A Collection of Persian Tales, written expressly for the improvement of young Students, accompanied with an English translation, is now submitted to the candour of the Public.
The learned Orientalist will allow, that, to render into English such subjects with any degree of success, is no pleasant or easy task, on account of the difficulty of accommodating the sense to a different idiom, so as to preserve the spirit of the original, and at the same time avoid the ridiculous extremes of insipidity or bombast; and, therefore, such a critic will readily grant indulgence to a translation, which pretends to no merit but that of faithfulness and perspicuity.
After bestowing every kind of eulogy and praise on the Creator of heaven and earth, we proceed to set forth the nature and true intent of these pages, which is this. The narrations, tales, and fables of Hazerut Nekhsheby, (the mercy of the Almighty rest upon him!) in the Tootinameh, or Tales of a Parrot, being composed in a difficult and abstruse style, Mahommed Kadery (may God amend his condition!) for the sake of distinctness and illustration, and in order to render them intelligible to all descriptions of men, has written them in familiar and easy language, so as to comprise the epistolary style and ordinary conversation befitting persons of high rank. This is one of the above-mentioned Tales.
ONE of the princes of former times, whose name was Ahmed Sultaun, possessed much riches and effects, with a numerous army, so that one hundred thousand horses, fifteen hundred chains of elephants, and nine hundred strings of camels of burthen, stood ready at his gate. But he had no children, neither son nor daughter. He therefore continually visited the worshippers of God, to engage their intercession in his favour; and day and night, morning and evening, was himself offering up prayers for a son. After some time had passed in this manner, the Creator of heaven and earth bestowed on the aforesaid king a son, of beautiful form, his countenance resplendent as the sun, and his forehead resembling the moon. From the delight occasioned by this event, the heart of Ah-med Sultaun expanded like a new-blown rose; he bestowed many thousand rupees and huns, or pagodas, on dervieshes and fakeers: for three months continuance, the omrah, viziers, sages, learned men, and teachers in the city, were feasted; and he gave away costly dresses. When the above-mentioned son arrived at the age of seven years, he was placed under the direction of a master, perfectly versed in every kind of knowledge.
In a short time he read the alphabet, with the Amudnameh, or conjugations of verbs, and by degrees the Insha Herkeren, the Gulistan, Jammia ul Kewa-neen, Insha Abulsezul, Insha Yousefy, with the Rukaat Jami; and acquired complete skill in the Arabic and Persian sciences. He also learnt the ceremonies to be observed in the royal council, as well as the rules for conversation and deportment at an imperial banquet; and met with approbation in the sight of the king, and all the nobles of the court.
His father called him Miemun, or auspicious, and married him to a wife, whose body was fair as the silver moon, and her countenance enlivening as the sun. The name of this lady was Khojisteh, or prosperous. Between Miemun and Khojisteh there was such excessive intimacy, friendship, and affection, that every day, from evening till morning, they were inseparable: they slept in one place, and always sat together. One day Miemun rode in a palkee to take a view of the market-place, where he beheld a person standing with a parrot-cage in his hand. Miemun said to the parrot-seller, Tell me what is the price of this bird? The parrot-seller answered, “The price of it is the sum of a thousand huns.” Miemun replied, “The person who could give so large a sum of money for a handful of feathers, and a cat's morsel, must be an ignorant blockhead.” To this, the parrot-seller was unable to give an answer. At that interval, the parrot thought thus to itself, “If this rich man does not purchase me, his refusal will occasion evil and misfortune; for it is only by associating with great and intelligent minds, that the understanding can be improved.” Then the parrot thus rejoined: “Oh beauteous youth! endowed with riches, and master of every accomplishment, although I appear in your sight nothing but a handful of feathers, yet, through the power of wisdom and knowledge, I can soar above the sky; and the eloquent are struck with wonder, and are astonished on listening to my sweet discourses. The meanest art that I possess is, that any action of past time, or to come, I know at present: the business of to-morrow I am acquainted with to-day. Now, for instance, the caravans of Cabul will come to this city, and buy all the spikenard that is in it. Do you purchase all the spikenard in the place; hoard it up, and sell it after the arrival of these travelling merchants, from which traffic you will derive considerable advantage.” Miemun, having heard, understood and approved the words of the parrot, gave the owner a thousand huns, the price of the bird; and having bought it, carried it to his own house. He sent for all the spikenard in the city, and asked the sellers the price thereof. The spikenard dealers said, “The price of the whole is ten thousand huns.” In the same hour he paid the aforesaid sum from his own treasury, and purchased the spikenard, which he stored up in one of his palaces. The third day, according as the parrot had predicted, the people of the caravan of Cabul arrived, and made great search amongst the merchants and traders, but could no where find out any spikenard, because Miemun had bought the whole of that article in the city. The people of the caravan came into the presence of Miemun, and having bought the spikenard for the sum of fifty thousand huns, set out for their own city. At length Miemun was much pleased and delighted with the conversation of the parrot, and bought another bird called a sharuk, or mina, with the view that, by placing it in company with the parrot, the mind of the latter might be freed from the irksomeness of solitude; according to the saying of the sages.
“Kind fly with kind, pigeon with pigeon, hawk with hawk.”
The intention of Miemun in placing the sharuk along with the parrot, was, that these birds might be mutually pleased with the company of each other. One day Miemun said to Khojisteh, “I am now going to perform a journey to a certain country, and shall also make a voyage in order to visit several ports. Whenever you have business to transact, or any weighty affair occurs, carry your intentions into execution, without the advice and consent of the parrot and the sharuk.” After speaking to this purport, he commenced his journey. Khojisteh expressed great sorrow at the departure of Miemun; and being separated from the possesser of her heart, she neither slept during the night, nor ate in the day. To be brief, the parrot dispelled the sorrows of her heart, by relating pleasant stories. At the expiration of six months, one day Khojisteh, after having bathed herself, and adorned her person, was looking out of a window at the top of the house into the street; when a prince of another country, who had travelled into this city, having beheld the glowing cheeks of Khojisteh, was distracted with love; and Khojisteh also was fascinated at the sight of the prince. The same hour the prince sent a procuress to Khojisteh, privately, with a message, that provided she would only take the trouble to visit his house any night, for four hours, he, in return for this condescension, would present her with a ring estimated at a lack of huns. At first, however, she did not agree to his proposal: but at length the instigations of the procuress prevailed; and she returned him for answer, that as day reveals, and night casts a veil over our actions, she would wait upon the prince after midnight. Early at night, after having arrayed herself in her finest and best apparel, she repaired to the sharuk, and sitting down in a chair, thus reflected in her mind: “Because I am woman, and the sharuk is also a female, she will certainly listen to my words on the present occasion, and give me leave to visit the prince.” With this persuasion, she represented to the sharuk all the particular circumstances of her case. The sharuk advised her, saying, “You must not commit such an action, which is con-sidered amongst your tribe as most heinous and disgraceful.” But as love had now gained the ascendancy over Khojisteh, the sharuk's refusal threw her into a rage. Seizing the bird fast by both legs, she pulled her out of her cage, and struck her against the ground with such violence that the soul took flight from the body, and she expired. Then, full of wrath and indignation, she came to the parrot, to whom she represented all her own desires, with the particulars concerning the sharuk. The parrot was endowed with understanding, and thought to himself: “If I refuse my consent, and raise ob-jections like the sharuk, I shall also be mur-dered.” After making this reflection, he thus addressed himself to Khojisteh, in the softest tone imaginable: “The sharuk was a female, many of whom are deficient in wisdom; for which reason, those who are wise themselves, ought not to re-veal their secrets to any of the sex. Be not now uneasy or unsettled in your mind; for, as long as my soul continues in my body, I will exert my endeavours in this business of yours, and will gratify your inclinations. God forbid it should actually so happen! but if this secret of yours should be divulged, and your husband hear of it, I will make peace and tranquillity between you and him, like the parrot of Ferukh Beg.” Khojisteh asked, “What is the story of the parrot of Ferukh Beg? Tell it at full length, and you will oblige me.”
