when he comes to us for each to receive him separately in her room? Let us both be in one chamber and when he visits us let us all three, we two and he, have mutual joyance and let him pass from one to other." And they agreed to this condition, unknowing the decree of Allah which was preparing to punish the twain for their abandoned wantonness. Then her sister Dunyazad said, "How sweet and tasteful is your tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" She said, "And where is this compared with what I would relate to you on the coming night if the Sovran permits me to survive?"

Now when it was the next night, and that was

The Eight Hundred and Thirty sixth Night

So he lay between them and began to toy with them and tumble them; and roll over them and mount upon the hubbies of one and thence change seat to the other's breasts and while so doing all were plunged in the sea of enjoyment. But they knew not what lurked for them in the hidden World of the Future. Presently, lo and behold! the father returned and entered the house when none of them expected him or was ware of him; and he heard their play even before he went into the chamber. Here he leant against a side wall and privily viewed their proceedings and the lewd state they were in; and he allowed time to drag on and espied them at his ease, seeing his son mount the breasts of one woman and then shift seat to the bubbies of his other wife. After noting all this he fared quietly forth the house and sought the Wali complaining of the case; so the Chief of Police took horse and repaired with him to his home where, when the two went in, they found the three at the foulest play. The Wali arrested them one and all and carried them with elbows pinioned to his office. Here he made the youth over to the Linkman who struck his neck, and as for the two women he bade the executioner delay till nightfall and then take them and strangle them and hide their corpses underground. And lastly he commanded the public Crier go about all the city and cry:—"This be the award of high treason." And men also relate (continued Shahrazad) the

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