Red Moon

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Red Moon

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.
And in this wise for many and many a day,
The Rose and Nightingale held festival,
Until the furious cruelty of fate
Turned all their love to abject misery.
The Rose became the prey of every wind,
The Nightingale fell headlong in the dust,
The course of fate ordained for them to drink
The cup of desolation to the dregs.
Those upon whom companion’s smile is turned,
Are never infinitely destitute,
And this too treacherous world betrays us all,
With craft and the sharp edge of trickery.
And when the dish gives honey to our lips,
A deadly poison lurks within the bowl.
And if we trust one moment to a cup
It kills us till the blood in torrents flows.
When did two days award an equal calm
But that distress did not the next ensue?
When was it that the highest bliss was given,
But that at last there followed misery?
The treasure is a snake, the gold but dross,
Their grace a fading leaf, their balm is blight,
And pain is but the sequel of delight,
Their life to nothing but a vapor turns.
Darius, Alexander, where are they,
Who once were conquerors of every land?
For both of them at last exchanged for grief,
For grief of death, the glory of their life.
Where is the sovereign Solomon, whose throne
From peak to peak of Caucasus was set,
He whose high throne was sport to every wind,
To waft it as it wished to every pole?
At last the wind bore off the lofty throne,
And Solomon to-day is but a name.
Where is Schamshid, through whose profound design
The world was moulded into living form?
But even his genius vanished in the wind
 But even his genius vanished in the wind,
And suddenly he mouldered into dust.
Where now is he, the Lord of all the world,
The lord of lords, illustrious Feridun?
He also to the spoiler yields his power,
Flung to the ground to mingle with the dust.
Still in this house there lingers only one,
The everlasting, everliving God.
This world has but two portals, which indeed
Are separated from each other far,
For by one door man enters to the house,
And by the other he an exit makes.
Who in this house forever gladly stays,
From which the very Prophet took his flight?
And since he never lingered in this house,
How canst thou think eternal there thy lot?
What is the world, O Fasli, but an inn
Where caravans halt only for night?
Put not thy trust, then, in its permanence,
For ambush ever lies in wait for it.
Distrust it, then, for it can ne’er endure,
Despise it, for it has no help for thee.

LIX
Declaration of the Hidden Meaning Which for the Mystic Lies in
This True History and Mournful Narrative
Thou who hast on these pages fixed thine eyes,
If there is any knowledge in thy mind,
Look not on these events as idle tales,
For in the words a meaning there abides.
And what from idle tales can come of good,
Unless some meaning there be hid in them?
Some doctrine from a fable often comes,
So idle tales are often profitless.
And hence the hidden sense of history
Declares the sequel both to me and thee.
For now when to an end the story comes,
Thou needs must learn the lesson of the tale.
The Shah, the radiant monarch of the Spring,
Is intellect that bides for evermore.
The Rose, which is the daughter of the Shah,
Is genius, offspring of the intellect.
The city which is named the rose garden
Is life when spent on beds of luxury.
The Nightingale upon the rose parterre
The human heart, which after genius longs.
The heart by genius is perfected,
And therefore is of genius amorous.
The East Wind is the breath of suffering,
Which ever blows between the heart and soul,
And the clear vision which in life abides
Is the narcissus in the rose parterre.
The tulip, in a circle bends its cup,—
’Tis friendship with its tender-heartedness.
The cypress, I would fain expound to you,
Is the free symbol of integrity.
The rivulet is purity of soul,
Wherein the well-beloved is mirrored clear.
And in the dew which serves the flowers for wine
Is seen the shining tenderness of God.
What is the lily else but bravery?
The violet is loveliness of heart,
The hyacinth is bitter jealousy
The hyacinth is bitter jealousy,
The thorn is anger which estranges all.
And that which Summer I and Winter call,
Must also have a double sense to thee.
For one brings many blessings to thy life,
The other desolates this world of ours;
And on the character of each of these
All of the year’s vicissitudes depend.
The one is strong as anger in its day,
And with it carries off the strength of man;
For man when fiery ardor rules the sky
Finds all his life with flames of heat consumed.
And this is August burning like a brand,
Which desolates the city of the soul.
Thus will be clear to thee how any fire
Destroys the happiness of monarch Spring.
So soon as suffering seizes on the life
It overcomes the soul and intellect.
For intellect its office fails to fill,
So anger has with all things laid it waste.
The other source of strength is love of kind,
Which always brings a blessing in its train.
Its action is to deepen graciousness,
And give new color to the sense of life.
And so I name it Autumn: well is known
Its character as separate and distinct—
Since rage and passion then are satisfied,
And life into a mellow twilight comes.
While all the time nature in calm decay
Is like the chill of man’s declining day.
And thus the king of winter seems at last
The human life and spirit to usurp.
The king who does the rose garden restore
Is but the light and health that clears man’s soul.
Anger and passion both give way to him,
And God’s own light at last pours blessing down.
This king brings help to heart and intellect,
And takes possession of the whole domain.
H f h ii f h h f
 He frees the spirit from the charge of sense,
And widens out the prospect of the soul;
Then heart and spirit in a kiss unite,
The bridal of the Rose and Nightingale.

LX
The Close of the Book
Thank God, these pages, numbered to the full,
Are pleasant as the petals of a Rose;
Where genius is as the Nightingale,
And plucks them ardently from off the flower.
’Tis genius blent the sweets of Gulistan,
Tinting narcissus’ cheeks with fresher hue.
Each verse is like a gayly-painted rose,
And Bulbul is the guardian of the grove.
The letters like to cedars stand in line,
The lines run o’er the page like rivulets.
The words like rank and file their order take,
The sense is as the diamond in the mine.
And thus the poet has prepared for you
A feast of tenderness, a dainty feast,
A bosom book of the sublimest lore,
Which all the world will welcome with delight.
The book towers up like some tall monument,
And every verse of it is Eden’s door.
And I have put a meaning under it,
Which is the Gulistan of its fair words.
It sprang from out the well of my pure wit,
My genius is enthroned on its renown,
’Tis I who clothed the legend in these words,
The language and the meaning both are mine,
And in this legend there is naught of guile,
My taper’s light no ignis fatuus,
And he who sees the symbol will esteem,
The book from title-page to colophon.
I borrowed no man’s phrases and I trod
No path that had been trodden hitherto.
Forth from the portal of my intellect
There streamed the words of evil and of good.
And many a lovely lay have I composed
From the sad music of the Nightingale.
So that this book, so fascinating fair,
Will by the fair ever be beloved.
I hope that God the volume will protect
I hope that God the volume will protect,
And keep it safe from misadventures twain.
First from a critic ignorant and dull,
Who like a mule the poet tramples down,
A critic without intellect and sense,
Who cannot see the meaning of the words,
But twists the sense of every graceful line,
And does not hear the music in the verse.
One point he dwells on, to another blind,
And mixes up the poetry and prose.
Presumes himself to boast poetic fire,
And to set right a hundred lines of mine.
Then from the writer who, like one bewitched,
Does naught but blot each blemish in the book.
He scores the book with blots as with a cloak,
And all its beauties in concealment keeps.
He sticks his mark where is no need of it,
And blunders every time he would correct;
His criticism should be criticised,
And his misuse of language makes me smile,
Even misspelling he is guilty of.
His very letters does he scarcely know,
His very pen itself cannot run straight,
His knotted fingers scarce can hold the pen.
Now, Fasli, comes at length thy poem’s end.
Thank God for all the beauty of thy lays.
Leave poetry and turn thy mind to God,
And thank him thou hast reached the colophon.
Thy book is one of happiness and bliss,
In lovers’ bosoms it will oft be borne.
And now the numbered verses thus conclude
The story of the Rose and Nightingale.
 HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS

INTRODUCTION

I T is related that the wife of a great king unjustly accused his son, by
another mother, of an act of treachery against his father; and that that king
was wroth, and for forty mornings caused his son to be led forth to be
slain; and that that king had many vezirs, all of whom were peerless in the
sea of understanding, and in thoughtfulness and sagacity, and full of plans
and devices; and that when the king each morning caused his son to be led
forth for execution, these vezirs gave the king counsel, and each morning a
vezir, telling a story, calmed the king’s heart and turned away his wrath, and
saved the prince from his hand; and again, that each night that crafty lady,
letting not the king rest, ever incited him to the slaughter of the prince, and
with enticing and beguiling words, repeated each night a story to the king,
and made his understanding forsake him; and that through the words of that
crafty lady, every morning for forty days he caused his son to be led into his
presence to be slain; and that the vezirs by telling a story delivered him.
After forty days the innocence of the prince was manifested and the
falsehood and calumny of the crafty lady disclosed; and she received her
due, and the prince was greatly loved and esteemed before his father when
the truth of his affair was known. The adventures of the king, and the lady
and the prince, and his governor and the vezirs, and what befell between
them, will be related; and sixteen of the stories told by the vezirs in the
forty days, and by the lady in the forty nights will be set forth and narrated.
“With God is grace: how excellent a friend is he!”
They tell in history books, that there was in Persia a great king, whose
name was Khānqīn, and in the grasp of whose possession were the Seven
Climes. As he was gracious and able and sagacious, kingliness and the
bases of empire were present in him. God most high had give him a fair
son, by whose beauty the people of the world were bewildered. Whosoever
looked upon his loveliness would say, “Is it magic, this?”[3] and he who
beheld his tall figure would exclaim, “This is no mortal!”[4] Fair was his
beauty and charming was his self, and desired of lovers. Moreover, his were
accomplishments and perfections; he had no rival in the reading of science,
or in penmanship, or in archery, or in horsemanship; and his fair character
was talked of and celebrated among high and low. The king, too, whenever
he saw him, experienced a hundred thousand pleasures, and looked upon
him as the source of his life. The mother of this youth was of the lovely
ones of China.[5] One day she fell ill, and at length, no remedy availing, she
was received into Mercy. Thereupon, after some time had passed, his father
married the daughter of a great king and brought her to his palace.
After a while this lady fell in love with the prince. For a long time she
hid her love in her heart, and, saying in herself, “He is my step-son, what
help for it!” she disclosed it not. But when, day after day, she looked upon
his beauty, she was no longer able to bear with patience the fire of love,
and, bringing into the field the wallet of craft, she was busy night and day
with stratagems. Now the king had given the prince to a governor to be
taught the sciences of astronomy and astrology, and the boy was night and
day occupied acquiring them. One day the governor looked at the youth’s
horoscope, and perceived there was a space of forty days in most sinister
aspect. Did he say a word about this, he would be pointing out a great
calamity; so he was exceeding grieved, and his heart was contracted. But he
said to the prince, “I have this day looked at thy horoscope and seen a most
sinister aspect; such is it, my life,[6] that thou must obey the command and
decree of God most high, and observe my injunction, else thou shalt die.”
The prince heard these words of his governor and his color changed, and
he said to his teacher, “Order what thou wilt: command is thine.” Quoth the
teacher, “O son, the way of averting this calamity is thus stated in the book:
for the space of forty days thou shalt not speak one word though a naked
sword be above thy head.” Then he bade the prince bear in mind certain of
the holy names and blessed litanies, and sent him to his father. The
governor thereupon hid in a vault and concealed himself.[7] When the
prince came to his father, the latter said to him, “My son, what hast thou
read and written this day?” but the prince gave no answer to his father.
Again quoth the king, “O my life, what does thy master?” again he gave no
answer. Again his father said, “O life of my life, what has befallen thee?
Why dost thou not speak?” Again he gave no answer. Then said the king to
his son’s guardian, “The boy is sad to-day, take him to his mother, maybe
that his heart will expand.” Then the guardian took the youth to the lady and
said, “Lady, this youth is sad, he has not uttered one syllable to his father
this day, therefore has he sent him to thee, that peradventure he may speak
beside his mother.” The lady was glad and said, “Clear the house, go, be
off; that I may learn somewhat of the prince, and banish his sadness and
grief.”
When she was alone with the youth the lady threw her arm round his
neck, and said, “O my life, ah, my lord, what has befallen thee that thy heart
is thus sad, and that thou art disconsolate and mournful? Whatever thy
father possesses is in my hand; if thou wilt make thy heart one with mine,
and act according to my words, I will turn away thy sadness.” To her too the
prince gave no answer. Again said the lady, “Thou art a grown-up youth, I
too am a young lady; thy father is a decrepit old man, with neither thought
nor discernment; if thou wilt assure me, and swear to me, and accept me as
thy legal wife, I will make shift to kill thy father and make thee king in his
stead. First, I swear by God, and for God, and in God, that I speak these
words from the bottom of my heart and from my very soul, and that I will
not falsify these words; do thou likewise assure me, and swear to me that I
may act accordingly.” The prince answered not a word.
Quoth the lady, “O dearer than my life, should thou ask how I will kill
thy father; lo, in the treasury are many kinds of poisons, of one of which if a
person eat, he turns ill and after three months dies. The people will not
know the cause of his death, and will not suspect that he has eaten poison.
They will say he but took ill, and will doubtless make thee king. Should
thou say I am thy step-mother and wonder how thou art to marry me, the
way is this: send me off to my own country, and while yet on the road, send
someone after me who shall come in the guise of a robber and pounce upon
us by night and seize me; so it will be said that robbers have seized me.
Then buy me as a slave girl from that man, and make me thy wife; so none
will know.” But the prince answered her not at all, and spake not. Then the
lady grew desperate at his not speaking, and her patience was exhausted,
and she said, “O my soul, O my gliding angel, why wilt thou not speak to
me?” And she put her arm round his neck and drew him to her and made to
kiss him. And the prince was wroth, and he smote the lady’s mouth with the
back of his hand, so that her mouth filled with blood.
When she saw this conduct the fire of anger blazed up in the hearth of
her breast, and the sparks from the fumes of her pride gained her heart, and
she cried, “Out on thee! fool! boy! I sought to raise thee to the throne and
make thee king, and thou didst strike me thus; now will I speak to thy father
that he shall hew thee in pieces, small even as thine ear.” And she
dishevelled her hair and smeared the four sides of her robe with the blood
of her mouth and sat down, sad and tearful, feeble and wailing. Then the
youth went to his private apartments. After a time the king came to the
harem, thinking to inquire of the lady concerning the affair of the prince,
and he saw her seated besmeared with red blood. And the king marvelled at
this sight, and said to the lady, “What is this matter? explain to me.” She
said, “O king, that degenerate son of thine! God forbid that he be son of
thine!” “What is the matter?” said the king.
The lady replied, “I saw that degenerate youth that he was sad, and I
cleared the palace that I might banish his sadness, and I said to him, ‘My
son, why art thou sad?’ Then he stretched forth his hand and made to do me
wrong, but I prevented him. Then he said to me, ‘Why dost thou flee me? if
thou wilt be my mistress and make thy heart one with mine, and assure me
thereof, it is my intention to kill my father and make thee my wife; and the
riches, and the country, and the throne, and the kingdom will be ours,’ But I
consented not, and he desired to kill me that I might not make known this
matter to the king. And I cried out for the saving of my life, and he left me
in this plight and went away. Now, O king, know of a surety that he
purposes evil against thee, and see to the saving of thine own life, else
crown and throne will go from thy hands; so ere he kill thee do thou kill
him that thou be secure from his wickedness.” When the king heard these
words from the lady he was wroth, and that night sleep came not to his
eyes.
In the early morning he went forth and sat upon his throne, and caused
the prince to be brought before him, that he might order the executioner to
smite off his head. The courtiers who were beside him got the executioner
to delay, and at once sent word to the vezirs. As soon as they knew what
was happening, the vezirs came with all speed to the presence of the king,
and said, “O king, how has the prince this day thus merited the anger of the
king?”
The king related to the vezirs the events that had taken place, whereupon
the grand vezir said, “Slay not thy son, trusting on the woman’s word; do
not a deed beyond the ordinance of God and the law of the Messenger:[8]
and there is no permission in the law for one to act on a woman’s word. If
there were witnesses that the prince had done this thing to the lady, then
were command the king’s; but spill not blood unjustly, that afterward thou
suffer not regret and remorse. They have said that whatsoever oppression
there be in a country it is incumbent on him who is king to banish it; where
then were room for kings to do deeds beyond the law and spill blood
unjustly? If they be negligent in the matter of banishing oppression, God
most high will visit and afflict them with four sorts of troubles: firstly, he
will make their life short; secondly, he will let the enemy prevail against
them; thirdly, he will give the enemy aid and victory; and fourthly, on the
resurrection day he will be wroth with them and consign them to the
torment of hell.
“He then is wise who will not for a five-days’ life lose the hereafter, and
is not needless. And, moreover, the holy Messenger (peace on him!) when
going to perform the ablution would first of all perform it with sand; the
companions asked, ‘O Apostle of God, is it lawful to perform the sand
ablution when there is water?’ The most noble beloved of God replied, ‘I
fear lest death let me not reach the water.’ Now, O king, be not
presumptuous through worldly fortune and kingship, and consent not to a
deed contrary to the law, and ruin not thy hereafter, trusting in the woman’s
word. For by reason of the craft of woman has many a head been cut off;
and the blessed Messenger hath said, ‘Whatsoever misfortunes befall my
people will befall them through women.’ And wise is he who looks at the
beginning and end of an affair, like that king who took counsel with his
sons and his vezirs and the elders of the country, and was prospered alike in
the world and the hereafter. And that story is a fair story; if the king grant
leave I will relate it.” The king said, “Tell on.” Quoth the vezir:

Trial of the Three Sons

“There was of old time in the palace of the world a great king, such that
the world was under his rule. He had lived enjoying sovereignty for a
hundred and twenty years in the palace of the world, and was grown old and
knew that in the near future he would be given to drink of the potion of
death. And the king had three moon-faced[9] sons and likewise three able
and skilful vezirs. One day quoth the king to his vezirs, ‘The end of this my
life draws nigh; the natural life of man is a hundred and twenty years, after
that not an old man remains. Now I have reached that state and the affair is
thus, I wish to appoint one of my sons to my place, and, leaning my back
against the wall of abdication, take rest. Which of my sons do ye deem
worthy of the throne?’ The vezirs said, ‘O king, long be thy life; a person’s
good and bad are not known till he have been proved; for two things are the
touchstone of a man; the first is wine, the second, office; in these two things
is a person’s manfulness apparent and manifest. This were best, for nine
days let these thy three sons enjoy the throne and sovereignty, and with this
touchstone let the king prove them; whatever be the character of each of
them, it will appear; for the rest, let the king order accordingly,’
“When the king heard these words from the vezirs they seemed right
good to his heart, and he commanded that each son should sit for three days
on the throne and exercise sovereignty, and declared that he would allow
whatever they should annul or appoint, and whatever they should grant
from the treasury, and whatever justice or oppression they might show, and
that no one should say aught. Then the eldest son of the king sat upon the
throne and directed the government, and he practised justice and equity on
such wise as cannot be described. He loved the doctors and turned from the
foolish, and gave the high offices to the learned, and withdrew from
listening to things forbidden and what was vain, and strove much in well-
doing.
“Then the king, to prove the judgment of his son, sent him three persons
from prison, one was a murderer, and one a thief, and one an adulterer; and
with them he sent the complainants. When they came before the prince the
complainants stated their case and the witnesses bore witness that these
three persons were indeed guilty, and that these words were no calumny
against them, but true. When the prince knew how the case was, he said,
‘On a man’s coming into the world he is the blood of his father’s and
mother’s hearts; and, after bearing these many troubles and afflictions, a
man in forty years becomes mature; so it is not well to slay him in a minute,
as God most high will in the hereafter surely punish him in hell.’ And he
made them vow that henceforward they would do no such deeds, and set all
three at liberty. And for the whole three days he ruled with justice.
“On the fourth day the turn came to the middle son, and he likewise sat
upon the throne and directed the government. He abased the learned and
promoted the foolish; and adopted as habit wine and music, and as
profession avarice and meanness. Brief, he was the opposite of his elder
brother. According to the custom, they sent to him too three criminals.
When the prince heard how the case was he said, ‘Men like these are the
thorns of the country;’ and he ordered that the three of them perished. When
he too had ruled for three days, the turn came to the youngest prince, and he
likewise sat upon the throne and directed the government. He gave to the
doctors the post suitable to the doctors, and to the learned the high offices,
and to the strong and impetuous young heroes, military fiefs, and to the
champions, feudal domains; and he registered their pay. He honored each of
them according to his position, and abased the unmannerly. Brief, he put
each one in his proper place, like a string of pearls; and he left not his gate
unlocked lest the foe should triumph over him.
“The king again sent three culprits from the prison that he might try his
judgment. When they were present the servants informed him, and he said,
‘Bring them one by one,’ Then when the witnesses had borne witness that
the man had indeed committed murder, the prince said, ‘Murder is of two
kinds, the one intentional, the other accidental; and the intentional is also of
two kinds, the first when a person strikes another with an iron instrument
and kills him, him it is needful to put to death in retaliation; and they have
written in the Book of Dues that if one person strike another with a stick
and kill him, or if he throw him into a fire, then the fine for blood and the
expiation alike become necessary. And the other too is accidental, when the
expiation is incumbent, and he is culpable, but the fine for blood does not
become necessary. And that is accidental when a person shoots an arrow at
a deer, and it glances and hits a man and kills him; as God most high hath
said, “Then whoso killeth a believer by mischance, then (the expiation is)
the freeing of a believer from bondage ... but if he find not (the means of
doing so), then a fast for two consecutive months.”’[10]
“Then the prince asked and learned that he had murdered intentionally;
so they executed him. After that they brought the thief; and the prince said,
‘If anyone, sane and of age, steal ten minted dirhems of silver, his hand
must be cut off, as also if he steal one dīnār of gold, even as saith the
Apostle (peace on him!), “No cutting save for a dīnār or ten dirhems.”
When one thus commits theft his right hand must be cut off at the wrist; if
he commit theft again, his left hand must be cut off; if he commit it a third
time, his right foot must be cut off; and if he commit it yet again, he must
be put in prison till he repent.’ Then the prince caused the man to receive
the due of his crime. After that they brought him who had committed
adultery, his case also they exposed, and they gave him the due of his sin
conformably to the law.
 “The nine days were completed, and the king assembled his vezirs and
said, ‘Lo, ye have seen the rule of my three sons, which of them is worthy
the throne?’ Quoth the first vezir, ‘O king, thy eldest son is worthy,’ Quoth
the second vezir, ‘Thy middle son is worthy,’ Quoth the third vezir, ‘Thy
youngest son is worthy,’ When the king heard these words of the vezirs his
doubts were not removed; and he said, ‘O vezirs, the words of the three of
ye are contrary each to other.’ And forthwith he commanded the people of
the country that on the morrow they should all come out to the plain. The
next day the whole of the folk were assembled on the plain; then the king
rose on his feet and said, ‘O people, do not to-morrow on the resurrection
day seize hold of my collar and say, “Thou hast oppressed us,” and so wrest
from me my meritorious acts and render me confounded and ashamed. Now
be ye kind and look not at my kingship and know that before God most high
there is none meaner or more abject than myself.’ And he wept full bitterly.
And the rich and poor assembled there wept all of them together.
“Then turning again, the king said, ‘O friends, lo, my time is at hand; do
ye absolve me for the hereafter. I have three sons, whichever of them ye
wish, him will I seat upon the throne. If he be just, ye will enjoy rest and
bless me, and I shall be at rest in the place where I lie; but if he be cruel, ye
will not have rest neither shall I have rest.’ The people said, ‘May the king’s
life endure full many a year! may God most high be well pleased with our
king! We are well pleased with our king; whatever we may have against our
king, let him be absolved. We are pleased with whichever son he see worthy
the throne; but since the king has given the choice into our hands, let him
seat his youngest son upon the throne. He is wise as well as learned and
skilled in the affairs of the world; if the king see fit, the wise is worthy the
seat of honor, as this has come down in the traditions, “A wise youth taketh
precedence of a foolish elder.” For the rest, the king knows.’
“Then the king went to the palace and ordered that they adorned the
throne, and the grandees of the state came, and all were present. Then he
took his youngest son by the hand and made to seat him on the throne,
when his brothers came forward and said, ‘O father, all the folk say that he
is accomplished and wise and that he knows well the law and the
government; now we have some questions to ask of him, which if he
answer, we also will contentedly resign to him the throne and stand in his
presence with folded hands;[11] but if not, the crown and throne indeed
become him not.’
 “The king said to his youngest son, ‘What sayest thou?’ He replied,
‘Whatsoever their questions be, let them ask them.’ They said, ‘What is
meant by Sultan?’ He answered, ‘By Sultan is meant one who has
certificate and warrant, that we obey the command and ordinance of God