The parrot replied, “In a certain country was a merchant, named Ferukh Beg, in whose house was a sagacious parrot. This merchant, having occasion to travel, gave in charge to the par-rot all his goods and chattels, and also his wife. After which he set out on his journey, in order to trade in different countries; and continued absent some time, transacting his commercial concerns. Shortly after his departure, his wife became acquainted and enamoured with a young Moghul. Every night she introduced this young Moghul into her house; they slept in one bed, and continued together in the same apart-ment till morning. The parrot saw these pro-ceedings, and overheard all their conversation; however he was as secret as if he had neither seen nor heard. At the expiration of a year and a half the merchant returned home, and inquired of the parrot all the particulars concerning his household. The parrot informed the merchant of all the affairs of his house; but did not tell any circumstances concerning the woman, because it would have occasioned a separation between man and wife. At the expiration of a fortnight, the merchant was greatly astonished to hear from the tongue of a stranger all the circumstances regard-ing his wife and the young Moghul; according to what the sages have said,—that musk and love cannot be concealed. In short the merchant was enraged at his wife, reproved and punished her. The wife naturally suspected the parrot of having discovered to her husband all her pranks; and thus believing the parrot her enemy, she took an op-portunity at midnight of plucking off the bird's feathers; and, flinging him out of doors, call-ed out to the male and female slaves of the family, that a cat had carried away the parrot. The woman concluded in her own mind that the parrot was dead; but although he had been greatly injured by the fall, still some life remained; and at the expiration of an hour the parrot's body re-covered a little strength and power of motion. Near the place was a burying-ground, whither the parrot repaired, and remained some days in the hollow part of a tomb. He fasted all day, and came out of the hole at night; and, as travellers were used to alight in this burying-ground, and there eat their victuals, during the night the parrot picked up their leavings, and then, taking a drink of water, returned into his hole in the morning. After some time, all the parrot's feathers having begun to grow again, he was able to fly a short distance, just from one tomb to another, and then perching himself: and he ate such seeds as he could discover. Early in the morning after that night on which the parrot departed, the merchant got out of bed, and came to the cage, when, seeing that the parrot was not in it, he cried out aloud, and threw his turband on the ground, being greatly troubled in mind. He was so enraged at his wife, that he separated her from his bed and board; and, giving no credit to her protestations, drove her out of his house. The wife thought to herself, as I am repudiated by my husband, all the people of the town will speak ill of me; therefore, it is most adviseable for me to repair to the burying-ground adjoining to the house, and expire for want of food and sleep. Summarily she went to the burying-ground, and fasted one day. At night the parrot called out from his hole, O woman! shave all the hair off your head and body with a razor, and remain forty days in the burying-ground without food, when I will pardon all the sins you have committed during the whole course of your life, and will make peace between you and your hus-band. The woman was astonished at hearing this voice, and thought to herself, certainly there is in the burying-ground the tomb of some pious, just and upright man, who will absolve me from my sins, and restore peace and concord between me and my husband. Then, under this persuasion, she shaved all the hair off her head and body, and continued some time longer in the burying-ground. One day the parrot came out of the hole or tomb before described, and said, O woman! thou, with-out my having committed any fault, pluckedst out my feathers, and afflicted me grievously. It is well thou hast executed what my stars had ordained. However, I have eaten your salt, and from that con-sideration will act well and friendly by you, because I am the purchased parrot of your lord, and thou art my lady. I spoke the words which came to you from the hole in the tomb; namely, that I will unite you to your husband. Be assured of my fidelity, and that I am not a back-biter, that I should have told your faults to your husband; but, on the contrary, I have preserved my allegiance to your bread and salt. Behold, even now I am going to your husband, and will reconcile him to you. The parrot, having spoken these words, went to his master's house, and, standing before him, made obeisance, imploring for him the bless-ing of long life, and increase of riches. The master asked, Who art thou, and from whence do you come? Then recollecting the bird, he said, Where have you been for some time past, and in what man's house have you dwelt? Tell me every item of your story. The bird answered, I am your old parrot, whom a cat took out of the cage, and imprisoned in her belly. The master asked, How was you restored to life again? The parrot replied, You drove from your house your in-nocent wife, who thereupon retired to the cemetery, and, after she had fasted forty days with great grief and lamentation, the Almighty, in commiseration of her condition, restored me to life, and said, O parrot! go to this woman's husband, and make peace between them; be thou even an evidence in this cause. The bird's master felt the force of the relation. The sum of the story is this: he departed from his house, and, having mounted a horse, came to his wife, and said, Alas, my love! I have persecuted you, without your having committed any fault; but now pardon my trans-gression. Then he brought his wife home, and from that time they lived together in perfect har-mony and good understanding, in the full enjoy-ment of love and delight.”
Miemun's parrot thus finished the tale of the merchant's parrot, and said to Khojisteh, Arise quickly, and go to the prince, that your promise may not be broken and violated. If, which God forbid! your husband gets intelligence hereof, I am ready to establish peace and friendship, like the merchant's parrot. Khojisteh, delighted at these words, was ready to go to the prince; but, at that instant the dawn beginning to appear, she postponed her departure. As Khojisteh had kept awake all night to hear the story, she now retired, and reposed herself on her bed.
WHEN the day was entirely spent, and night arrived, Khojisteh arose from the costly couch; and having called for different kinds of food, and various fruits, ate thereof. She composed her countenance with a benignity resembling the moon; and, having adjusted her head attire, and put on apparel of rich brocade, came to the parrot for permission to visit the prince.
The parrot said to her, “Be cheerful, without thinking or contriving, for I will be zealous and active in your cause, and be the means of intro-ducing you to the prince's presence; but you, Khojisteh, must preserve for him, in your mind, such friendship, benevolence, ardour, and affection, as shall equal the attachment and fidelity which a sentinel in the service of the king of Teberistan maintained in his heart towards that monarch, and, in reward thereof, acquired prosperity.”
Khojisteh asked, “Of what nature, and after what manner is the story of the king of Teberistan? Relate it at full length.”
The parrot said, “Men of former times, the sages of antiquity, have thus related:—Once upon a time the king of Teberistan prepared such a banquet and convivial meeting as equalled paradise. At this feast were displayed the most exquisite and delicious viands, the choicest liquors, and all sorts of roasted meats; there were present all the princes, nobility, sages, and learned doctors, belonging to the city, who did eat of the victuals, and, amongst the rest, of the roasts, and they drank of the li-quors.
“Suddenly a man, who was a stranger, entered the place. The nobles of the court inquired who he was, and from whence he came? He an-swered, I am a gladiator, and a lion-catcher. I profess the art of archery, in which I am such an adept, that I can drive my arrow through a hard stone; and besides this, I know many other valu-able arts and mysteries. I first engaged in the service of Ameer Khojend, but he knew not the value of my skill; for which reason, having quitted his employ, I am now come to the king of Teberistan. The king of Teberistan, having heard his speech, commanded his courtiers to en-tertain the man in the capacity of a guard or sen-tinel; ??, immediately, in conformity to the king's command, they received him into the ser-vice: and this sentinel kept watch every night, standing on one leg, with his eyes fixed on the royal palace.
“One night the king was walking, till after mid-night, on the roof of the palace; and, after looking about on all sides, cast his eyes below, when he saw a man standing on one leg: the king inquired his name, and why he was standing in this man-ner at midnight? He answered, I am the senti-nel, watch, or guard, in charge of the king's palace, and for some days have stood on one leg, in ear-nest expectation of his majesty's august presence. To-night, through the aid and assistance of fortune. and the stars, it has been my good luck to behold his majesty's graces in perfection, and I am greatly delighted on the occasion.
