Part 11
Now he went forth this day to his garden, to refresh himself amongst its trees and pluck the ripe fruits, when this young man slew him wrongously and swerved from the road of righteousness; wherefore we demand of thee the retribution of his crime and call upon thee to pass judgement upon him, according to the commandment of Allah." Then Omar cast a terrible look at the accused youth and said to him, "Verily thou hearest the complaint these two young men prefer; what hast thou in reply to aver?" But he was brave of heart and bold of speech, having doffed the robe of pusillanimity and put off the garb of cowardry; so he smiled and spake in the most eloquent and elegant words; and, after paying the usual ceremonial compliments to the Caliph, said, ""By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, I have indeed given ear to their complaint, and they have told the truth in that which they tell, so far as they have set out what befel; and the commandment of Allah is a decreed decree.[FN#146] but I will forthright state my case between they hands, and it is for thee to give commands. Know then, O Prince of the Faithful, that I am a very Arab of the Arabies,[FN#147] the noblest of those that are beneath the skies. I grew up in the dwellings of the wold and fell, till evil times my tribe befel, when I came to the outskirts of this town, with my family and whatso goods I own: and, as I went along one of the paths leading to its gardens, orchards and garths, with my she-camels highly esteemed and by me most precious deemed, and midst them a stallion of noble blood and shape right good, a plenteous getter of brood, by whom the females abundantly bore and who walked among them as though a kingly crown he wore, one of the she-camels broke away; and, running to the garden of these young men's father, where the trees showed above the wall, put forth her lips and began to feed as in stall. I ran to her, to drive her away, when behold, there appeared, at a breach of the wall, an old man and grey, whose eyes sparkled with angry ray, holding in his right a stone to throw and swaying to and fro, with a swing like a lion ready for a spring. He cast the stone at my stallion, and it killed him for it struck a vital part. When I saw the stallion drop dead beside me, I felt live coals of anger kindled in my heart; so I took up the very same stone and throwing it at the old man, it was the cause of his bane and ban: thus his own wrongful act returned to him anew, and the man was slain of that wherewith he slew. When the stone struck him, he cried out with a great cry and shrieked out a terrible shriek, whereupon I hastened from the spot; but these two young men hurried after me and laid hands on me and before thee carried me." Quoth Omar (Almighty Allah accept of him!), "Thou hast confessed what thou committedest, and of acquittal there is no possible occasion; for urgent is the law of retaliation and they cried for mercy but it was not a time to escape."[FN#148] the youth answered, "I hear and obey the judgement of the Imam, and I consent to all required by the law of Al-Islam; but I have a young brother, whose old father, before his decease, appointed to him wealth in great store and gold galore, and committed his affair to me before Allah, saying: I give this into thy hand for thy brother; keep it for him with all thy might.' So I took the money and buried it; nor doth any know of it but I. Now, if thou adjudge me to be justiced forthright, the money will lost and thou shalt be the cause of its loss; wherefore the child will sue thee for his due on the day when the Creator shall judge between His creatures. But, if thou wilt grant me three days' delay, I will appoint some guardian to administer the affairs of the boy and return to answer my debt; and I have one who will be my surety for the fulfillment of this my promise." So the Commander of the Faithful bowed his head awhile, then raised it and looking round upon those present, said, "Who will stand surety by me for his return to this place?" And the youth looked at the faces of those who were in company and pointing to Abu Zarr,[FN#149] in preference to all present, said, "This man shall answer for me and be my bail."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the youth pointed to Abu Zarr and said, "This man shall answer for me and be my bail," Omar (Allah accept of him!) said, O Abu Zarr, dost thou hear these words and wilt thou be surety to me for the return of this youth?" He answered, "Yes, O Commander of the Faithful, I will be surety for him for three days." So the Caliph accepted his guarantee and let the young man go. Now when the appointed time passed and the days of grace were nearly or quite at end yet the youth came not, the Caliph took seat in his council, with the Companions surrounding him, like the constellations about the moon, Abu Zarr and the plaintiffs being also present; and the avengers said, "Where is the defendant, O Abu Zarr, and how shall he return, having once fled? But we will not stir from our places till thou bring him to us, that we may take of him our blood revenge." Replied Abu Zarr, "By the truth of the All-Wise King, if the three days of grace expire and the young man returneth not, I will fulfill my warranty and surrender my person to the Imam;" and added Omar (whom Allah accept!), "By the Lord, if the young man appear not, I will assuredly execute on Abu Zarr that which is prescribed by the law of Al-Islam!"