One Thousand and One Nights, page 252
And these also:
To thee, O Asaad, of the pangs of passion I complain; Have pity
on a slave of love, that burns for longing pain.
How long, I wonder, shall the hands of passion sport with me And
love and dole and sleeplessness consume me, heart and brain?
Whiles do I plain me of a sea within my heart and whiles Of
flaming; surely, this is strange, O thou my wish and bane!
Give o’er thy railing, censor mine, and set thyself to flee From
love that maketh eyes for aye with burning tears to rain.
How oft, for absence and desire, I cry, “Alas, my grief!” But all
my crying and lament in this my case are vain.
Thou hast with rigours made me sick, that passed my power to
bear: Thou’rt the physician; do thou me with what befits
assain.
O thou my censurer, forbear to chide me for my case, Lest, of
Love’s cruel malady, perdition thee attain.
Then she scented the letter with odoriferous musk and winding it in the tresses of her hair, which were of Irak silk, with tassels of oblong emeralds, set with pearls and jewels, delivered it to the old woman, bidding her carry it to prince Asaad. She undertook the errand, to pleasure her, and going in straightway to the prince, found him in his closet and delivered him the letter; after which she stood waiting for the answer. When Asaad had read the letter and knew its purport, he wrapped it up again in the tresses and put it in his pocket, cursing false women; then, for he was beyond measure wroth, he sprang up and drawing his sword, smote the old woman on the neck and cut off her head. Then he went in to his mother, Queen Heyat en Nufous, whom he found lying on her bed, sick for that which had betided her with prince Amjed, and railed at her and cursed her; after which he left her and betook himself to his brother, to whom he related what had befallen him with Queen Budour, adding, ‘By Allah, O my brother, but that I feared to grieve thee, I had gone in to her forthright and smitten her head off her shoulders!’ ‘By Allah, O my brother,’ replied Amjed, ‘the like of what hath befallen thee befell me also yesterday with thy mother Queen Heyat en Nufous.’ And he told him what had passed, adding, ‘By Allah, O my brother, nought but respect for thee withheld me from going in to her and dealing with her even as I dealt with the eunuch!’ They passed the rest of the night in trouble and affliction, conversing and cursing false women, and agreed to keep the matter secret, lest their father should hear of it and kill the two women.
On the morrow, the King returned with his suite from hunting and sat awhile in his chair of estate; after which he dismissed the Amirs and went up to his harem, where he found his two wives lying on the bed, exceeding sick. Now they had made a plot against the two princes and concerted to do away their lives, for that they had exposed themselves before them and feared to be at their mercy. When Kemerezzeman saw them on this wise, he said to them, ‘What ails you?’ Whereupon they rose and kissing his hands, answered, perverting the case and saying, ‘Know, O King, that thy sons, who have been reared in thy bounty, have played thee false and outraged thee in the persons of thy wives.’ When he heard this, the light in his eyes became darkness and his reason fled for the excess of his rage; then said he to them, ‘Expound this thing to me.’ ‘O King of the age,’ answered Budour, ‘know that these many days past thy son Asaad has been wont to send me letters and messages to solicit me to lewdness, and I still forbade him from this, but he would not be forbidden. When thou wentest forth to hunt, he rushed in on me, drunk and with a drawn sword in his hand, and smiting my eunuch, slew him. Then he mounted on my breast, still holding the sword, and I feared lest he should slay me even as he had slain my eunuch, if I gainsaid him; so he took his will of me by force; and now an thou do me not justice on him, O King, I will slay myself with my own hand, for I reck not of life in the world after this foul deed.’ Queen Heyat en Nufous, choking with tears, told him a like story respecting prince Amjed, after which she fell a- weeping and wailing and said, ‘Except thou avenge me on him, I will tell my father, King Armanous.’ Then they both wept sore before King Kemerezzeman, who, when he saw their tears and heard their words, concluded that their story was true and waxing beyond measure wroth, went out, thinking to fall upon his two sons and put them to death. On his way he met his father-in-law King Armanous, who hearing of his return from the chase, had come to salute him and seeing him with the naked sword in his hand and the blood dripping from his nostrils, for excess of rage, enquired what ailed him. Kemerezzeman told him what his sons Amjed and Asaad had done and added, ‘I am now going in to them, to slay them on the foulest wise and make of them the most shameful of examples.’ ‘O my son,’ said King Armanous, (and indeed he too was wroth with them,) ‘thou dost well, and may God not bless them nor any sons that offend thus against their father’s honour! But, O my son, the proverb says, “Whoso looks not to the issues, Fortune is no friend to him.” In any case, they are thy sons, and it befits not that thou put them to death with thine own hand, lest thou drink of their agony and after repent of having slain them, whenas repentance will avail thee nothing. Rather do thou send one of thine officers with them into the desert and let him kill them there, out of thy sight, for, as says the adage, “When the eye sees not, the heart grieves not.”’ Kemerezzeman saw his father-in-law’s words to be just, so he sheathed his sword and turning back, sat down upon his throne and called his treasurer, a very old man, versed in affairs and in the shifts of fortune, to whom he said, ‘Go in to my sons Amjed and Asaad; bind fast their hands behind them and lay them in two chests and set them on a mule. Then take horse and carry them into the mid-desert, where do thou put them to death and fill two vials with their blood and bring them to me in haste.’ ‘I hear and obey,’ answered the treasurer and went out forthright to do his bidding. On his way, he met the princes coming out of the palace-vestibule, for they had donned their richest clothes and were on their way to salute their father and give him joy of his safe return from the chase. When he saw them, he laid hands on them, saying, ‘O my sons, know that I am but a slave commanded and that your father hath laid a commandment on me: will ye obey his commandment?’ ‘Yes,’ answered they; whereupon he bound their hands and laying them in the chests, set the latter on the back of a mule, with which he left the city and rode into the open country, till near midday, when he halted in a waste and desert spot and dismounting, set down the two chests. He opened them and took out Amjed and Asaad; whom when he saw, he wept sore for their beauty and grace; then drawing his sword, he said to them, ‘O my lords, indeed it irks me to deal so foully by you; but I am to be excused in this, being but a slave commanded, for that your father King Kemerezzeman hath bidden me strike off your heads.’ ‘O Amir,’ answered they, ‘do the King’s bidding, for we submit with patience to that which God (to whom be ascribed might and majesty) hath decreed to us; and thou art quit of our blood.’ Then they embraced and bade each other farewell, and Asaad said to the treasurer, ‘God on thee, O uncle, spare me the sight of my brother’s agony and make me not drink of his anguish, but kill me first, that it may be the easier for me.’ Amjed said the like and entreated the treasurer to kill him before Asaad, saying, ‘My brother is younger than I; so make me not taste of his anguish.’ And they both wept sore, whilst the treasurer wept for their weeping, and they said to each other, ‘All this comes of the malice of those traitresses, our mothers; and this is the reward of our forbearance towards them. But there is no power and no virtue but in God the Most High, the Supreme! Verily, we are His and unto Him we return.’ And Asaad embraced his brother, sobbing and repeating the following verses:
O Thou to whom the sad complain, to whom the fearful flee, Thou
that art evermore prepared for all that is to be,
Lord, there is left me no resource but at Thy door to knock; Yea,
at whose portal shall I knock, if Thou be deaf to me?
O Thou, the treasures of whose grace are in the one word “Be,” Be
favourable, I beseech, for all good is with Thee!
When Amjed heard his brother’s weeping, he wept also and pressed him to his bosom, repeating the following verses:
O Thou, whose bounties unto me are more than one, I trow, Whose
favours lavished on my head are countless as the sand,
No blow of all the blows of fate has ever fall’n on me, But I
have found Thee ready still to take me by the hand.