“During this conversation, the king heard a voice issuing from the wilds and deserts, which said, I am going, who is the man that will cause me to return back? The king was astonished at hearing this noise, and asked the sentinel whether he had re-marked it. The sentinel replied, I have heard this noise several nights, but my duty requires my attendance on my post, and, for that reason, I have not inquired about it; but now, if your majesty gives me orders, I will ascertain what the noise is with all possible expedition, and report it to the court, peopled by the slaves of the most holy law.28 The king rejoined, Go! and having learnt the meaning of the cause, convey the intelligence to the seat of holiness.28a
“The sentinel instantly departed; and the king, after having covered all his body and face with a black blanket, followed at a short distance; when he saw, standing on the road, a beautiful woman, crying out, I am going! who is the man that will cause me to turn back? The sentinel addressed her, saying, Who art thou, O woman possessing such exquisite beauty and delicacy of form! and why dost thou utter those words? The woman set forth, I am the representation and emblem of the king of Teberistan's life, the term of which being come to a period, I am now about to de-part. The sentinel said, O thou emblem of the king's life! by what means art thou to be pre-vailed on to return back? The figure replied, If thou, O sentinel! wilt give the life of your own son in exchange for that of the king, I will certainly return, in order that the king may live some time longer in the world, and not die immediately. The king and the sentinel experienced satisfaction and delight on hearing these words from the figure. The sentinel replied, My own life, with that of my son, I will devote, offer and bestow, to prolong his majesty's days; do you tarry and delay one hour, till I can go to my house and bring my son, and sacrifice him in your presence.
“Briefly—The sentinel went to his own house, and told his son all the circumstances. The son, being loyal, made this declaration, His majesty is just and equitable, affectionate to his subjects, and kind to strangers; the existence of such a monarch causes, and will secure, the prosperity of the king-dom, and the happiness of his people. I have learnt the following lesson from my tutor, (on whom be the mercy of God!) and which he taught to all the children of the school: That if, in order to avert the destruction of a just king, the minis-ters of state were to put to death a man from amongst his subjects, it is not to be accounted a sin or transgression; because, if a good monarch is rescued from death, and continued in safety, he pre-serves in tranquillity thousands who are under his dominion: God forbid that this just king should die, lest he may be succeeded by a tyrant, through whose cruelty and oppression thousands of mankind might perish, and the whole kingdom become a desert! It is therefore fit and expedient that you take me quickly, and put me to death.
“After this resolution, the sentinel carried his son to the phantom, and having bound his hands and feet, took in his hand a sharp knife, and stooped down to cut his son's throat. At this juncture the phantom arrested the sentinel's hand, saying, Do not ??rifice your son! The Almighty, being satisfied with your intention, is gracious, and hath commanded me to remain sixty years longer.
“The sentinel, on hearing these glad tidings, was filled with joy and delight. The king, who had seen from a distance all the acts and deeds of the father and his son, was highly pleased; and getting the start of the sentinel, repaired quickly to the roof of the palace, and then walked about in the same manner as before.—Half an hour afterwards the sentinel appeared in the king's presence, the treasury of munificence, and then performing the usual ceremonies of homage and obeisance, uttered the following salutation:—Long life, wealth, peace, and splendour attend the monarch of the world! The king commanded him to relate and explain the meaning of the noise. The sentinel folded his arms on his bosom in token of respect, and thus addressed himself to the presence abounding with mercies:—‘A beautiful and elegant woman finding ‘her husband's ill treatment insupportable, forsook ‘his house, and was sitting on the ground making this ‘lamentation. I approached her, and, by speaking ‘in soft and conciliating terms, tempered with truth, ‘have restored peace and good understanding between ‘her and the husband; and now the woman has pro-‘mised, bargained, and agreed, never again to quit ‘his house for the space of sixty years.’
“The king, having seen, comprehended, and ap-proved of his loyalty and good conduct, discovered himself, saying, At the time you went from hence, I followed you, and have seen and heard all that passed between you, the woman, and your son, tes-tifying the attachment, affection, and loyalty of both. This is my determination: hitherto you have been poor and needy, so that your mind has been trou-bled and perplexed: but trust in God for the fu-ture, and be easy and happy; for, with the divine assistance, I will make you rich, and promote you to high dignity.
“Then the king retired, and reposed himself on a couch. When the true dawn shone forth, the king, being seated on his throne, commanded the ministers of state to require the attendance of all the omrah, viziers, sages, and governors of pro-vinces throughout the empire; and, before all per-sons present at the council of state, appointed the sentinel his vicegerent, and committed to his care all the locks and keys of his treasury, &c.”
By the time the parrot had made an end of the story of the king of Teberistan, the true dawn had appeared, and the sun was risen and shone forth; on which account Khojisteh's departure was deferred; and having been kept all night without sleep, hearing the story, she retired, and reposed herself on a velvet couch.
The Goldsmith and the Carpenter; and the Theft and Concealment of the Golden Images.
WHEN the sun was set, and the moon risen, Kho-jisteh, having covered herself with gold and jewels, went to the parrot, and said, “Give me leave to re-pair to my sweet-heart to-night.” The parrot answered, “I gave you permission the first night, why do you loiter till now? but it is not advise-able that you should go and appear before the man bedecked in these ornaments, lest he may covet them, and quit his affection for you; just as the goldsmith, who coveted the carpenter's gold, and abandoned a friendship of many years standing.”
Khojisteh having desired to hear the detail of the story, the parrot repeated it as follows:
“In a certain city there had subsisted such friend-ship between a goldsmith and a carpenter, that every person who saw them imagined them to be brothers. Once on a time they undertook a jour-ney together, and on their arrival at a certain city were much distressed for the means of defraying their expences. They said to each other, As there is in the city an idol temple, wherein are many golden images, it is adviseable that we feign our-selves Brahmins, and, entering into the service of the temple, perform our devotions, till we can find a convenient opportunity for stealing some of the images. Then both having entered the temple, they began to worship.
“The other Brahmins, beholding their mode of worshipping, were so much ashamed that every day one or two Brahmins left the temple, and did not return; and if any person questioned them why they had done so, they would say, Because we men are not able to perform the ceremonies in the manner that these two persons go through them; on which account we feel shame. After some days the temple was entirely deserted by the Brahmins, no person remaining but the goldsmith and the carpenter. One night the goldsmith and the carpenter seized all the images, and set out for their own city.
“When they arrived in the neighbourhood of their own city, they buried the images under a tree, and then went to their respective homes. One night the goldsmith went alone, and carried all the images to his own house. In the morning he exclaimed against the carpenter, saying, Thief! thou hast forgotten our long friendship, and stolen my share: this money you will devour in a few days. At first the carpenter was astonished, and said to himself, What is that he saith? O gold-smith! I suspect your doings; but, however, for God's sake, don't fix any accusation on me! The carpenter was a shrewd fellow, and seeing that it was to no purpose to wrangle or dispute, remained silent.
“Some time after, the carpenter made a figure of wood resembling the goldsmith, and having dressed it in his clothes, got from some place or other, two bears' cubs, whose victuals he put into the skirts and sleeves of the clothes on the figure. Whenever the cubs were hungry, they ate their food out of the skirts and sleeves of the effigy's garment. As soon as the cubs had conceived a great attachment to the figure, the carpenter made a feast for the goldsmith and the females of his family, with other women of the neighbourhood. The goldsmith's wife, with her two sons, came to the carpenter's house. The carpenter having concealed the boys, brought in the two whelps, and then began to bawl and cry out, that the goldsmith's sons were trans-formed into bears' cubs.—The goldsmith hearing the disturbance, came to the spot, and said to the carpenter, You assert a falsity, for never was a man transformed into a bear. At length the dispute was referred to the Governor and Cazy of the place, and brought before them. The Cazy inquired of the carpenter how the case stood. The carpenter replied, The goldsmith's sons were playing together, when suddenly falling on the ground they were changed into bears' cubs. The Cazy said, How can I credit your assertion? The carpenter replied, I have seen, in ancient books, that a whole tribe was metamorphosed; their forms having been changed, whilst their reason continued: therefore, if these cubs know persons, and can distinguish their friends, my assertion will be established. Now I will let loose these cubs in the middle of the court amongst all the people, when, if they recognize the gold-smith, they are his children. The Cazy having heard and approved of the carpenter's proposal, the cubs were then let loose, when seeing the goldsmith, the exact counter-part of the wooden figure, they ran to him, rubbed their heads against his feet, and began to play and frisk about. When the Cazy considered all these circumstances, he said to the goldsmith, Now I do believe that these cubs are your children—take them home with you:— Why do you thus unjustly and thro' malice wran-gle with the carpenter? The goldsmith being con-founded, laid his head at the carpenter's feet, and asked pardon for his misdemeanors, saying, If this is your contrivance in order to recover your share of the gold, take the gold immediately, and return me my children. The carpenter said, You acted unfairly, and dishonesty is a grievous sin: should you repent, it would not be astonishing if your children were restored to their original form. The goldsmith surrendered to the carpenter his share of the gold in question; when the carpenter, in return, brought out the children and presented them to the goldsmith.”
