The Arabian Nights Complete

Chapter 25

"Pardon my fault, for 'tis the wise man's wont * All faults to pardon and revenge forgo: In sooth all manner faults in me contain * Then deign of goodness mercy grace to show: Whoso imploreth pardon from on High * Should hold his hand from sinners here below."

Said the Ifrit, "Lengthen not thy words! As to my slaying thee fear it not, and as to my pardoning thee hope it not; but from my bewitching thee there is no escape." Then he tore me from the ground which closed under my feet and hew with me into the firmament till I saw the earth as a large white cloud or a saucer[FN#225] in the midst of the waters. Presently he set me down on a moun fain, and taking a little dust, over which he muttered some magical words, sprinkled me therewith, saying, "Quit that shape and take thou the shape of an ape!" And on the instant I became an ape, a tail less baboon, the son of a century[FN#226]. Now when he had left me and I saw myself in this ugly and hateful shape, I wept for myself, but resigned my soul to the tyranny of Time and Circumstance, well weeting that Fortune is fair and constant to no man. I descended the mountain and found at the foot a desert plain, long and broad, over which I travelled for the space of a month till my course brought me to the brink of the briny sea.[FN#227] After standing there awhile, I was ware of a ship in the offing which ran before a fair wind making for the shore. I hid myself behind a rock on the beach and waited till the ship drew near, when I leaped on board. I found her full of merchants and passengers and one of them cried, "O Captain, this ill omened brute will bring us ill luck!" and another said, "Turn this ill omened beast out from among us;" the Captain said, "Let us kill it!" another said, "Slay it with the sword;" a third, "Drown it;" and a fourth, "Shoot it with an arrow." But I sprang up and laid hold of the Rais's[FN#228] skirt, and shed tears which poured down my chops. The Captain took pity on me, and said, "O merchants! this ape hath appealed to me for protection and I will protect him; henceforth he is under my charge: so let none do him aught hurt or harm, otherwise there will be bad blood between us." Then he entreated me kindly and whatsoever he said I understood and ministered to his every want and served him as a servant, albeit my tongue would not obey my wishes; so that he came to love me. The vessel sailed on, the wind being fair, for the space of fifty days; at the end of which we cast anchor under the walls of a great city wherein was a world of people, especially learned men, none could tell their number save Allah. No sooner had we arrived than we were visited by certain Mameluke officials from the King of that city; who, after boarding us, greeted the merchants and giving them joy of safe arrival said, "Our King welcometh you, and sendeth you this roll of paper, whereupon each and every of you must write a line. For ye shall know that the King's Minister, a calligrapher of renown, is dead, and the King hath sworn a solemn oath that he will make none Wazir in his stead who cannot write as well as he couId." Hethen gave us the scroll which measured ten cubits long by a breadth of one, and each of the merchants who knew how to write wrote a line thereon, even to the last of them; after which I stood up (still in the shape of an ape) and snatched the roll out of their hands. They feared lest I should tear it or throw it overboard; so they tried to stay me and scare me, but I signed to them that i could write, whereat all marvelled, saying, "We never yet saw an, ape write." And the Captain cried, "Let him write; and if he scribble and scrabble we will kick him out and kill him; but if he; write fair and scholarly I will adopt him as my son; for surely I never yet saw a more intelligent and well mannered monkey than he. Would Heaven my real son were his match in morals and manners." I took the reed, and stretching out my paw, dipped it in ink and wrote, in the hand used for letters,[FN#229] these two couplets:--

Time hath recorded gifts she gave the great; * But none recorded shine which be far higher Allah ne'er orphan men by loss of thee * Who be of Goodness mother. Bounty's sire.

And I wrote in Rayh á ni or larger letters elegantly curved[FN#230]:--

Thou hast a reed[FN#231] of rede to every land, * Whose driving causeth all the world to thrive; Nil is the Nile of Misraim by thy boons * Who makest misery smile with fingers five

Then I wrote in the Suls[FN#232] character:--

There be no writer who from Death shall fleet, * But what his hand hath writ men shall repeat: Write, therefore, naught save what shall serve thee when * Thou see's on Judgment-Day an so thou see's!

Then I wrote in the character Naskh[FN#233]:--

When to sore parting Fate our love shall doom, * To distant life by Destiny decreed, We cause the inkhorn's lips to 'plain our pains, * And tongue our utterance with the talking reed.

And I wrote in the T ú m á r character[FN#234]:--

Kingdom with none endures; if thou deny * This truth, where be the Kings of earlier earth? Set trees of goodliness while rule endures, * And when thou art fallen they shall tell thy worth.

And I wrote in the character Muhakkak[FN#235]:--

When oped the inkhorn of thy wealth and fame * Take ink of generous heart and gracious hand; Write brave and noble deeds while write thou can * And win thee praise from point of pen and brand.

Then I gave the scroll to the officials and, after we all had written our line, they carried it before the King. When he saw the paper no writing pleased him save my writing; and he said to the assembled courtiers, "Go seek the writer of these lines and dress him in a splendid robe of honour; then mount him on a she mule,[FN#236] let a band of music precede him and bring him to the presence." At these words they smiled and the King was wroth with them and cried, "O accursed! I give you an order and you laugh at me?" "O King," replied they, "if we laugh 'tis not at thee and not without a cause." "And what is it?" asked he; and they answered, "O King, thou orderest us to bring to thy presence the man who wrote these lines; now the truth is that he who wrote them is not of the sons of Adam,[FN#237] but an ape, a tail-less baboon, belonging to the ship captain." Quoth he, "Is this true that you say?" Quoth they, "Yea! by the rights of thy munificence!" The King marvelled at their words and shook with mirth and said, "I am minded to buy this ape of the Captain." Then he sent messengers to the ship with the mule, the dress, the guard and the state drums, saying, "Not the less do you clothe him in the robe of honour and mount him on the mule and let him be surrounded by the guards and preceded by the band of music." They came to the ship and took me from the Captain and robed me in the robe of honour and, mounting me on the she mule, carried me in state procession through the streets', whilst the people were amazed and amused. And folk said to one another, "Halloo! is our Sultan about to make an ape his Minister?"; and came all agog crowding to gaze at me, and the town was astir and turned topsy turvy on my account. When they brought me up to the King and set me in his presence, I kissed the ground before him three times, and once before the High Chamberlain and great officers, and he bade me be seated, and I sat respectfully on shins and knees,[FN#238] and all who were present marvelled at my fine manners, and the King most of all. Thereupon he ordered the lieges to retire; and, when none remained save the King's majesty, the Eunuch on duty and a little white slave, he bade them set before me the table of food, con taining all manner of birds, whatever hoppeth and flieth and treadeth in nest, such as quail and sand grouse. Then he signed me to eat with him; so I rose and kissed ground before him, then sat me down and ate with him. And when the table was removed I washed my hands in seven waters and took the reed-case and reed; and wrote instead of speaking these couplets:--

Wail for the little partridges on porringer and plate; * Cry for the ruin of the fries and stews well marinate: Keen as I keen for loved, lost daughters of the Kat á -grouse,[FN#239] * And omelette round the fair enbrowned fowls agglomerate: O fire in heart of me for fish, those deux poissons I saw, * Bedded on new made scones[FN#240] and cakes in piles to laniate. For thee, O vermicelli! aches my very maw! I hold * Without thee every taste and joy are clean annihilate Those eggs have rolled their yellow eyes in torturing pains of fire * Ere served with hash and fritters hot, that delicatest cate. Praised be Allah for His baked and roast and ah! how good * This pulse, these pot-herbs steeped in oil with eysill combinate! When hunger sated was, I elbow-propt fell back upon * Meat pudding[FN#241] wherein gleamed the bangles that my wits amate. Then woke I sleeping appetite to eat as though in sport * Sweets from broceded trays and kickshaws most elaborate. Be patient, soul of me! Time is a haughty, jealous wight; * Today he seems dark-lowering and tomorrow fair to sight.[FN#242]

Then I rose and seated myself at a respectful distance while the King read what I had written, and marvelled, exclaiming, "O the miracle, that an ape should be gifted with this graceful style and this power of penmanship! By Allah, 'tis a wonder of wonders!" Presently they set before the King choice wines in flagons of glass and he drank: then he passed on the cup to me; and I kissed the ground and drank and wrote on it:--

With fire they boiled me to loose my tongue,[FN#243] * And pain and patience gave for fellowship: Hence comes it hands of men upbear me high * And honey dew from lips of maid I sip!

And these also:--

Morn saith to Night, "withdraw and let me shine;" * So drain we draughts that dull all pain and pine:[FN#244] I doubt, so fine the glass, the wine so clear, * If 'tis the wine in glass or glass in twine.

The King read my verse and said with a sigh, "Were these gifts[FN#245] in a man, he would excel all the folk of his time and age!" Then he called for the chess board, and said, "Say, wilt thou play with me?"; and I signed with my head, "Yes." Then I came forward and ordered the pieces and played with him two games, both of which I won. He was speechless with surprise; so I took the pen case and, drawing forth a reed, wrote on the board these two couplets:--

Two hosts fare fighting thro' the livelong day * Nor is their battling ever finished, Until, when darkness girdeth them about, * The twain go sleeping in a single bed.[FN#246]