[FN#150] thereupon the eyes of the bystanders ran over with tears; those who looked on groaned aloud and great was the clamour. Then the chiefs of the Companions urged the plaintiffs to accept the blood-wit and deserve the thanks of the folk; but they both refused and would accept nothing save the talion. However, as the folk were swaying to and fro like waves and loudly bemoaning Abu Zarr, behold, up came the young Badawi; and, standing before the Imam, saluted him right courteously (with sweat-beaded face and shining with the crescent's grace) and said to him, "I have given the lad in charge to his mother's brothers and have made them acquainted with all that pertaineth to his affairs and let them into the secrets of his monies; after which I braved the heats of noon and have kept my word as a free- born man." Thereupon the folk marvelled, seeing his good faith and loyalty and his offering himself to death with so stout a heart; and one said to him, "How noble a youth art thou and how loyal to thy word of honour and thy devoir!" Rejoined he, "Are ye not convinced that when death presenteth itself, none can escape from it? And indeed, I have kept my word, that it be not said, Good faith is gone from among mankind.' " Said Abu Zarr, "By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, I became warrant for this young man, without knowing to what tribe he belonged, nor had I seen him before that day; but, when he turned away from all who were present and singled me out, saying, This man shall answer for me and be my bail,' I thought it not right to refuse him, and generosity forbade to disappoint his desire, there being no harm in compliance therewith, that it be not bruited abroad, Benevolence is gone from among mankind." Then said the two young men, "O Commander of the Faithful, we forgive this youth our father's blood, seeing that he hath changed desolation into cheerfulness; that it be not said, Humanity is gone from among mankind." So the Caliph rejoiced in the acquittance of the youth and his truth and good faith; moreover, he magnified the generosity of Abu Zarr, extolling it over all his companions, and approved the resolve of the two young men for its benevolence, giving them praise with thanks and applying to their case the saying of the poet,
"Who doth kindness to men shall be paid again; *
Ne'er is kindness lost betwixt God and men."
Then he offered to pay them, from the Treasury, the blood-wit for their father; but they refused, saying, "We forgave him only of our desire unto Allah,[FN#151] the Bountiful, the Exalted; and he who is thus intentioned followeth not his benefits with reproach or with mischief."[FN#152] and amongst the tales they relate is that of
THE CALIPH AL-MAAMUN AND THE PYRAMIDS[FN#153] OF EGYPT
It is told that the Caliph Al-Maamun, son of Harun al-Rashid, when he entered the God-guarded city of Cairo, was minded to pull down the Pyramids, that he might take what was therein; but, when he went about to do this, he could not succeed, albeit his best was done. He expended a mint of money in the attempt,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Three Hundred Ninety-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Al-Maamun attempting to pull down the Pyramids, expended his mint of money, but succeeded only in opening up a small tunnel in one of them, where in it is said he found treasure to the exact amount of the monies he had spent in the works, neither more nor less; whereat he marvelled and taking what he found there, desisted from his determination. Now the Pyramids are three, and they are one of the Wonders of the World; nor is there on the face of earth aught like them for height and fashion and mysteries[FN#154]; for they are built of huge rocks, and the builders proceeded by piercing one block of stone and setting therein upright rods of iron[FN#155]; after which they pierced a second block of stone and lowered it upon the first. Then they poured melted lead upon the clamps and set the blocks in geometrical order, till the building was complete. Now the height of each pyramid was an hundred cubits, of the normal measure of the day, and it had four faces, each three hundred cubits long from the base and thence battering upwards to a point. The ancients say that, in the western Pyramid, are thirty chambers of parti-coloured syenite, full of precious gems and treasures galore and rare images and utensils and costly weapons which are anointed with egromantic unguents, so that they may not rust until the day of Resurrection.[FN#156] Therein, also, are vessels of glass which bend and break not, containing various kinds of compound drugs and sympathetic waters. In the second Pyramid are the records of the priests, written on tablets of syenite, to each priest his tablet, whereon are engraved the wonders of his craft and his feats; and on the walls are the human figures like idols, working with their hands at all manner of mechanism and seated on stepped thrones. Moreover, to each Pyramid there is a guardian treasurer who keepeth watch over it and wardeth it, to all eternity, against the ravages of time and the shifts of events; and indeed the marvels of these Pyramids astound all who have sight and insight. Many are the poems that describe them, thou shalt thereby profit no small matter, and among the rest, quoth one of them,
"If Kings would see their high emprize preserved, *
Twill be by tongues of monuments they laid:
Seest not the Pyramids? These two endure *
Despite what change Time and Change have made."