The parrot having finished the story of the goldsmith and the carpenter, said to Khojisteh, Carry not these jewels with you, lest your lover covet them, and cease to entertain friendship and regard for you. Khojisteh wanted to take off the ornaments from her person, and lay them aside, and to go to her sweet-heart, when Aurora appearing, the departure was deferred.
WHEN the sun was set, and the moon had risen, Khojisteh came to the parrot, and said, “You pay no regard to my anguish: know you not that I am distracted with love? Give me leave this very night to go to my sweet-heart.” The parrot replied, “My own breast is inflamed and torn on ac-count of your sorrow. For, as you will hear my tales every night, instead of going to your lover, I am afraid lest your husband arrive, and you get shame with your sweet-heart, in the same manner as the soldier's wife put to confusion the nobleman.” Khojisteh desired to hear the story.
The parrot said, “In a certain city dwelt a mili-tary man, who had a very beautiful wife, on whose account he was always under apprehension. The man being indigent, the wife asked him why he had quitted his occupation and profession? He answered, I have not confidence in you, and there-fore do not go any-where in quest of employment. The wife said, This is a perverse conceit, for no one can seduce a virtuous woman; and if a wo-man is vicious, no husband is able to guard her. Have you never heard the story of the Jowgee, who kept his wife upon his back, and wandered about in the desart; notwithstanding which, she was guilty of infidelity with an hundred men? The soldier asked, What kind of story is that?
“The wife began with saying, that, once on a time, a man saw in the desart an elephant with a litter on his back. The man, alarmed thereat, climbed up into a tree. By chance the elephant came under that very tree, and having slipt off the litter from his back, went himself to graze. The man, on a sudden, discovering a beautiful woman in the litter, descended from the tree, and set about ingratiating himself with her: she also being well inclined towards him, began to speak to him in such words as suited her purpose. In short, they gratified their mutual evil inclinations; after which the woman took out of her pocket a string full of knots, and added thereto one more knot. The man inquired about the string, how it happened to have so many knots, and what was the reason of her adding another to the number? The woman replied, My husband, who is a magician, has trans-formed himself into an elephant, and wanders about the desart with me on his back; yet, notwith-standing he watches me so narrowly, I had before this carnal knowledge of one hundred men, the memory of whom I have preserved by making knots on this string; and to-day, through your condescension, the number of knots is increased to an hundred and one!
“Briefly—When the soldier's wife had con-cluded the story, the husband asked what she had further to say to him? The wife replied, It is most eligible for you to travel, and get into ser-vice. I will give you a fresh and lively nose-gay; as long as the nosegay shall continue in this state, you may be assured that I have not committed any bad action; if the nosegay should wither, you will then know that I have been guilty of some fault. The soldier listened to these words, and resolved on taking a journey. On his departure, the wife presented him with a nosegay. When he arrived at a certain city, he engaged in the service of a nobleman of that place. The soldier always took the nosegay along with him. When the winter season arrived, the no-bleman said to his attendants, At this time of the year a fresh flower is not to be seen in any garden, neither is such a thing procurable by persons of rank; it is wonderful from whence this stranger, the soldier, brings a fresh nosegay every day. They said that they also were astonished at this circum-stance. Then the nobleman asked the soldier, What kind of a nosegay is this? He answered, My wife gave me this nosegay as an emblem of her chastity, saying, As long as this nosegay con-tinues alive and fresh, know you of a truth that my virtue is unsullied. The nobleman laughing, said, that his wife must be a conjuror or a sorceress.
“In a few words, the nobleman had two cooks, remarkable for their cunning and adroitness. To one of these he said, Repair to the soldier's coun-try, where, through artifice and deceit, contrive to form an intimacy with his wife, and return quickly with a particular account of her; when it will be be seen whether this nosegay will continue fresh and gay, or not. In conformity to the nobleman's commands, the cook, having gone to the soldier's city, sent a procuress to the wife, who, through treachery and deceit, waited on her, and delivered the message. The wife did not give any direct assent to the procuress; but said, Send the man to me, in order that I may see whether he will be agreeable to me or not. The procuress introduced the cook to the soldier's wife, who said in his ear, Go away for the present, and tell the procuress I will have nothing to say to such a woman as this; then come alone to my house without apprizing the procuress, for these sort of gentry cannot pre-serve a secret. The cook approved of her plan, and acted accordingly. The woman had in her house a dry well, on which she placed a bedstead very slightly laced, and spread over it a sheet: when the cook returned, she told him to sit down on that bed; and he, having placed himself thereon, fell through, and began to bawl out. The soldier's wife said, Tell me truly who thou art, and from whence you came? The forlorn cook confessed all the circumstances about the soldier and the no-bleman.
“The short of the story is this—The cook, un-able to get out of the scrape, continued in this distressful situation. When some time had passed in this manner, and the first cook did not return, the nobleman gave the other cook a large sum of money, with abundance of goods, and sent him to the soldier's wife, in the character of a merchant. He pursued the like course with the other, and was caught in the same whirlpool. The nobleman, astonished that neither of the two cooks came back again, and perceiving that some evil or mischief must have happened to them, at length resolved to go himself.
“One day the nobleman, under pretence of hunt-ing, set out, attended by the soldier. When they arrived at the soldier's city, he went to his own house and presented his wife with the fresh nose-gay. The wife told her husband all that had hap-pened. The next day the soldier conducted the nobleman to his dwelling, and prepared an hospit-able entertainment. He took both the cooks out of the well, and said to them, Guests are come to my house; do you both put on women's clothes, place the victuals before them, and wait at table; after which I will set you at liberty. The two cooks put on female apparel, and served up the victuals to the nobleman. From their sufferings in the well, and bad diet, the hair had fallen from both their heads, and their complexion was very much changed. The nobleman said to the soldier, What crimes have these girls been guilty of, that the hair of their heads has been shaved? The soldier answered, They have committed a great fault; ask themselves. When he examined them more attentively, he knew them. They, in their turn, having discovered the nobleman, began to weep grievously, fell at his feet, and bore testimony of the woman's chastity and in-nocence. The wife called out from behind a cur-tain, Ay, my lord, I am that woman whom you suspected to be a sorceress, and sent men to put me to the proof, and laughed at my husband. Now you have learnt my character. The nobleman was abashed, and asked forgiveness for his offences.”
The parrot having concluded this story of the soldier's wife, said to Khojisteh, “My princess, go quickly to your lover, lest your husband should arrive, and you incur shame with your friend, in the same manner as the nobleman was confounded by the soldier's wife.” Khojisteh wanted, and made an effort to go; but at the very time the cock crowed, and day appearing, her departure was deferred.
The Goldsmith, the Carpenter, the Taylor, and the Hermit, who quarrelled about a Wooden Woman.
WHEN the sun descended into the west, and the moon arose from the east, Khojisteh went to the parrot to ask leave, and said, “Give me permission this night to go to my lover.” The parrot answered, “My princess, I have given you leave every night; why do you tarry? I am afraid your husband may arrive unexpectedly, and matters fall out like what happened to four persons.”