Then said he to the treasurer, ‘I conjure thee by the One God the Omnipotent King and Protector, kill me before my brother Asaad and allay the fire of my heart!’ But Asaad wept and exclaimed, ‘Not so: I will die first;’ whereupon said Amjed, ‘It were best that we embrace each other, so the sword may fall upon us and kill us both at one stroke.’ So they embraced, face to face, and clipped each other straitly, whilst the treasurer bound them fast with cords, weeping the while. Then he drew his sword and said to them, ‘By Allah, O my lords, it is indeed hard to me to kill you! But have ye no last wishes or injunctions that I may fulfil or message that I may carry?’ ‘We have no wish,’ replied Amjed, ‘and my only injunction to thee is that thou set my brother undermost, that the blow may fall on me first; and when thou hast slain us and returnest to the King and he asks thee, “What said they before their death?” do thou answer, “Thy sons salute thee and say to thee, ‘Thou knewest not if we were innocent or guilty, yet hast thou put us to death and hast not certified thyself of our guilt nor looked into our case.’” Then do thou repeat to him these verses:
Women are very devils, made to work us dole and death; Refuge I
seek with God Most High from all their craft and scaith.
Prime source are they of all the ills that fall upon mankind,
Both in the fortunes of this world and matters of the faith.
‘We desire of thee nought but this,’ continued Amjed, ‘except that thou have patience with us, whilst I repeat other two lines to my brother.’ Then he wept sore and recited the following verses:
Examples many, thou and I, We have in kings of days gone by, How many, alack, have trod this road, Of great and small and low and high!
At this the treasurer wept, till his beard was wet, whilst Asaad’s eyes filled with tears and he in turn repeated these verses:
Fate, when the thing itself is past, afflicteth with the trace,
And weeping is not, of a truth, for body or form or
face.
What ails the nights? May God blot out our error from the
nights And may the hand of change bewray and bring them to
disgrace!
They wreaked their malice to the full on Ibn ez Zubeir
erst, And on the House and Sacred Stone his safeguard
did embrace.
Would God, since Kharijeh they took for Amrou’s sacrifice,
They’d ransomed Ali with whome’er they would of all our
race!
Then, with cheeks stained with thick-coming tears, he recited these also:
The days and nights are fashioned for treachery and despite; Yea,
they are full of perfidy and knavish craft and sleight.
The mirage is their lustre of teeth, and to their eyes The horror
of all darkness the kohl that keeps them bright.
My crime against them (hateful their nature is!) is but The
sword’s crime, when the sworder sets on into the fight.
Then he sobbed and said:
O thou that seeketh the worthless world, give ear to me and know
The very net of ruin it is and quarry of dole and woe;
A stead, whom it maketh laugh to-day, to-morrow it maketh weep:
Out on it then for a dwelling-place, since it is even so!
Its raids and its onsets are never done, nor can its bondsman win
To free himself from its iron clutch by dint of stress and
throe.
How many an one in its vanities hath gloried and taken pride,
Till froward and arrogant thus he grew and did all bounds
o’ergo!
Then did she turn him the buckler’s back and give him to
drink therein Full measure and set her to take her wreak of
the favours she did show.
For know that her blows fall sudden and swift and unawares,
though long The time of forbearance be and halt the coming
of fate and slow.
So look to thyself, lest life in the world pass idle and
profitless by, And see that thou fail not of taking thought
to the end of all below.
Cast loose from the chains of the love and the wish of the world
and thou shalt find Guidance and help unto righteousness and
peace of heart, I trow.