And quoth another,
"Look on the Pyramids, and hear the twain *
Recount their annals of the long-gone Past:
Could they but speak, high marvels had they told *
Of what Time did to man from first to last."
And quoth a third,
"My friend I prithee tell me, 'neath the sky *
Is aught with Egypt's Pyramids can compare?
Buildings which frighten Time, albe what dwells *
On back of earth in fear of Time must fare:
If on their marvels rest my sight no more, *
Yet these I ever shall in memory bear."
And quoth a fourth,
"Where is the man who built the Pyramids? *
What was his tribe, what day and where his tomb?
The monuments survive the men who built *
Awhile, till overthrown by touch of Doom."
And men also tell a tale of
THE THIEF AND THE MERCHANT
There was once a thief who repented to Almighty Allah with sincere penitence; so he opened himself a shop for the sale of stuffs, where he continued to trade awhile. It so chanced one day that he locked his shop and went home, and in the night there came to the bazar an artful thief disguised in the habit of the merchant, and pulling out keys from his sleeve, said to the watchman of the market, "Light me this wax-candle." The watchman took the taper and went to light it,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the watchman took the taper and went to light it, whilst the thief opened the shop and lit another candle he had by him. When the watchman came back, he found him seated in the shop, account- books inhand, and reckoning with his fingers; nor did he cease to do thus till point of day, when he said to the man, "Fetch me a camel-driver and his camel, to carry some goods for me." So the man fetched him a camel, and the thief took four bales[FN#157] of stuffs and gave them to the cameleer, who loaded them on his beast. Then he gave the watchman two dirhams and went away after the camel-driver, leaving the watchman believing him to be the owner of the shop. Now when the morning dawned and day broke the merchant came and the watchman began greeting him with blessings, because of the two dirhams; but the shop-keeper wondered at his words as one not knowing what he meant. When he opened his shop, he saw the droppings of the wax and the account-book lying on the floor, and looking round, found four bales of stuffs missing. So he asked the watchman what had happened and he told him what has passed in the night and what had been said to the cameleer, whereupon the merchant bade him fetch the man and asked him, "Whither didst thou carry the stuffs this morning?" Answered the driver, "To such a landing-place, and I stowed them on board such a vessel." Said the merchant, "Come with me thither;" so the camel-driver carried him to the landing-place and said to him, "This be the barque and this be her owner." Quoth the merchant to the seaman, "Whither didst thou carry the merchant and the stuff?" Answered the boat-master, "To such a place, where he fetched a camel-driver and, setting the bales on the camel, went his ways I know not whither." "Fetch me the cameleer who carried the goods," said the merchant; so he fetched him and the merchant said to him, "Whither didst thou carry the bales of goods from the ship?" "To such a Khan," answered he; and the merchant rejoined, "Come thither with me and show it to me." So the camel-man went with him to a place far distant from the shore and showed him the Khan where he had set down the stuffs, and at the same time the false merchant's magazine, which he opened and found therein his four bales bound up as they had been packed. The thief had laid his cloak over them; so the merchant took the cloak as well as the bales and delivered them to the camel- driver, who laid them on his camel; after which he locked the magazine and went away with the cameleer. On the way, he was confronted with the thief who followed him, till he had shipped the bales, when he said to him, "O my brother (Allah have thee in His holy keeping!), thou hast indeed recovered thy goods and naught of them is lost; so give me back my cloak." The merchant laughed and, giving him back his cloak, let him go unhindered; whereupon both went their ways. And they tell a tale of
MASRUR THE EUNUCH AND IBN AL-KARIBI
The Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, was exceedingly restless one night; so he said to his Wazir Ja'afar, "I am sleepless to-night and my breast is straitened and I know not what to do." Now his castrato Masrϊr was standing before him, and he laughed: whereupon the Caliph said "At whom laughest thou? Is it to make mock of me or hath madness seized thee?" Answered Masrur, "Nay, by Allah, O Commander of the Faithful,"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundredth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Harun al- Rashid said to Masrur the Sworder, "Dost thou laugh to make mock of me or hath madness seized thee?" Answered Masrur, "Nay, by Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, I swear by thy kinship to the Prince of Apostles, I did it not of my free will; but I went out yesterday to walk within sight of the palace and, coming to the bank of the Tigris, saw there the folk collected; so I stopped and found a man, Ibn al-Kαribν hight, who was making them laugh; but just now I recalled what he said, and laughter got the better of me; and I crave pardon of thee, O Commander of the Faithful!" Quoth the Caliph, "Bring him to me forthright;" so Masrur repaired in all haste to Ibn al-Karibi and said to him, "Answer the summons of the Commander of the Faithful," whereto he replied, "I hear and obey." "But on condition," added Masrur, "that, if he give thee aught, thou shalt have a quarter and the rest shall be mine." Replied the droll, "Nay, thou shalt have half and I half." Rejoined Masrur, "Not so, I will have three- quarters." Lastly said Ibn al-Karibi, "Thou shalt have two- thirds and I the other third;" to which Masrur agreed, after much higgling and haggling, and they returned to the palace together. Now when Ibn al-Karibi came into the Caliph's presence he saluted him as men greet the Caliphate, and stood before him; whereupon said Al-Rashid to him, "If thou do not make me laugh, I will give thee three blows with this bag." Quoth Ibn al-Karibi in his mind, "And a small matter were blows with that bag, seeing that beating with whips hurteth me not;" for he thought the bag was empty. Then he began to deal out his drolleries, such as would make the dismallest jemmy guffaw, and gave vent to all manner of buffooneries; but the Caliph laughed not neither smiled, whereat Ibn al-Karibi marvelled and was chagrined and affrighted. Then said the Commander of the Faithful, "Now hast thou earned the beating," and gave him a blow with the bag, wherein were four pebbles each two rotols in weight. The blow fell on his neck and he gave a great cry, then calling to mind his compact with Masrur, said, "Pardon, O Commander of the Faithful! Hear two words from me." Quoth the Caliph, "Say on," and quoth Ibn al- Karibi, "Masrur made it a condition with me and I a covenant with him, that whatsoever largesse might come to me of the bounties of the Commander of the Faithful, one-third thereof should be mine and the rest his; nor did he agree to leave me so much as one- third, save after much higgling and haggling. I have had my share and here standeth he, ready to receive his portion; so pay him the two other blows." Now when the Caliph heard this, he laughed until he fell on his back; then calling Masrur, he gave him a blow, whereat he cried out and said, "O Commander of the Faithful, the one-third sufficeth me: give him the two-thirds."— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and First Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Masrur cried out, "O Commander of the Faithful! The one-third sufficeth me; give him the two-thirds." So the Caliph laughed at them and ordered them a thousand dinars each, and they went away, rejoicing at the largesse. And of the tales they tell is one of
THE DEVOTEE PRINCE
The Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, had a son who, from the time he attained the age of sixteen, renounced the world and walked in the way[FN#158] of ascetics and devotees. He was wont to go out to the graveyards and say, "Ye once ruled the world, but that saved you not from death, and now are ye come to your sepulchres! Would Heaven I knew what ye said and what is said to you!"[FN#159] and he wept as one weepeth who is troubled with fear and apprehension, and repeated the worlds of the poet,
"Affright me funerals at every time; *
And wailing women grieve me to the soul!"