Khojisteh desiring to hear the story, the parrot said, “Once on a time, a goldsmith, a carpenter, a taylor, and a hermit, travelling together, halted one night in a desert place, and said amongst themselves, We shall continue in this desert to-night, and keep guard, us four persons taking a watch a-piece; to which words they unanimously agreed. The first watch the carpenter stood guard; and, in order to prevent sleep, took an axe and made a figure out of wood. The second watch, when the goldsmith's turn came, seeing the wooden figure, that it was void of gold and jewels, he said in his heart, The carpenter has exhibited his art by carving this wooden figure; I must also shew my skill, and make ornaments for the ears, neck, arms, and feet, and put them on the figure, to add to the elegance thereof. In such manner having prepared the jewels, he put them on the puppet. The third watch, when the taylor's turn came, he awoke. He saw a woman with an exceeding beautiful face and handsome person, decked with exquisite jewels; but naked:—on the instant, he made up neat clothes becoming a bride, and, putting them on her, thereby added to her elegance. The fourth watch belonged to the hermit, who, when he came to take the guard, beheld that captivating form. The hermit performed his ablutions and prayers; after which he made supplication, ‘O God! give life ‘to this figure!’ Immediately the figure received life, so that it spoke like an human being. When night was ended, and the sun arose, all these four persons were desperately in love with the figure. The carpenter said, I am the master of this wo-man, because I carved her with my own hands: I will take her. The goldsmith said, She ought to be my bride, seeing that I have decked her with jewels. The taylor asserted, This woman is my property, for when she was naked I made clothes and dressed her. The hermit said, This was a figure of wood, which having obtained life at my prayers, I will take her. In short, this dispute had continued a long time, when acci-dentally there came to the spot a person whom they desired to do justice between them. When this man saw the woman's face, he exclaimed, This is my lawful spouse, whom you have seduced from my house and separated from me. After this manner, he seized and carried them before the Cutwal. When the Cutwal beheld the wo-man's countenance, he cried out, This is my brother's wife, whom he took with him on a journey: you have killed my brother, and taken the woman by force. Hereupon the Cutwal ap-prehended them, and carried them before the Cazy. When the Cazy looked at the woman, he interro-gated them, saying, Who are you? For a long time past I have been inquiring after this woman; she is my bondmaid, who absconded with a great deal of my money: now, where is my money and effects? give an answer.
“When this quarrel and altercation had run to great length, and many people were collected to-gether to see the sight, an old man, who was pre-sent, said, This dispute will not be decided by any man: but in such a city there is a large old tree, called the Tree of Decision; every dispute that men are unable to determine, is carried before this tree, from which a voice issues, declaring on whose side there is justice, and whose claim is false. To shorten the story, these seven men went under the tree, and also carried the woman along with them; and each of them set forth the circumstances of his particular case. On the instant, the trunk of the tree divided asunder, and the woman ran into the cleft, upon which the tree reunited, and she disap-peared. A voice proceeded from the tree, that every thing returns to its first principles; and the seven suitors for the woman were overwhelmed with shame.”
The parrot having concluded this tale, said to Khojisteh, “Mistress, I am apprehensive your husband may come unexpectedly; and, like the tree, unite you to himself, and you get shame with your lo-ver: arise and go towards your sweet-heart and friend.” Khojisteh intended to have gone to him, at which instant the cock crowed, and the signs of morning appeared, when her visit was put off.
WHEN the sun sunk beneath the west, and the moon arose from the east, Khojisteh, completely decked and ornamented, went to the parrot to ask leave, saying, “I am ashamed to appear before you, and that you should have so much trouble for my sake: you neither sleep nor take rest; how shall I thank you for your favours? how can my tongue perform and utter it?” The parrot answered, “I am your slave, although by no means able to exe-cute any business of yours in a manner becoming a servant; however, I will speedily send you to your lover, and exert myself in your cause, like the royroyan, whose story you may have heard.” Kho-jisteh asked, “What is the nature of the story?”
The parrot said, “The king of Kinoje had a daughter, whose face was as fair as the moon, and her features exceedingly beautiful. It happened that a dirveish fell in love with her, and from this passion became mad and senseless. Whenever he had lucid intervals, he would say to himself, What a folly is this! how can a beggar be related to a monarch? After some days the dirveish sent a message to the king, Give me your daughter, be-cause I have a great regard for her; consider not my poverty, and your own royalty. The king, on hearing these words of the dirveish, was violently enraged, and gave orders for him to be punished. The vizier said, He is a dirveish, and your Majesty never distresses dirveishes: I will contrive some other means of sending him out of the city. Af-terwards the vizier sent for the dirveish, and said to him, If you will bring an elephant load of gold, I will deliver to you the king's daughter. When the dirveish was considering how to procure the money, a person said to him, If you require as much gold as an elephant can carry, go to the roy-royan, represent your situation, and ask; when he will certainly bestow on you this quantity of gold. The dirveish went to the royroyan, and set forth his case. The royroyan immediately bestowed on the dirveish an elephant-load of gold, which he carried to the rajah. The rajah said to the vizier, Your scheme has not succeeded, for the dirveish has brought the elephant-load of gold. The vizier said, The royroyan must have given it; in these days no other person is capable of perform-ing such an act of munificence: now, some other plan must be pursued. The vizier said to the dirveish, You will not obtain the rajah's daughter in exchange for an elephant-load of gold; but if you bring the royroyan's head, certainly you shall have her. The dirveish went again to the royroyan, and told the circumstances of his case. The roy-royan said, Set your mind at rest, and be not un-easy about my head; for many years I have kept my head in my hand, ready to be given to who-soever should require it: do you tie a rope round my neck, and carry me before the rajah, and say, I have brought the head which you required, to-gether with its body; if he consents, separate my head from my body; and should he demand any thing further, I will manage it also. The dirveish did so, and having tied a rope round the neck of the royroyan, carried him before the rajah. When the rajah saw the generosity of the royroyan, he fell at his feet, and said, No man in this world ex-ceeds you in greatness of mind and manliness, nor will there ever be one willing to devote his own head for the satisfaction of a beggar, a dirveish. The rajah sent for his own daughter, and presenting her to the royroyan, said, This is your handmaid, dispose of her to whomever you please.”
When the parrot had brought to a conclusion the story of the royroyan, he said to Khojisteh, “If my head can be of any service to you, my mistress, I will give it without hesitation or regret. It is adviseable that you should go speedily to your friend.” When Khojisteh stood up, and wanted to have gone to her beloved, the cock crowed, and it being morning, her departure was deferred.
WHEN the sun sunk into the west, and the moon came out of the east, Khojisteh, with a heart full of anguish, and eyes replete with tears, arose, and went to the parrot for leave. Beholding the parrot full of thought, she said, “Why are you pensive?” The parrot replied, “On your account; because I know not what kind of lover yours is—whether he will be faithful to you or not, and act like the parrot of King Kamrew.” Khojisteh asked, “What is the nature of the story of King Kamrew's parrot?”
The parrot began relating the story:—“Once on a time a fowler threw a net over the nest of a parrot, and imprisoned therein the parrot together with her young. The parrot said to her nestlings, The best way will be for you to feign your-selves dead, when the fowler, seeing you in that state, will fling you out of the net; and if he car-ries away me only, it will be of no consequence, because, if I preserve my life, I can contrive some means to get to you. The young ones did as they were directed. The fowler, supposing them dead, flung them all out of the nest; they instantly took flight, and settled on the branch of a tree. The fowler, enraged, was going to dash the par-rot on the ground. The parrot said to the fowler, Set your mind at rest; I will obtain you such a price for myself, that you shall need nothing far-ther during the remainder of your life; for I am a physician, and perfectly skilled in the profession. The fowler was delighted at hearing these words, and said to the parrot, Roy Kamrew, who is king of my country, has long laboured under a grievous disease; will you be able to relieve him from it? The parrot said to the fowler, What mighty business is this? I am such a physician that I can cure ten thousand patients; carry me before the king, acquaint him with my skill, and then sell me at a high price. The fowler put her in a cage, and having carried her to Roy Kamrew, said, I have brought this parrot, who is proficient in the art of physic. The king said, I am myself in great want of a skilful doctor; mention the price of this bird. The fowler replied, Ten thousand di-nars. Roy Kamrew instantly purchased the par-rot, by paying the fowler ten thousand dinars. The next day the parrot began administering medicine to the king. His disorder was half cured, when the parrot said to him, As my medicine has re-moved the moiety of your complaint, shew me attention and kindness, by taking me out of the cage, in order that I may explore a medicine which will liberate you from all care. The king, be-lieving these words to be true, took her out of the cage. The parrot immediately flew away, and never returned to the king.”
When the parrot had finished this tale, he addressed himself to Khojisteh, saying, “I am afraid, my lady, lest your lover should act treacherously by you, like the parrot of Roy Kamrew; and this is the cause of my pensiveness. Hasten now to your sweet-heart, but place no reliance on him till you have tried him.” After that, Khojisteh wanted to have gone to her gallant; the morning cock crowed, and the dawn appearing, her departure was deferred.
WHEN the sun sunk into the west, and, it being night, the moon ascended from the east, Khojisteh, with a sad and aching heart, got up and went to the parrot, in quest of leave. The parrot, observing Kho-jisteh pensive, asked why she was thoughtful? Kho-jisteh answered, “Because I come to you every night and disclose to you my sorrow; when then will be the time that I shall meet my lover? If you give me leave this night, I shall go; otherwise, I will exercise patience, and sit at home.” The parrot answered, “You listen to my stories every night, and continue here till morning. I want you to go quickly this night. If it should happen that your husband arrives and meets you any where, follow the example of the merchant's wife, and scold him.” Khojisteh asked, “What, and how is the story of the merchant's wife? tell me.”
The parrot began, saying, “In a certain city was a rich merchant, who had a handsome wife. Once on a time this merchant travelled to another coun-try, in order to trade. During his absence the wife frequented strange companies, and sang and danced. After having been absent some time, the merchant arrived in his own city, when, being night, he could not enter his own house; he took up his lodging in some other place, and, having sent for a procuress, desired her to bring a fine elegant wo-man to pass the night with him. It chanced that the procuress went to the merchant's wife, and said, A rich man, who is arrived from such a city, wants a woman; arise, and go to him. The woman adorned herself with jewels and fine clothes, went to him, and, as soon as she saw him, knew it was her husband: immediately she began crying out, Oneighbours, listen to my complaint! six years hav-ing elapsed since this husband of mine went abroad to trade: I have looked for his return every day and night: he has been returned from his journey some days, and taken up his lodging in this place, without thinking of me. Having been informed of this to-night, I am come myself: if you will do justice in this business, it is well; otherwise I will go to the Cazy and separate myself from my husband.—The neighbours flocked together, and made peace between her and the merchant. In short, the woman, by the force of scolding, came to her own terms with her husband, without suffer-ing any disgrace.”
The parrot, having finished this tale of the merchant, said to Khojisteh, “Now arise, and go your way to your lover, and make no delay.” Khojisteh stood up to have done so; the cock crowed, morning appeared, her visit was deferred.
The Shop-keeper's Wife, who, having an Amour with a Person, confounded her Father-in-law.
WHEN the sun was gone down, and the moon, the fixed stars, and the planets appeared, Khojisteh, undressed, came weeping to the parrot, and said, “Alas my confidential friend, who sympathise in my dis-tress! I have the most anxious desire to see my lover, being extremely afflicted and depressed. If it seems adviseable to you, quickly give me leave to visit the possessor of my heart, or else I will bear with it, although I know that whoever is in love has not patience.” The parrot answered, “To you, my mistress, who come to me every night for leave and advice, thus acting with deliberation, no harm can happen. Like the shop-keeper's wife, who, having acted considerately, did not suffer any in-jury.” Khojisteh asked, How and what is the “story of the shop-keeper's wife?”
The parrot began, saying, “One day, as a shop-keeper's wife was sitting on the terrace of the house, a young man saw her, and was enamoured. The woman perceived that the youth had fallen in love with her; she called him, and said, ‘Come to ‘me after midnight, and seat yourself under a tree ‘that is in my court-yard.’ After midnight the youth repaired to her house; the woman also got out of bed and went to him, and slept with him under the tree. It happened that the shop-keeper's father, at the very time having risen on account of some business, wanted to go out of the house: unexpectedly he saw his son's wife sleeping along with a strange man; he took the rings from off the woman's legs, saying to himself, In the morn-ing I will punish her. The woman sent away the youth, and going to her own husband, waked him, and said, The house is very hot; come, let us sleep under the tree. In short, the woman slept with her husband, on that very spot where she and the young man had slept together. When the hus-band was fast asleep, she waked him again, and said, Your father came here just now, took the rings from my ancles, and carried them away. That old man, whom I consider as my father, how could he approach me at the time I was sleeping with my husband, and, taking the rings from my ancles, carry them away! In the morning the husband was angry with his father, who disclosed the cir-cumstance, how in the night he had seen her with a strange man. The son spoke harshly to the father, saying, In the night, when, on account of the heat, my wife and I were sleeping under the tree, you came, and taking the rings from my wife's legs, carried them away: at the very time my wife waked me, and informed me of the circumstance. Accordingly the father was greatly ashamed, and the wife, by contriving such a trick, escaped un-punished.”
The parrot having finished this story of the shopkeeper's wife, said to Khojisteh, “Now arise, and go to him who has robbed you of your heart.” She then wanted to have gone, when the cock crowing, her departure was put off.
WHEN the sun was set, and night arrived, Khojisteh, whose heart was inflamed with love, went to the parrot to ask leave, saying, “I have great confidence in your wisdom, and therefore I wait on you every night; if you will not now give me good counsel, and grant me assistance, when will you?” The parrot said, “It is on your account, Khojisteh, that my heart is thus afflicted, and for this reason I shall be unhappy as long as I live. Every night I tell you to go to your lover; but you delay, and listen to my tales. If perchance your secret should be divulged, I will teach you a trick whereby you will avoid all trouble and disgrace; just as the jackal taught the merchant's daughter a trick, and gave her good advice.” Khojisteh asked, “What is the story of the merchant's daughter and the jackal? tell it at full length.”
The parrot began, “In a city was an ameer, who had a son, an ugly person, and of a bad disposi-tion, and sufficiently stupid. When the son ar-rived at manhood his father married him to a mer-chant's daughter, a handsome woman, and who was a proficicm in the art of music. One night, whilst she was sitting on the roof of her house, a young man was singing a song by the side of the wall: the woman hearing his voice, fell in love with him; she descended from the balcony, and approaching the young man, said, I have a stupid ugly husband, can you take me away with you? The youth con-sented, and immediately they set off together, and slept under a tree, by the side of a pond. When the woman fell asleep, the man stole her jewels and ran away. When the woman awoke, she neither saw the jewels on her person, nor the youth beside her; she had no doubt but he had played her a trick, and was gone. When the sun came out of the east, she was standing pensive by the side of the pond. At this juncture arrived a jackal with a bone in his mouth; when, seeing a fish on the banks of the pond, he let the bone fall from his mouth, and ran after the fish: the fish got into the water, when the jackal looked again for his bone, in order to have resumed it, but could not find it, a dog having carried it away. When the woman beheld this sight, she laughed. The jackal said, What woman art thou, and why art thou stand-ing here alone? She told the jackal the whole of her case. The jackal said, You had better do this: Feign yourself distracted, and go home, acting the the part of a mad-woman, laughing and singing, when whoever sees you will forgive you. The woman acted accordingly, and by means of this artifice nobody could find fault with her.”
When the parrot had finished this tale, he said to Khojisteh, “Now is a good time: arise, and go to your sweet-heart: don't be in the least anxious; for if any difficulty should present itself to you, I will teach you a stratagem.” Khojisteh wished to have gone; at which time the cock crowed, and morning appearing, her departure was deferred.
WHEN the sun was set, and the moon risen, Kho-jisteh went to the parrot for leave, and said, “I am sensible you do not trouble yourself about my un-easiness, and on that account do not dispatch me, but introduce tales.” The parrot said, “I wish to God, Khojisteh, that you would go speedily to your lover! You yourself make the delay; it is no fault of mine. Go quickly, to-night; but you must return soon, and do not covet any thing that is there; for inordinate desire is sinful, and who-soever is avaricious, will meet with the same fate as the brahmin.” Khojisteh said, “Tell me what is that story?”