When he had made an end of these verses, he clipped his brother in his arms, till they seemed as it were one body, and the treasurer, raising his sword, was about to strike them, when, behold, his horse took fright at the wind of his upraised hand and breaking its tether, fled into the desert. Now the horse was worth a thousand dinars and on his back was a splendid saddle, worth much money: so the treasurer threw down his sword, in great concern, and ran after him, to catch him. The horse galloped on, snorting and neighing and pawing the earth in his fright, till he raised a cloud of dust, and presently coming to a wood, fled into the midst of it, whither the treasurer followed him. Now there was in this wood a terrible lion, foul of face, with eyes that cast forth sparks; his look was grim and his aspect struck terror into men’s souls. He heard the noise made by the horse and came out to see what was to do. Presently the treasurer turned and saw the lion making towards him; but found no way of escape, nor had he his sword with him. So he said in himself, ‘There is no power and no virtue but in God the Most High, the Supreme! This stress is come upon me because of Amjed and Asaad; and indeed this journey was unblest from the first!’ Meanwhile Amjed and Asaad were grievously oppressed by the heat and grew sore athirst, so that their tongues hung out and they cried for succour; but none came to their relief and they said, ‘Would God we were dead and at peace from this torment! But we know not whither the treasurer’s horse hath fled, that he has gone and left us bound. If he would but come back and kill us, it were easier to us than to suffer this torture.’ ‘O my brother,’ said Asaad, ‘be patient and the relief of God (blessed and exalted be He) will surely come to us; for the horse ran not away save of His favour towards us, and nought irks us but this thirst.’ So saying, he stretched himself and strained right and left, till he burst his bonds; then he unbound his brother and taking up the Amir’s sword, said, ‘By Allah, we will not go hence, till we know what is come of him!’ So they followed the track, till it led them to the wood and they said to one another, ‘Of a surety, the horse and the treasurer have not overgone this wood.’ Quoth Asaad, ‘Stay thou here, whilst I enter the wood and search it.’ ‘I will not let thee go in alone,’ answered Amjed. ‘We will both go in; so if we escape, we shall escape together, and if we perish, we shall perish together.’ So they entered both and found the lion standing over the treasurer, who lay like a sparrow in his grip, calling upon God for help and lifting his hands to heaven. When Amjed saw this, he took the sword and running to the lion, smote him between the eyes and laid him dead on the ground. The Amir arose, marvelling at this, and seeing Amjed and Asaad his lord’s sons, standing there, cast himself at their feet and exclaimed, ‘By Allah, O my lords, it were foul wrong in me to put you to death! May the man never be who would kill you! Indeed, I will ransom you with my life.’ Then he rose and embracing them, enquired how they had loosed their bonds and come thither, whereupon they told him how the bonds of one of them had fallen loose and he had unbound the other, that they might quit their intent, and how they had followed his track till they came upon him. He thanked them for their deed and went with them forth of the wood, where they said to him, ‘O uncle, do our father’s bidding.’ ‘God forbid,’ answered he, ‘that I should draw near to you with hurt! I mean to take your clothes and clothe you with mine; then will I fill two vials with the lion’s blood and go back to the King and tell him I have put you to death. But as for you, fare ye forth into the lands, for God’s earth is wide; and know, O my lords, that it irks me to part from you.’ At this, they all fell a-weeping; then the two youths put off their clothes and the treasurer covered them with his own. Moreover, he filled two vials with the lion’s blood and making two parcels of the princes’ clothes, set them before him on his horse’s back. Then he took leave of them and making his way back to the city, went in to King Kemerezzeman and kissed the earth before him. The King saw him pale and troubled and deeming this came of the slaughter of the two princes (though in truth it came of his adventure with the lion) rejoiced and said to him, ‘Hast thou done the business?’ ‘Yes, O our lord,’ answered the treasurer and gave him the two parcels of clothes and the two vials of blood. ‘How bore they themselves,’ asked the King, ‘and did they give thee any charge?’ ‘I found them patient and resigned to their fate,’ answered the treasurer; ‘and they said to me, “Verily, our father is excusable; bear him our salutation and say to him, ‘Thou art quit of our blood;’ and repeat to him the following verses:
Women are very devils, made to work us dole and death; Refuge I
seek with God Most High from all their craft and scaith.
Prime source are they of all the ills that fall upon mankind,
Both in the fortunes of this world and matters of the
faith.”’
When the King heard this, he bowed his head a long while and knew this to mean that they had wrongfully been put to death. Then he bethought himself of the perfidy of women and the calamities brought about by them, and opening the two parcels fell to turning over his sons’ clothes and weeping. Presently, he found in the pocket of his son Asaad’s clothes a letter in Queen Budour’s hand, enclosing the tresses of her hair, and reading it, knew that the prince had been falsely accused. Then he searched Amjed’s clothes and found in his pocket a letter in the handwriting of Queen Heyat en Nufous, enclosing the tresses of her hair; so he opened and read it and knew that Amjed also had been wronged; whereupon he beat hand upon hand and exclaimed, ‘There is no power and no virtue but in God! I have slain my sons unjustly.’ And he buffeted his face, crying out, ‘Alas, my sons! Alas, my long grief!’ Then he bade build two tombs in one house, which he styled ‘House of Lamentations,’ and let grave thereon his sons’ names; and he threw himself on Amjed’s tomb, weeping and groaning and lamenting, and repeated these verses:
