A plain and literal translation of the Arabian nights entertainments, now entituled The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 4 (of 17) - Burton Richard Senior 3 стр.

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Chamberlain accosted the old woman, saying, What damsel is this?; quoth the ancient dame, Our lady hath a mind to buy her; and he rejoined, None may enter save by leave of the Commander of the Faithful; so do thou go back with her. I cannot let her pass for thus am I commanded. Replied the old woman, O Chief Chamberlain, use thy reason. Thou knowest that Naomi, the Caliphs slave-girl, of whom he is enamoured, is but now restored to health and the Commander of the Faithful hardly yet crediteth her recovery. She is minded to buy this handmaid; so oppose thou not her entrance, lest haply it come to Naomis knowledge and she be wroth with thee and suffer a relapse and this cause thy head to be cut off. Then said she to Niamah, Enter, O damsel; pay no heed to what he saith and tell not the Queen-consort that her Chamberlain opposed thine entrance. So Niamah bowed his head and entered the palace, and would have turned to the left, but mistook the direction and walked to his right; and, meaning to count five doors and enter the sixth, he counted six and entering the seventh, found himself in a place whose floor was carpeted with brocade and whose walls were hung with curtains of gold-embroidered silk. And therein stood censers of aloes-wood and ambergris and strong-scented musk, and at the upper end was a couch bespread with cloth of gold on which he seated himself, marvelling at the magnificence he saw and knowing not what was written for him in the Secret Purpose. As he sat musing on his case, the Caliphs sister, followed by her handmaid, came in upon him; and, seeing the youth seated there took him for a slave-girl and accosted him and said, Who art thou O damsel? and what is thy case and who brought thee hither? He made no reply, and was silent, when she continued, O damsel! if thou be one of my brothers concubines and he be wroth with thee, I will intercede with him for thee and get thee grace. But he answered her not a word; so she said to her slave-girl, Stand at the door and let none enter. Then she went up to Niamah and looking at him was amazed at his beauty and said to him, O lady, tell me who thou art and what is thy name and how thou camest here; for I have never seen thee in our palace. Still he answered not, whereat she was angered and, putting her hand to his bosom, found no breasts and would have unveiled him, that she might know who he was; but he said to her, O my lady, I am thy slave and I cast myself on thy protection: do thou protect me. She said, No harm shall come to thee, but tell me who thou art and who brought thee into this my apartment. Answered he, O Princess, I am known as Niamah bin al-Rabia of Cufa and I have ventured my life for the sake of my slave-girl Naomi, whom Al-Hajjaj took by sleight and sent hither. Said she, Fear not: no harm shall befal thee; then, calling her maid, she said to her, Go to Naomis chamber and send her to me. Meanwhile the old woman went to Naomis bedroom and said to her, Hath thy lord come to thee? No, by Allah! answered Naomi, and the other said, Belike he hath gone astray and entered some chamber other than thine and lost himself. So Naomi cried, There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Our last hour is come and we are all lost. And while they were sitting and sadly enough pondering their case, in came the Princesss handmaid and saluting Naomi said to her, My lady biddeth thee to her banquet. I hear and I obey, answered the damsel and the old woman said, Belike thy lord is with the Caliphs sister and the veil of secrecy hath been rent. So Naomi at once sprang up and betook herself to the Princess, who said to her, Here is thy lord sitting with me; it seemeth he hath mistaken the place; but, please Allah, neither thou nor he has any cause for fear. When Naomi heard these words, she took heart of grace and went up to Niamah; and her lord when he saw her And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Niamah saw his handmaid Naomi, he rose to meet her and strained her to his bosom and both fell to the ground fainting. As soon as they came to themselves, the Caliphs sister said to them, Sit ye down and take we counsel for your deliverance from this your strait. And they answered, O our lady, we hear and obey; it is thine to command. Quoth she, By Allah, no harm shall befal you from us! Then she bade her handmaids bring meat and drink which was done, and they sat down and ate till they had enough, after which they sat drinking. Then the cup went round amongst them and their cares ceased from them; but Niamah said, Would I knew how this will end. The Princess asked, O Niamah, dost thou love thy slave Naomi?; and he answered, Of a truth it is my passion for her which hath brought me to this state of peril for my life. Then said she to the damsel, O Naomi, dost thou love thy lord Niamah?; and she replied, O my lady, it is the love of him which hath wasted my body and brought me to evil case. Rejoined the Princess, By Allah, since ye love each other thus, may he not be who would part you! Be of good cheer and keep your eyes cool and clear. At this they both rejoiced and Naomi called for a lute and, when they brought it, she took it and tuned it and played a lively measure which enchanted the hearers, and after the prelude sang these couplets:

Then Naomi gave the lute to her master, Niamah, saying, Sing thou to us some verse. So he took it and playing a lively measure, intoned these couplets:

Now when he had made an end of his song, Naomi filled the cup and gave it to him, and he took it and drank it off; then she filled again and gave the cup to the Caliphs sister who also emptied it; after which the Princess in her turn took the lute and tightened the strings and tuned it and sang these two couplets:

Then she filled the cup and gave it to Naomi, who drank it off and taking the lute, sang these two couplets:

And they ceased not to sing verses and drink to the sweet sound of the strings, full of mirth and merriment and joy and jollity till behold, in came the Commander of the Faithful. Now when they saw him, they rose and kissed the ground before him; and he, seeing Naomi with the lute in her hand, said to her, O Naomi, praised be Allah who hath done away from thee sickness and suffering! Then he looked at Niamah (who was still disguised as a woman), and said to the Princess, O my sister, what damsel is this by Naomis side? She replied, O Commander of the Faithful, thou hast here a handmaid, one of thy concubines and the bosom friend of Naomi who will neither eat nor drink without her. And she repeated the words of the poet:

Then Naomi gave the lute to her master, Niamah, saying, Sing thou to us some verse. So he took it and playing a lively measure, intoned these couplets:

Now when he had made an end of his song, Naomi filled the cup and gave it to him, and he took it and drank it off; then she filled again and gave the cup to the Caliphs sister who also emptied it; after which the Princess in her turn took the lute and tightened the strings and tuned it and sang these two couplets:

Then she filled the cup and gave it to Naomi, who drank it off and taking the lute, sang these two couplets:

And they ceased not to sing verses and drink to the sweet sound of the strings, full of mirth and merriment and joy and jollity till behold, in came the Commander of the Faithful. Now when they saw him, they rose and kissed the ground before him; and he, seeing Naomi with the lute in her hand, said to her, O Naomi, praised be Allah who hath done away from thee sickness and suffering! Then he looked at Niamah (who was still disguised as a woman), and said to the Princess, O my sister, what damsel is this by Naomis side? She replied, O Commander of the Faithful, thou hast here a handmaid, one of thy concubines and the bosom friend of Naomi who will neither eat nor drink without her. And she repeated the words of the poet:

Quoth the Caliph, By Allah Omnipotent, verily she is as handsome as Naomi, and to-morrow I will appoint her a separate chamber beside that of her friend and send her furniture and stuffs and all that befitteth her, in honour of Naomi. Then the Princess called for food and set it before her brother, who ate and made himself at home in their place and company. Then filling a cup he signed to Naomi to sing; so she took the lute, after draining two of them and sang these two couplets:

The Prince of True Believers was delighted and filling another cup, gave it to Naomi and bade her sing again; so after draining the cup and sweeping the strings, she sang as follows:

Now when the Caliph heard these couplets, he exclaimed, By Allah, good! By Allah, excellent! Verily the Lord hath been copious19 to thee, O Naomi! How clever is thy tongue and how clear is thy speech! And they ceased not their mirth and good cheer till midnight, when the Caliphs sister said to him, Give ear, O Commander of the Faithful to a tale I have read in books of a certain man of rank. And what is this tale? quoth he. Quoth she Know, O Prince of the Faithful that there lived once in the city of Cufa a youth called Niamah, son of Al-Rabia, and he had a slave-girl whom he loved and who loved him. They had been reared in one bed; but when they grew up and mutual love gat hold of them, Fortune smote them with her calamities and Time, the tyrant, brought upon them his adversity and decreed separation unto them. Thereupon designing and slanderous folk enticed her by sleight forth of his house and, stealing her away from his home, sold her to one of the Kings for ten thousand dinars. Now the girl loved her lord even as he loved her; so he left kith and kin and house and home and the gifts of fortune, and set out to search for her and when she was found he devised means to gain access to her And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliphs sister said, And Niamah ceased not absenting himself from his kith and kin and patrial stead, that he might gain access to his handmaid, and he incurred every peril and lavished his life till he gained access to her, and her name was Naomi, like this slave-girl. But the interview was short; they had not been long in company when in came the King, who had bought her of her kidnapper, and hastily ordered them to be slain, without doing justice by his own soul and delaying to enquire into the matter before the command was carried out. Now what sayest thou, O Commander of the Faithful, of this Kings wrongous conduct? Answered the Caliph; This was indeed a strange thing: it behoved that King to pardon when he had the power to punish; and he ought to have regarded three things in their favour. The first was that they loved each other; the second that they were in his house and in his grasp; and the third that it befitteth a King to be deliberate in judging and ordering between folk, and how much more so in cases where he himself is concerned! Wherefore this King thus did an unkingly deed. Then said his sister, O my brother, by the King of the heavens and the earth, I conjure thee, bid Naomi sing and hearken to that she shall sing! So he said, O Naomi, sing to me; whereupon she played a lively measure and sang these couplets:

Now when the Commander of the Faithful heard this verse, he was moved to great delight and his sister said to him, O my brother, whoso decideth in aught against himself, him it behoveth to abide by it and do according to his word; and thou hast judged against thyself by this judgement. Then said she, O Niamah, stand up and do thou likewise up stand, O Naomi! So they stood up and she continued, O Prince of True Believers, she who standeth before thee is Naomi the stolen, whom Al-Hajjaj bin Yusuf al-Sakafi kidnapped and sent to thee, falsely pretending in his letter to thee that he had bought her for ten thousand gold pieces. And this other who standeth before thee is her lord, Niamah, son of Al-Rabia; and I beseech thee, by the honour of thy pious forebears and by Hamzah and Ukayl and Abbas,20 to pardon them both and overlook their offence and bestow them one on the other, that thou mayst win rich reward in the next world of thy just dealing with them; for they are under thy hand and verily they have eaten of thy meat and drunken of thy drink; and behold, I make intercession for them and beg of thee the boon of their blood. Thereupon quoth the Caliph, Thou speakest sooth: I did indeed give judgement as thou sayst, and I am not one to pass sentence and to revoke it. Then said he, O Naomi, say, be this thy lord? And she answered, Even so, O Commander of the Faithful. Then quoth he, No harm shall befal you, I give you each to other; adding to the young man, O Niamah, who told thee where she was and taught thee how to get at this place? He replied, O Commander of the Faithful, hearken to my tale and give ear to my history; for, by the virtue of thy pious forefathers, I will hide nothing from thee! And he told him all that had passed between himself and the Persian physician and the old nurse, and how she had brought him into the palace and he had mistaken the doors; whereat the Caliph wondered with exceeding wonder and said, Fetch me the Persian. So they brought him into the presence and he was made one of his chief officers. Moreover the King bestowed on him robes of honour and ordered him a handsome present, saying, When a man hath shown like this man such artful management, it behoveth us to make him one of our chief officers. The Caliph also loaded Niamah and Naomi with gifts and honours and rewarded the old nurse; and they abode with him seven days in joy and content and all delight of life, when Niamah craved leave to return to Cufa with his slave-girl. The Caliph gave them permission and they departed and arrived in due course at Cufa, where Niamah was restored to his father and mother, and they abode in all the joys and jollities of life, till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of societies. Now when Amjad and Asad heard from Bahram this story, they marvelled with extreme marvel and said, By Allah, this is indeed a rare tale! And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.