The parrot began, “In a certain city was a rich brahmin, who, happening to become poor and des-titute, went a journey. One day he arrived in a desert, and saw a lion wallowing by the side of a pond, with a fox and a deer standing before him. The brahmin was confounded, and stood dreading the consequence. Suddenly the fox and deer espied the brahmin: they said to one another, If the lion sees, he will kill this poor helpless fellow; it is ad-viseable that we fall on some contrivance that the lion may not only spare his life, but grant him some donation. The deer and fox began blessing the lion, Your munificence is so renowned that a brahmin is come to-day, and is in hopes of a gift. The lion looked at the brahmin, told him to ap-proach, and shewed him great kindness. He saw, lying about, the gold and jewels of men who had been slain some time before; these he bestowed on the brahmin, and then gave him leave to depart. The brahmin arrived at his own house. Some days afterwards, the brahmin, thirsting for gold, went again to this lion. That day a wolf and some dogs were attending on the lion; when these saw the brahmin, they said, This man is exceedingly pre-sumptuous to appear before you uninvited. The lion was enraged, sprung up, and tore the brahmin in pieces.”
The parrot having concluded the story, said to Khojisteh, “If the brahmin had not been avaricious, he would not have lost his life; whosoever is covet-ous, falls into calamities. One watch of the night is still remaining, go quickly, meet your lover, and return.” Khojisteh stood up with intention to go; at that instant the cock crowed, and the dawn appearing, her departure was delayed.
WHEN the sun was set, and the moon arose, Kho-jisteh went to the parrot for leave; and seeing him thoughtful, asked, “Why art thou pensive?” He answered, “I have no care of my own, but your sad-ness has thrown me into sorrow. The whole night you listen to my tales: I am afraid lest your hus-band should arrive unexpectedly, and that you should repent of not going; like the cat, who, after the death of the mice, repented.” Kho-jisteh asked, “Why was it so? It is very wonder-ful how the cat should have cause to repent of killing mice, seeing that a mouse is a cat's morsel.”
The parrot began, saying, “In a desert dwelt a lion, who was very old and decrepit, so that from his age his teeth were decayed; whenever he ate, shreds of meat stuck in them: and there being many mice in that desert, when the lion went to sleep, the mice picked the shreds of meat out of his teeth, whereby his rest was disturbed. The lion consulted other animals, who were his cour-tiers, in what manner to drive away the mice. A fox said, There is a cat, who is your subject; order her to keep watch here all night. The lion ap-proved of the fox's advice, and sent for the cat; and when she came, he appointed her to the of-fice of cutwal. The cat performed the duty of cen-tinel. When the mice saw the cat, they decamped. The lion slept at his ease, nothing happening to disturb his repose. The lion shewed great kind-ness to the cat, and increased her rank. The cat frightened the mice, but never killed any of them, thinking to herself, If I should destroy the mice, the lion, having no further occasion for me, will deprive me of my office. One day she brought her kitten to the lion, and said, I want to go to-day to a place on business; if you will permit it, I will go and bring my kitten in my stead, and re-turn to-morrow to wait on you. The lion granted his assent. The cat, having left the kitten there, went herself to another place.—The kitten killed all the mice she saw, and in one day and night they were all destroyed. The next day the cat arrived and saw the mice lying dead. She reprimanded her kitten, What have you done? why have you killed the mice? The kitten said, Why did not you speak to me at the time of your departure, and forbid me to kill the mice? In short they both repented. After some days the lion dismissed the cat, and deprived her of the office of cutwal.”
The parrot, having concluded the story of the mice, the cat, and the lion, said to Khojisteh, “You appear to me very backward, for every night you delay; wherefore I am afraid lest your husband may arrive, and you repent, like the cat.” Kho-jisteh arose, and wanted to go to her lover; at that instant the sound of the morning cock reached her ears, and morning appearing, her departure was deferred.
WHEN the sun was set, and the moon had got up, Khojisteh put on different kinds of jewels; and, coming to the parrot to ask leave, said, “I conceive you are very negligent, for every night I am hearing your advice, but no advantage accrues to me from your counsel, and I cannot accomplish my desire.” The parrot answered, “Although there has been great delay in this affair, nevertheless be assured I will be the means of bringing you to your lover. O Khojisteh! they are called wise who attend to every business; and whosoever doth not reflect on the event, will repent of it, as Shapoor was sorry for his folly.”—Khojisteh asked, “Who is Sha-poor, and what is the nature of his story?”
The parrot said, “In the land of Arabia was a deep well, in which were a great number of frogs, one of whom, named Shapoor, was their chief. Shapoor exercised great tyranny and oppression, whereby the frogs being reduced to the utmost distress, consulted together, saying, We have barely escaped with life under the government of Sha-poor; we ought to elect some other from amongst ourselves to rule over us. Then they appointed another frog chief, and banished Shapoor from that place. Shapoor being without resource, went to the hole of a snake, and spoke in a low tone. The snake put his head out of the hole, and on seeing the frog, laughed heartily, and said, You, who are a morsel for me, why come you here to throw away your life? He answered, I am come to you for advice, and for my own good. Says the snake, Speak what you have to say. The frog repre-sented to the snake the circumstances of his case, and said, I want your assistance. The snake was much pleased; and shewing great civility to the frog, said, Shew me the well, that I may avenge you of those frogs. In short, the snake and the frog set out together, and arrived at the well in which were the frogs, and got into the well. In the course of a few days the snake devoured all the frogs, and made an end of them. One day he said to Shapoor, Is there not one frog more re-maining in the well? I am at present very hungry; speedily contrive some means for my subsistence, and keep me from starving. Shapoor replied to the snake, Having shewn your kindness for me, by revenging me on the frogs, return now to your own habitation. The snake said, I will not leave you in solitude. Shapoor was sadly alarmed, and repented of having asked assistance from the snake. In short, he said to the snake, Very near this place is another well, where there are plenty of frogs; if you command it, I will bring them here by ar-tifice and stratagem. The snake gave him leave to go. By this device, Shapoor, having escaped out of the well, ran and concealed himself in a large pond. The snake remained some days in expectation, after which he left the well, and pur-sued his own way.”
The parrot having finished this tale, said to Kho-jisteh, “Go now, tarry not.” Khojisteh wanted to have gone; at that moment the animals of morning made a noise, and day beginning to break, her departure was deferred.
WHEN the sun was sunk into the west, and the moon shone bright, Khojisteh went weeping to the parrot, and said, “I come to you every night for leave, and not for the purpose of hearing you relate tales.” The parrot answered, “No injury can happen to you from my admonition, but you will speedily derive advantage:—Go to-night to meet your lover; and if any enemy of yours should come there, I will set on foot a stratagem, as did the syagoash.” Khojisteh asked, “What is the story of the syagoash?”
The parrot said, “In a desert dwelt a lion, who had a monkey for his favourite. It happened that the lion went a journey to some place; previous to his departure, he delivered over his dwelling to the charge of the monkey. During the absence of the lion, a syagoash took possession of his dwell-ing-place, because it was a good spot, and chose it for his habitation. The monkey said to the syagoash, This is the lion's residence, how can you presume to take up your abode here without his permission? The syagoash replied, I have dis-covered that this place is my paternal inheritance: What news have you? The monkey was silent. The female syagoash said to the male, It is not ad-viseable to continue here; for, to oppose a lion, is to sport with one's own blood. The male replied, Aye, mistress, when the lion comes, I will drive him away from hence by stratagem. In short, after some days, intelligence arrived that the lion was coming. The monkey went out to meet the lion, and told him all the circumstances about the sya-goash, and said, I remonstrated, when he answered, I have discovered that this place is part of my pa-trimony. The lion said to the monkey, It cannot be a syagoash, how could such an animal usurp my place? It should seem that it is some beast who is stronger than myself. The monkey an-swered, He is not stronger than you. The lion said, How you talk! there are many animals who exceed me in strength. The lion, terrified, set out for his own home, and arrived near the spot. Be-fore the lion's arrival, the syagoash thus instructed his female: when the lion comes near the dwell-ing, make your young ones cry; and if I should ask, Why do the cubs cry? you must say, They want fresh lion's flesh to-day, and will not eat that of last night.—In short, the lion approached the dwelling, and the young ones began to cry. The syagoash asked, Why do the cubs cry? The dam answered, Because they are hungry. The syagoash proceeded, What! is there nothing remaining of that quantity of lion's and human flesh which was given them yesterday? The female said, They will not eat stale meat; they want some that is fresh. The syagoash said to the whelps, Make your minds easy, and have a little patience, I have heard that our lion will be here to-day; and if this intelligence is true, then, please God, you shall have plenty of fresh meat to devour. The lion was alarmed at hearing those words of the syagoash, not knowing him to be a syagoash. He then fled from the spot, and asked the monkey, Did I not tell you that some mighty animal is in my dwelling? The monkey said, Be not afraid, for this animal is very diminutive, and he speaks those words in order to deceive. The lion once more approached his home, and the female syagoash again made her cubs cry. The syagoash called out to the female, Do you quiet the young ones; to-day I shall find lion's flesh, because the monkey, who is my friend, has bound himself by an oath to deceive the lion and bring him hither this day; do you wait a lit-tle, and silence the cubs—suffer them not to make a noise; if he should discover my voice, he will not come here. When the lion heard these words, he immediately seized the monkey, and having torn him in pieces, took to flight, and never returned to that place again.”