most high: the Sultan is the shadow of God on the earth.’ And they asked,
‘To whom is it worthy to be king by birth?’ He answered, ‘First the king’s
lineage must be manifest, then his descent must be perfect, then he must
observe the habits of the just monarchs. They said, ‘Who is just?’ He
answered, ‘The just is he who transgresses not the law.’ They said, ‘Who is
unjust?’ He replied, ‘He who rather than obey the law, brings in innovations
of his own, so that it may be easy to amass wealth with oppression.’ They
said, ‘What manner of persons should kings appoint vezirs?’
“He answered, ‘They should appoint those persons in whom are two
characteristics, the first of which is that they be endowed with prudence and
resource, and the second that they be wise and accomplished; for learning in
a man is a second understanding.’ They said, ‘How many sorts of people are
needful to kings?’ He answered, ‘Four kinds of people; the first, skilful
vezirs; the second, valiant warriors; the third, an accomplished scribe who
is perfect in Arabic and Persian and the science of writing; and the fourth, a
clever physician who is most able in the science of philosophy.’ They said,
‘How many different things ought always to be in the thoughts of a king?’
He answered, ‘Four different things; the first, to do justice to the people; the
second, to use aright the money that is in the treasury; the third, to distribute
offices properly; and the fourth, to be not negligent concerning enemies.’
They said, ‘How many different traits should the king adopt as his wont?’
He answered, ‘Four; the first is a smiling face; the second, a sweet speech;
the third, generosity; and the fourth, mercy to the poor.’ They said, ‘How
many kinds of courtiers are needful to the king?’ He answered, ‘Four
classes are requisite; first, the wise; second, the learned; third, the valiant
champions; and fourth, musicians: from the wise he will learn the law, from
the learned he will acquire the sciences, from the valiant champions he will
acquire chivalry, and by the musicians will his heart be expanded.’
“They said, ‘Of which class should the king consider himself one?’ He
answered, ‘Let him consider himself of the great sheykhs who have reached
God, for it will cause him to be just.’ Then he turned to his brothers and
said, ‘O my brothers, ye have put these many questions to me and I have
answered the whole of them to the best of my power: I too have a question.’
So they said to him, ‘Ask on.’ Quoth he, ‘What do the kings of the world
resemble, and what do their agents resemble, and what do the people
resemble, and what do the king’s enemies resemble, and what do the
sheykhs resemble?’ Then they both bent their heads and pondered. After a
time the prince again said, ‘This is no time for pondering; lo, there the
question; lo, there the throne.’ Quoth they, ‘We are unequal to this
question.’ Then the king took his youngest son by the hand and seated him
on the throne and said, ‘O son, may God ever aid thee and may thy foes be
overthrown!’ Then all the nobles of the state and the people came and said,
‘May the throne be blessed!’ And they made him king over them.
“Then the king said, ‘O son, do thou answer the question thou puttest to
thy brethren, that we may hear.’ Quoth the prince, ‘O my father, this world
resembles a pasture, and these people resemble the sheep that wander in
that pasture, and the king resembles their shepherd, and the owner of the
sheep is God most high, and the nobles resemble that shepherd’s dogs, and
the enemy resembles the wolf, and the sheykhs and the wise resemble the
guardians appointed by God most high over the shepherd, who forbid the
shepherd by the order of God most high whenever he would do evil to the
sheep. O father, in very truth I am a feeble shepherd, I see the sheep, and I
perceive that even while we say, “Let not them come and hurt the sheep,”
we become ourselves partners with the wolf. Should the Owner of the sheep
ask us about his lambs, woe, woe to us!’ And he wept full bitterly. The
princes acknowledged the sovereignty of their younger brother.
“Then the King took up a handful of dust and put it on his eye and said,
‘O eye, how long a time is it I have been king, and how great wealth have I
amassed and brought before thee by this much oppression and justice, and
thou wast never satisfied! And with how many beauties have I made merry
and enjoyed the best of what they had till thou hast lost all pleasure in
taking it! And how many delicacies have I eaten and how many sherbets
have I drunk, and thou art not content! Why then didst thou not look to
these affairs and see not? True is it what they say, “Naught fills the eye save
a handful of dust.” Woe, woe, to us!’ And he wept. And all the nobles
assembled there were moved to pity and they wept together. Then the king
arose and went to his oratory and gave himself up to devotion.
“After some time the king laid his head upon the pillow of death and felt
that his life had touched its end, and he said, ‘Do now before my eyes that
which ye should do when I am dead, that I may see it.’ Then they laid the
king upon his throne in the palace. And they scattered sifted dust below the
castle and cut up strips of damask and strewed them with dust. And all the
slave girls put on black and dishevelled their hair and scattered dust upon
their heads and began to weep together, crying, ‘Alas! woe! alas!’ so that
hearts were rent. Then came the vezirs, who likewise fell to weeping
together and exclaiming, ‘Shall a king so just as this be found?’ After that
they ordered that they brought a coffin with great reverence; then the three
princes, when they saw the coffin, wept blood in place of tears and cried,
‘This is the horse our father rideth now!’ And they adorned it with jewels
and placed upon it a jewel-set crown and held over it the royal parasol.
“Then four great lords came and took hold of the frame of the coffin and
bare it away. And before the coffin went the sheykhs singing chants and
hymns. And the devotees held copies of the sacred volume before them; and
great nobles and nobles’ sons marched in front. Before them were a hundred
sweet-voiced dirge singers who wept and cried, ‘Ah! woe! alas!’ And from
one side they scattered gold and silver and jewels on the coffin; and there
were some 10,000 horsemen with golden saddles and broken stirrups and
snapped bows. And behind these was an array of slave girls, all clad in
black, whose wails and cries rose to the heavens.
“When the king saw those things he sighed and ordered that they took
him down from the throne; and he turned and said, ‘While yet alive I have
seen my death.’ And he took a handful of earth and threw it on his head and
said, ‘Earth, though this long sovereignty has been mine, I have done no
righteous deed which will endure.’ And again, ‘O vezirs, I would that ye
endow for me.’ Thereupon the vezirs wrote what amounted to 10,000 aspres
a day; and they founded free kitchens and colleges, and they settled the
revenues of certain towns and villages on the free kitchens. When the
business of the endowments was finished, they brought the sections of the
Koran, and to each section reader they gave five sequins; and to each of the
devotees and dervishes they gave 500 sequins.[12] Then they brought the
food, and all the plates were of gold or silver; and to all before whom they
placed a dish they said, ‘Thine be food and plate.’ When the banquet too
was finished they freed all the male and female slaves; and three days later
the king departed for the Abiding Home.
“Now, O king, I have told this story for that the king may, like that
sovereign, inquire, and act conformably to the words of the vezirs and the
people, and in compliance with the command of the law, that he be not a
prey in the world to remorse and in the hereafter to torment.” And he kissed
the ground and made intercession for the prince. When the king heard of
these wondrous events from the vezir, he perceived how the world had no
stability and he sighed and sent the youth to the prison and went himself to
the chase.
When it was evening he returned and came to the palace, and went in to
the lady who rose to greet him, and they sat down. After the repast the lady
began to speak about the youth and asked concerning him. Quoth the king,
“I have again sent him to the prison.” The lady said, “This matter which has
happened is no light matter, but thou art negligent and wouldst act upon
everyone’s word; and they have said that the negligent person is not exempt
from one of three conditions; either he is a fool, or he is ignorant, or fortune
has turned its face from him. O king, the negligent does no perfect deed; be
not negligent, for to be negligent in this affair is madness. O king, this thy
story resembles that of another king, upon whom five times fell the enemy
by reason of his negligence; but mayhap my king has not heard that story.”
The king said, “Tell on, let us hear.” Quoth the lady:

Stratagem Greater Than Strength

“There was of old time a king, and he had an enemy greater than
himself. One day that hostile king assembled a mighty host and came
against that weak king. The latter, having no other resource, assembled all
his army and went forth to meet him. Although he much besought that
strong king and said, ‘War is not a good thing, come, consent not to this
calamity, make not thyself guilty of the blood of so many Moslems;’ and
mentioned how the holy Apostle hath said, ‘If two Moslems fight against
each other with swords or other implements of war, and one kill the other,
both the killer and the killed shall enter hell;’ and made many and many an
excuse, it was in vain.
“When the king saw that all his entreaty was of no avail with the enemy,
he perceived that it was necessary to find some plan to avert this evil. Now
the king had three skilful vezirs, these he summoned to give counsel. He
said, ‘O my vezirs, what is your advice in this matter?’ The chief vezir came
forward and said, ‘My king, in the present circumstances the military might
of our enemy is great; most assuredly are we unable to oppose him. Now
the best way were this, that we put off the battle and return to our country;
he will certainly come after us, but we will enter into a strong castle and
rest there till that time when fortune will surely turn toward us likewise;
thus are the affairs of the world, now gladness, now woe.’ He likewise
asked the second vezir, ‘What is thy advice, let us see?’ So he said, ‘O my
king, all that the first vezir has said is wise; but it is never allowable to
show weakness before the enemy, for inasmuch as thou displayest weakness
will he become strong; so if now thou shun battle and flee, thou wilt be
giving him opportunity. Wise is he who, although the enemy appear
overwhelming, fears not death and gives the foe no answer but the sword.’
“Then, said the king to the third vezir, ‘What is thine advice in this
matter?’ The vezir answered, ‘O king, manliness is of ten parts, nine of
which are stratagem and one of which is strength; and by stratagem is the
affair of enemies ever finished, for they have said that the affair which one
stratagem finishes 100,000 soldiers cannot finish. If the king will be guided
by this humble one, to-night of a sudden we will attack the enemy and fall
upon his camp, and, if it please God most high, we will cut off the heads of
many of them.’ The king approved this stratagem of the vezir, so when it
was midnight and the enemy was negligent they fell upon his camp from
every side, and slaughtered the foes till morning, and their king fled to his
own country.
“So was this weak king victorious, and he returned to his own land. But
that fugitive king went to his country and assembled an army, and again
marched against this king. Then the weak king, having no other resource,
went forth to meet him, and they pitched opposite each other.
“The weak king said to his vezirs, ‘What is your advice this time, let us
see?’ Then quoth the third vezir, ‘O king, we shall again finish our affair by
stratagem.’ Said the king, ‘What stratagem shall we use? they will be very
watchful this night.’ The vezir replied, ‘Stratagem is not one; let them keep
watch till morning, we shall this time employ another stratagem.’ Quoth the
king, ‘Speak on, let us see.’ The vezir said, ‘We will hide in ambush 2,000
strong impetuous youths; and as soon as it is morning we will go out
against the enemy and fight a little, then we will appear to flee, and they
shall follow after, thinking to fall upon us; and when the foremost of the
host reaches us we will turn and fight with them and cut them down.
Thereupon our soldiers who are in ambush will rush into the field and take
the hostile army in the centre; and, if it please God most high, we will strike
hard with our swords and seize their leaders, and take their flags, and tear in
pieces their ensigns; and in this way will we overcome the foe.’ The king
liked this plan of the vezir, and by this stratagem they sabred the foe and
were again victorious. And the king returned smiling to his country.
“The other strong king in the greatness of his wrath cried out, ‘What
means this that thus weak a king routs my army and puts me to flight on
this wise! God most high gives victory to whom he will!’ Then he
assembled an army of which he, himself, knew not the number, and went
against that poor weak king. They gave the king word, and he, having no
other resource, went forth again, and they pitched opposite each other.
Again the weak king questioned his vezirs. Then the third vezir said, ‘O my
king, our affair is finished by stratagem.’ Quoth the king, ‘What stratagem
shall we employ?’ The vezir said, ‘O king, let us send an adroit headsman,
who will go and by some stratagem kill him; and when the head goes the
foot is not steady.’
“The king approved the vezir’s words, and sent a headsman with a
dagger, who went and somehow made shift to smite that strong king that he
well-nigh slew him, and then took flight. But while he was fleeing they
caught him and hewed him in pieces. When they saw their king that he had
reached the bounds of death, they said, ‘There is no fighting in such plight;’
and they fled, bearing their king. They came to their country and appointed
a physician, and after some days the wound got better. And that king again
assembled a host and came against the poor weak king. The latter, having
no other resource, went forth to meet him and again sought counsel of his
vezirs. The third vezir said, ‘O my king, our affair is finished by stratagem.’
The king asked, ‘What stratagem wilt thou employ this time?’ The vezir
said, ‘This time let us send an ambassador and offer some money and some
slave girls and say, “We submit to thee.” And we will give poison to one of
the slave girls we send, and tell her to give it to the king to eat when she
finds an opportunity; and in this way will we gain the victory over him.’
“The king deemed the vezir’s words good, and by that stratagem they
poisoned that king. And this king mounted and attacked his army, and, as
when the head goes the foot is not steady, it was beaten. They took their
king, and, after a thousand stratagems, conveyed him to a castle and tended
him, and at length he recovered. Again he assembled an army, and again
they went against that weak king. So the latter, having no other resource,
again went forth to meet him. He summoned his vezirs and asked advice.
Again the third vezir said, ‘O king, our affair is finished by stratagem.’
Quoth the king, ‘Give advice.’ The vezir said. ‘O king, this time he comes
with great caution, and has posted men on the roads and at the stations who
seize on everyone who passes. If the king deem good, we will write a letter
and address it to his vezirs and great nobles, and it shall be on this wise:
“ ’ “After greeting: Be it not concealed that your letter has come and all
that you say is understood. Long life and health to you! We indeed hoped it
from you. Now let me see you. Display manliness and valor. Seize him on
the road and bring him to me, and that country shall be yours; such and
such a place to so and so, and such and such a district to so and so.” Then
we will seal it, and split a staff and put it therein, and give it to a man and
send him to them. They will find the staff and take it to the king, who will
undoubtedly read it, and look upon those vezirs and nobles as traitors, and
murmurings will arise among them and they will split into parties. And by
this stratagem we will again find relief.’
“The king did so. And in that way they brought the letter to that king,
and as soon as he had read it, fear for his life fell upon him. Then he turned
back and went to his country and seized those vezirs and nobles and slew
them. At length all the nobles turned from him and wrote a letter and sent it
to this king, and it was thus: ‘For the love of God come against this tyrant,
and we will aid thee.’ When the king had read the letter he assembled an
army and went to that country, and on the battle day all the nobles came and
submitted to him, and they seized the other king and surrendered him. So he
took that country through stratagem; and because that strong king was
negligent he lost his country and his head, for they slew him.
“Now, O king, I have told this story for that my king may know and not
be negligent, and lose not life and kingdom through the stratagem of that
unworthy youth.” When the king heard this story from the lady he was
wroth, and said, “To-morrow will I slay him.”
When it was morning and the sun showed his face from behind the castle
of Qāf,[13] and illumined the world with light, the king came and sat upon
his throne, and commanded the executioner that he bring the youth and he
gave the word, “Smite off his head.” Then the fourth vezir came forward
and said, “O my king, it is not seemly in kings to hasten in all things with
precipitancy; above all the spilling of blood unjustly is deemed by the wise
most blameworthy and hateful. They have declared that the trials of a king
are four: one is haste; another, trusting to wrong; another, considering not
the end of matters; and another, negligence. Haste is that which disappoints
those who seek good and profit for themselves; wrong is that which brings
about wars and uses armies unjustly and does evil things; considering not
the end of matters is that which employs hurry instead of deliberation; and
negligence is that which inclines to music, and lust, and taking counsel of
women. And they have said, ‘Let one take counsel of a woman and do the
opposite of what she says;’ even as spake the holy Apostle (peace on him!)
‘Consult them and do clear contrary.’[14]
“In compliance with this tradition the king must not obey the woman’s
word; and through the words of women have many men suffered remorse
and fallen under the wrath of God. And the story of Balaam, the son of
Beor,[15] is a strange story; if the king grant leave, I will relate it.” The king
said, “Tell on, let us hear.” Quoth the vezir:

The Wiles of Woman

“One day Moses (peace on him!) went against a tribe, and they were of
the people of ‘Ad, and they called their chief Og, the son of Anak.[16] One
day Moses (peace on him!) by command of God summoned these to the
faith, and resolved to fight and war with them if they were not obedient. So
Moses (peace on him!) assembled four hundred and four-score thousand
men and proceeded against the ‘Adīs. When they were come near the ‘Adīs,
he sent twelve men as ambassadors to that tribe. Now Og had gone out to
look about, and he saw the twelve men coming, so he put the whole of them
into his sack and slung it over his shoulder and turned back and went away.
He brought them to his tribe the ‘Adīs and said, ‘See the host of the
Messenger Moses which is come seeking to make war with us;’ and he held
the mouth of the sack downward and the twelve men rolled out.
“And that tribe saw them that they were small of stature, for their own
stature was twice that of these. And they all made mock of them and
laughed at them; but they killed them not, but sent them back. They
returned and told these things to Saint Moses, and fear fell upon all the host.
Then Saint Moses (peace on him!) took his rod in his hand and went against
that tribe of ‘Ad. Og the son of Anak saw that Moses (peace on him!) was
himself coming, and straightway he went and pulled up a rock like a
mountain and put it on his head, and went that he might cast it upon the host
of Moses (peace on him!). But God most high commanded an angel that he
went in the likeness of a bird and smote that rock with his beak and clave it,
and thereupon it passed like a circle of cursers down before the face of Og.
And straightway Saint Moses came up, and his stature grew to forty cubits,
and his rod to forty cubits, and he leaped up forty cubits, and smote Og on
the heel with his rod; and God most high slew Og.
“Then Saint Moses (peace on him!) returned to his people and gave them
tidings of Og being slain; and they were all glad. Then Saint Moses passed
thence and made for the country of Sheykh Balaam, the son of Beor. When
he was come nigh, they brought word to the sheykh that Saint Moses was
coming against him with many warriors. Whereupon the sheykh’s disciples
said, ‘O sheykh, if that host come into our land, it will lay waste all our
land; thou must find some help for this.’ Then were they silent. The sheykh
said, ‘What should we do?’ They answered, ‘Curse him.’ The sheykh said,
‘He is a Messenger; I cannot curse him.’ And howsoever much they urged
the sheykh, it was in vain. Now the sheykh had a cunning brawling wife;
her they besought, saying, ‘Speak to the sheykh, and we will give thee
much money,’ The woman answered, ‘I will manage it.’ When the sheykh
came to his house he desired to take counsel of his wife; she said, ‘Curse
him.’ The sheykh replied, ‘He is a Messenger; how can I curse him?’
“The woman persisted so that the sheykh was constrained to lift up his
hands and curse him. His curse was heard; and Saint Moses, who was
fourteen leagues distant, remained for forty years in the wilderness; even as
God most high saith in his Word, ‘For forty years shall they wander about
in the earth,’[17] Then Saint Moses knew that there was some reason for
this, and he prayed and humbled himself before God most high, and said,
‘My God, send him who is the cause of our thus wandering, from the world
to the hereafter without the faith.’ His prayer was accepted at the court of
God, and that sheykh went from the world to the hereafter without the faith
by reason of a woman; even as God most high hath said, ‘And his likeness
was as the likeness of a dog.’[18]
“Now, O King, I have told this story for that these many men have been
cast forth from the court of God for following the words of women. Then is
it incumbent on the king that he judge accordingly, so that he become not a
prey to remorse; for too late repentance profits not. Beware and beware,
slay not the prince on the woman’s word.” And he kissed the ground and
made intercession for the prince for that day. When the king heard this story
from the vezir, he sent the prince to the prison and went himself to the
chase.
When it was evening the king came to the palace, and the lady rose to
greet him, and they sat down. After the repast the lady again began to speak
about the youth, and the king said, “This day too my vezirs would not let
me be, so I have sent him to the prison.” Quoth the lady, “I know all the
plot of those vezirs, day by day each of them plans some trick or wile; they
purpose to discredit me with thee, so they say that women are lacking in
understanding, and that by reason thereof they are plotters and liars. These
words of theirs are false, do not assail the truth; for these see me, that my
trust in my king is strong. Yet I am aware of their case and their hurtful
deeds; and for that I would defend my king from their craft and malice, are
they enemies to me. An thou desire, my king, I shall say no more; and they
may do whatsoever they will. But all these are of single tongue and single
aim, and I fear they will bring some calamity upon thee and some evil upon
me; and afterward thou shalt repent, but it will avail not.
“My king, thou hast assembled some men of low birth and made them
vezirs and confided all thy affairs to them, and thou thinkest them honest;
Heaven forefend they should be honest when some of them are the sons of
cooks, and some of bakers, and some of butchers; it is even as when
Khizr[19] (peace on him!) showed another king the origin of his vezirs, but
mayhap my king has not heard that story.” The king said, “Tell on, let us
hear.” Quoth the lady:

The Search for Khizr

“There was in the palace of the world a king who was very desirous of
seeing Khizr (peace on him!); and he would ever say, ‘If there be anyone
who will show me Khizr, I will give him whatsoever he may wish.’ Now
there was at that time a man poor of estate; and from the greatness of his
poverty he said in himself, ‘Let me go and bespeak the king that if he
provide for me during three years I will show him Khizr; by three years
either I shall be dead or the king will be dead, or he will forgive me my
fault, or I shall on somewise win to escape: and in this way shall I make
merry for a time.’ So he went to the king and spake those words to him. The
king said, ‘An thou show him not then, I will kill thee;’ and that poor man
consented.
“Then the king let give him much wealth and money, and the poor man
took that wealth and money and went to his house. Three years he spent in
merriment and delight, and he rested at ease till the term was accomplished.
At the end of the time he fled and hid himself in a trackless place, and he
began to quake for fear. Of a sudden he saw a personage with white raiment
and shining face who saluted him. The poor man returned the salutation,
and the radiant being asked, ‘Why art thou thus sad?’ but he gave no
answer. Again the radiant being asked him and sware to him, saying, ‘Do
indeed tell to me thy plight that I may find thee some remedy.’ So that
hapless one narrated his story from its beginning to its end; and the radiant
being said, ‘Come, I will go with thee to the king and I will answer for
thee;’ so they arose.
“Now the king wanted that hapless one; and, while they were going,
some of the king’s officers who were seeking met them, and they
straightway seized the poor man and brought him to the king. Quoth the
king, ‘Lo, the three years are accomplished; come now show me Khizr.’
That poor man said, ‘My king, grace and bounty are the work of kings;
forgive my sin.’ Quoth the king, ‘I made a pact; till I have killed thee I shall
not have fulfilled it!’ And he looked to his chief vezir and said, ‘How
should this be done?’ Quoth the vezir, ‘This man should be hewn in many
pieces, and these hung up on butcher’s hooks, that others may see and lie
not before the king.’ Said that radiant being, ‘True spake the vezir; all things
return to their origin.’ Then the king looked to the second vezir and said,
‘What sayest thou?’ He replied, ‘This man should be boiled in a caldron.’
Said that radiant being, ‘True spake the vezir; all things return to their
origin.’ The king looked to the third vezir and said, ‘What sayest thou?’ The
vezir replied, ‘This man should be hewn in small pieces and baked in an
oven.’ Again said that elder, ‘True spake the vezir; all things return to their
origin.’
“Then quoth the king to the fourth vezir, ‘Let us see, what sayest thou?’
The vezir replied, ‘O king, the wealth thou gavest this poor creature was for
the love of Khizr (peace on him!). He, thinking to find him, accepted it;
now that he has not found him he seeks pardon; this were befitting, that
thou set free this poor creature for the love of Khizr.’ Said that elder, ‘True
spake the vezir; all things return to their origin.’ Then the king said to the
elder, ‘O elder, all my vezirs have said different things, contrary the one to
the other, and thou hast said concerning each of them, “True spake the
vezir; all things return to their origin.’ What is the reason thereof?’ That
elder replied, ‘O king, thy first vezir is a butcher’s son, therefore did he
draw to his origin; thy second vezir is a cook’s son, he likewise proposed a
punishment as became his origin; thy third vezir is a baker’s son, he
likewise proposed a punishment as became his origin; but thy fourth vezir is
of gentle birth, compassion therefore becomes his origin; so he had
compassion on that hapless one and sought to do good and counselled
liberation. O king, all things draw to their origin.’[20]
“And he gave the king much counsel and at last said, ‘Lo, I am Khizr!’
and vanished. Then the king went forth from his palace, but could see no
sign or trace of that radiant elder; and he said, ‘I much longed to see Khizr
(peace on him!); praise be to God, I have attained thereto, and he has told
me the origin of my vezirs.’ And he commanded that they gave that poor
man much wealth.
“Now, O king, I have told this story for that thou mayst know that thy
vezirs are of low origin, and that fidelity will not proceed from them. In this
matter too their words tally with their origin; lose not the opportunity, for to
spare an enemy is great folly.” The king heard this story from the lady, and
said, “To-morrow will I roll up the scroll of his life.”
When it was morning and the world, like to him who had won to Khizr,
was illumined with light, the king sat upon his throne and commanded the
executioner that he bring the youth, and he gave the word, “Smite off his
head.” Thereupon the fifth vezir came forward and said, “O king of the
world, slay not the prince thus hastily, and cast not to the winds the
counsels of these many vezirs; for as they take pearls from the sea and
string them, so do these string their words; they are speakers such that
Mercury in the sky could not match their suggestions. O king, the reason of
that which thy vezirs have said to thee is this, that the Apostle (peace on
him!) hath said that whoso seeth his king do an act contrary to the law, and
hindereth him not therefrom, hath departed from the Canon. Now, O king,
deem not the words of thy vezirs mistaken; it is even as they have said, ‘Let
him who would see Khizr in the flesh, look upon a wise, accomplished and
learned vezir.’ And again, ‘If one seek to do a righteous deed, let him
arrange the affair of some poor creature with a king.’ Mayhap the king has
not heard the story of Khizr and a vezir.” The king said, “Tell on, let us
hear.” Quoth the vezir:

The Vezir and Khizr

“There was, of old time, a king who had an experienced vezir; and Khizr
(peace on him!) would ever come to that vezir. One day the vezir looked
upon the affairs of the world, how they abode not with anyone; and he
withdrew from the vezirship, and chose the corner of retirement, and gave
himself up to worship. A long time passed, and Khizr (peace on him!) never
once came to him. The vezir marvelled and said, ‘Why does not Khizr
(peace on him!) come to me? Now ought he to come every day.’ Then he
said, ‘There must indeed be some reason for this.’ Thereupon he saw that
Khizr had appeared, and he said, ‘O Khizr, while I was vezir thou didst ever
come to me, is it for that I have withdrawn from the world that thou comest
not now?’ Khizr (peace on him!) replied, ‘O vezir, outwardly thou didst
perform the duties of vezir, inwardly I did; therefore was there a bond
between us; now thou hast withdrawn therefrom, and that bond is gone
from between us, so I come not to thee.’ When the vezir heard these words
from Khizr, he went and asked back the vezirship, and he received it, and
Khizr (peace on him!) came to him as before and ceased not.
“O king, I have told this story for that the king may hearken to the
vezir’s words and follow them, and pass his life in happiness. Beware, O
king, be not overhasty in this affair, that afterward thou suffer not remorse.”
When the king heard this story from the vezir, he sent the prince to the
prison and went himself to the chase, and that day he took much game.
In the evening he came to the palace, and the lady rose to greet him, and
they sat down. After the repast the lady asked about the youth; the king
said, “This day again such an one of my vezirs made intercession for him,
and I sent him to the prison.” Quoth the lady, “O my king, how good were
it, could he be reformed by such conduct; but this youth is incapable of
reform; for he resembles that snake which first stings his mother as she
bears him and kills her, and then stings his father and kills him. God most
high will take vengeance on him; and his eyes will be blinded as though he
had looked upon an emerald.[21] If a drop of an April shower fall upon a
snake it becomes poison, but if it fall into an oyster it becomes a pearl;[22]
and if the Koran, great of glory, fall upon a believer’s heart, it is faith and
knowledge. And it is notorious that whoever nurses a snake falls at last a
prey to its poison. A certain man formed a friendship with a snake and used
every day to bring it a portion of food. He went to the snake’s hole and laid
it there, and the snake would put its head out of its hole and eat that food,
and when it was satisfied it would frolic about, and that man would play
with it. One day he came and saw that the snake was out of its place and
quite stiff from cold; ‘O poor thing,’ he said, and took and put it in his
bosom. When the snake got warm it at once raised its head and stung that
unhappy man, and killed him, and fled and entered its hole. And thus have
they said, that if one foster a swine, that brute will not leave off till in the
end it hurt him. It is even as the story of that sherbet-seller and the Moor.”
Said the king, “Tell on, let us hear.” Quoth the lady:

The Sherbet-seller and the Moor

“There was of old time in a great city a sherbet-seller, and he had a son,
a loveling of the age, who was so fair that he seemed a second Joseph;[23]
and he used to sell sherbet in the shop. The folk would come to gaze upon
this youth’s beauty, and they would give a sequin for each cup of sherbet,
and drain it; and whenever they drank a cup they would say it was the water
of life. Now one day a swarthy Moor came to that country; and as soon as
he saw the youth, the hapless Moor’s power of speech left him, and he
could not stir one step from where he stood, but leaned against the opposite
wall bewildered. After a time he recovered his understanding, and, rising
and falling like one drunk, he came up as best he could to the youth, and
gave a sequin and drank a cup of sherbet, and went away. For a time he
came every day and drank cups of sherbet at a sequin each, and looked on
the beauty of the youth.
“One day the youth told this thing to his father, and his father perceived
that the Moor was ravished with the boy, and said, ‘O my son, bring that
Moor to the house to-morrow, and let us see what manner of man he is.’ The
next day when the Moor came to the youth, he invited him to his house, and
took him and went to his father. After they had eaten, the father of the boy
asked of the Moor’s case and dwelling. The Moor saw what his intention
was, and answered, ‘I have no dwelling, I am a stranger.’ The boy’s father
said, ‘Thou art a stranger; we will give thee a dwelling, stay with us.’ The
Moor was glad and counted it a boon to his soul; even as they have said,
‘The loved one’s ward is paradise.’ So they showed the Moor a dwelling.
He abode for some days, and gradually his love for the boy increased; and
one day he showed him a precious stone, and said, ‘An thou let me take one
kiss of thee, I will give thee this stone.’ With a thousand graces the boy
consented, and the Moor gave him the stone and kissed him, and said, ‘My
life, my master, I love thee from heart and soul, flee me not; I know a
talisman which will open before thee; if thou wilt come with me I will open
it, and give thee so much gold that thou shalt never again know poverty.’
“The youth told this thing to his father, and his father gave him leave; so
the Moor took him, and they went without the city; and he brought him to a
ruin. Now there was a well there, full to the mouth with water; and the
Moor wrote on a piece of paper and laid it on the well, and thereupon all the
water vanished from the well. The Moor and the boy descended to the
bottom of the well, and saw a locked door. The Moor wrote a charm and
fastened it on the lock, and it opened forthwith. They went in and saw a
negro holding in one hand a great stone to throw upon anyone who entered.
The Moor repeated a charm and blew upon the negro, and the negro laid the
stone that was in his hand upon the ground, and let them pass. They went on
and saw a dome of crystal, and at the door of the domed building were two
dragons, who stood facing one the other with open mouths like caverns.
When they came near, these flew at them, but the Moor repeated a charm
and blew on them, and they vanished.
“Then the door of the domed building opened and they went in, and they
saw that in one corner thereof was gold, in another corner silver, in another
corner all manner of jewels, and in another corner was raised a throne upon
black earth, and on that throne was a coffin, and in that coffin lay a
renowned man dead. Upon his breast was a gold tablet, and on that tablet
was written: ‘I was a king, and I ruled the whole earth, and whithersoever I
went in this world I conquered. I had many many champions and great
wealth and treasure. Some little of the wealth I owned I gathered here. Me
too death spared not; but made me even as though I had not come into the
world. Now, O thou who seest me in this plight, take warning by me, and
remember my soul in prayer, and be not presumptuous through the wealth
of this world for a few days’ life.’ And that was all. Then the Moor and the
youth took as much as they desired of the gold and silver and precious
stones and black earth, which was the philosopher’s stone, and went out.
The Moor repeated a charm and blew upon the well, and it was again all
full of water; and he went back with the boy to their house, and they gave
themselves up to mirth and merriment. Day and night they ceased not
therefrom an instant.
“One day the boy asked the Moor to teach him the charms he had
repeated in the talisman. The Moor consented, and instructed him for many
days and taught him. One day, of a sudden, the boy said to his father, ‘O
father, I have learned the whole of the charms for the talisman, so we have
no longer any need of the Moor; let us poison him.’ But his father consented
not, and said, ‘Let us turn him away; let him go elsewhither.’ Quoth the
youth, ‘The turning away of him would not do; he is a great master, he
might do us an injury, so let us poison him ere he play us some trick; and I
will take as much gold and silver as is needful from that buried treasure.’
The Moor heard him and knew that fairness purposed foulness, and he
straightway disappeared from there.
“Now, O king, I have told this story for that the king may know that no
good has ever happened to anyone from youths. Yea, O king, be not
negligent, kill the youth, else the affair will end in evil.” When the king
heard this story from the lady he was wroth and said, “On the morrow will I
slay him.”
When it was morning the king sat upon his throne and caused the youth
to be brought, and commanded the executioner, “Smite off his head.” The
sixth vezir came forward and said, “O king of the world, beware, act not on
anyone’s word till the crime be proved against the prince; for the
resurrection is at hand, and lying and cunning and craft abound. The wise
man is he who turns off sin and evil that he may not afterward begin to bite
upon the finger with regret and remorse and be repentant, and who takes the
woful by the hand and gives happiness to the unhappy, and who repulses
not him who comes to his door, but sees his needs and provides for him,
and who never lets himself be deceived by a woman’s word; for these laugh
in one’s face. Mayhap my king has not heard the story of the tailor youth
and the woman.” The king said, “Tell on, let us hear.” Quoth the vezir:

The Tailor and the Woman

“Thus relate they: In the time of Saint Jesus (peace on him!) there was a
tailor youth who had a fair wife, and they greatly loved one another. One
day they made a pact that if the woman died first, her husband should take
no other wife, but throw his arms round her tombstone, and weep till
morning; and if the youth died first, the woman should do likewise. By the
decree of God the woman died. After the tailor had wept and lamented he
buried her, and fulfilled his pact, and threw his arms round his wife’s
tombstone and wept. And he constantly kept watch over the grave. One day
Jesus (peace on him!) when passing by that place, saw a youth weeping and
embracing a tombstone, and he went up to him and asked why he wept. The
youth related all.
“Then Jesus (peace on him!) prayed, and the woman became alive, and
came forth from the grave in her shroud. And Jesus (peace on him!)
proceeded on his way. The youth said, ‘One cannot go thus in a shroud;
wait thou here a moment till I go and fetch clothes from the house; then
thou shalt put on these clothes, and we will go together.’ And he went
quickly to the house, leaving the woman there. Suddenly the son of the king
of that country passed that spot, and saw a fair woman sitting wrapped in a
shroud. As soon as the prince saw that woman he fell in love with her from
heart and soul, and he said to her, ‘Who art thou?’ She answered, ‘I am a
stranger; a robber has stripped me.’ Thereupon the prince ordered his
servants to take the woman to the palace, and clothe her in clean garments.
“When the youth returned with the clothes he found not the woman
there, and he cried and asked of the passers-by. No one had seen her. The
poor man, asking and asking, met the prince’s servants. These asked the
tailor why he wept. He replied, ‘For a time my wife was dead; but now,
praise be to God, she is become alive through the prayer of the messenger
Jesus; I went to fetch her clothes, but she has disappeared: therefore do I
weep.’ They answered, ‘The prince sent that lady to the palace this day.’
Thereupon the tailor went before the prince and complained, saying, ‘The
woman thou hast taken is my wife.’ The prince asked the lady, she denied
and said, ‘This is the robber who stripped me of my clothes and made off;
praise be to God, if thou kill him now, thou shalt gain great reward.’ The
prince commanded that they bound both the tailor’s hands behind his back.
Although the poor tailor cried aloud, it was no avail; they put a rope round
his neck and led him to the gallows.
“Then they perceived Saint Jesus on the road, and they waited. When he
came near he asked of their case, and they told him. Then he bade them stop
and went himself to the prince; they called the woman, and he said, ‘This
woman is the wife of yonder youth; I prayed and she became alive.’ When