The parrot, having concluded the tale of the sya-goash, said to Khojisteh, “Arise and go to your lover.” Khojisteh wanted to have gone; at the very time the morning birds made a noise, and the day appearing, her departure was put off.
WHEN the sun was set, and night came, after the first watch, Khojisteh, having put on fine clothes, came to the parrot, and said, “Alas, my friend! you have been a long time giving your consent; and I have heard many of your speeches; but your friend-ship has not benefited me in any degree. The par-rot answered, Ay, my mistress! why art thou angry with me? I constantly endeavour to raise your desires: however, your fortune is not propitious, but like that of Zereer, which would not befriend him.” Khojisteh asked, “What is the story of Zereer?”
The parrot began: “In a certain city was a man named Zereer, who was continually weaving silken stuffs, without allowing himself a moment's re-laxation; nevertheless, he gained nothing. Zereer had a friend who wove coarse cloths. One day he went to his friend, whose house he saw full of gold and effects, such as are in the dwellings of the rich. Zereer said to himself, How comes it that I, who weave stuffs for the rich, and dresses for princes, have not salt to my bread? and from whence has this inferior workman acquired so much wealth? When Zereer returned home, he said to his wife, In this city, nobody knows the value of my abilities, nor makes any account of my profes-sion. I must go to some other city, where my skill will be valued, and myself more regarded. His wife said, Whatever is your destiny will hap-pen to you in this place: you will never acquire a livelihood beyond what fate has allotted you. In short, Zereer did not listen; but went a journey, and having arrived at another city, dwelt there some time, and followed his occupation. When he had hoarded a large sum of money in his purse, he set out for his own house; and, alighting at a place, kept awake till midnight, when, falling asleep, a thief pulled out his purse of gold, and ran away with it. Zereer awoke, ran after the thief, but could not catch him. Helpless, he returned to that city, and there followed his business again for some years longer; and when he had acquired a farther sum of money, once more took the road to his own house. At night he lodged at a place, when, not-withstanding all his precautions, a thief carried off his money. Reduced to poverty, he said to him-self, It is not my fortune to be rich, and therefore the thief has taken away my property. Then he returned home empty-handed, and acquainted his wife with what had befallen him. She said, Did I not tell you, at first, that you could not any-where acquire beyond what is your destiny? Regardless of my words, you went a journey; say now what benefit have you experienced? Zereer was ashamed of himself.”
The parrot, having concluded the story of Zereer, said to Khojisteh, “Arise and go to your lover, hold not delay to be lawful.” When Khojisteh intended to have gone thither, the cock flapped his wings, and morning appearing, her departure was deferred.
WHEN the sun descended into the caverns of the west, and the moon came out of the east, Khojisteh, with aching breast and weeping eyes, went to the parrot, and said, “Alas, you green coat! the sorrows of love overwhelm me; every night you make me lose my time by your admonitions and discourse: I am in love, of what use is admonition to me?” The parrot replied, “My mistress! what a speech is this? However, the words of friends ought to be attended to; and they who refuse to hearken to the voice of friends, will repent it, as a certain per-son did.” Khojisteh desired to hear the story.
The parrot said, “Once on a time, in the city of Balkh, there were four persons, men of property, who united together in friendship. It happened that they all became poor: and all four repaired to a philosopher, and told him the circumstances of their distress. The philosopher had compassion on them, and gave each a miraculous ball, which he ordered them to place on their respective heads, and to set out; and said, Wherever the balls fall from your heads, there dig, and whatever is your destiny will come out of the ground, take it. The four friends, according to the philosopher's directions, set out to-gether: when they had gone five cose, the ball fell from one of their heads; he dug on the spot, and found copper. He said to his three friends, I pre-fer this copper in hand to gold in expectancy: if you desire it, continue here. They did not accept of his offer, but proceeded on their way. When they had gone a little farther, the second man's ball fell from his head, on which spot a silver-mine was discovered: he said, If you are willing, remain here, this silver is your property: they were not satisfied. When they had gone on, another man's ball fell from his head, and he digging there, found a gold-mine: he said to the fourth person, No metal is preferable to gold, I wish that you and I should fix here. He answered, Farther on, there will be a mine of precious stones: why should I stop here? He went on a cose, when his ball fell from his head, and on digging the ground, he saw an iron-mine. Repentant, he said, Why did I quit the gold-mine, and reject the advice of my friend? In short he returned from thence, but neither found his friend nor the gold-mine. He said to him-self, No person can find beyond what is his destiny. He set out again towards the iron-mine, but, not-withstanding all his search, could not regain it. Helpless, he went in quest of the philosopher, who was not to be found. Reduced to extreme pover-ty, he bewailed his folly.”
The parrot, having finished this discourse, said to Khojisteh, “Whosoever will not listen to the advice of friends, will suffer like this unhappy man. Now arise, and go to your lover, for this is a lucky hour.” Khojisteh wanted to have gone immediately; but the morning cock crowed, and day appearing, her departure was delayed.
WHEN the sun descended into the west, and the moon rose in the east, Khojisteh went to the parrot to ask leave. Seeing the parrot sitting pensive, she said, “Why are you thoughtful?” The parrot replied, “You are of a great family, I know not whether your lover is also of noble descent. If his family is found to be great, like yours, there can be no harm in forming a friendship with him, nay it is desirable; but otherwise it should be avoided.” Khojisteh answered, “Alas! guardian of my secret, you say true; how can I learn his character?” The parrot answered, “A man's virtues and vices are discovered by his conversation; but have you not heard the story of the jackal?” Khojisteh desired to hear it.
The parrot said, “A jackal had made a practice of going to a city, where he thrust his muzzle into vessels belonging to different people. One night, according to custom, he went to the house of an indigo-maker, and having thrust his head into a jar of indigo, it happened that he fell in bodily, and found great difficulty in getting out again: his whole body was dyed blue. When he went to the desert, all the beasts, seeing such a wonder-ful figure, conceived him to be some mighty ani-mal. The corps of jackals made him their leader, and obeyed his commands. The jackal, in order that nobody might discover him by his voice, made other weak animals stand near him. Thus, during the levee, the jackals formed the first rank, the foxes the second, the deer and the monkeys the third; wolves made up the fourth rank, lions the fifth, and elephants the sixth rank. Whenever the jackals barked, the leader also made a noise along with them, and no one found him out. But after some days, this leader becoming ashamed of the other jackals, removed them to a distance, and placed the lions and elephants near himself: at night the jackals began to howl, when the leader joined in their noise. The beasts who stood near him, discovered who he was: they were ashamed of themselves, and falling on the leader, ripped up his belly.”
The parrot, having finished the story, said to Kho-jisteh, “My mistress, the vices and virtues of every individual may be discovered by his conversation. Go now to your lover, and talk with him, in order to learn his character.” Khojisteh wanted to go; immediately the cock crowed, and morning appearing, her visit was deferred.
WHEN the sun sunk into the west, and the moon appeared in the east, Khojisteh, with an aching heart, came to the parrot, and said, “I come to you every night to ask leave, and not to hear admonition.” The parrot answered, “Make yourself easy, Kho-jisteh, for now I will quickly unite you with your friend; just as the Arab who first suffered distress, and at length obtained satisfaction.” Khojisteh asked, “What is the nature of this story?”
The parrot began: “In a city was a youth called Besheer, who had formed an intimacy with a wo-man named Chunder. After some days, their se-cret became public. Chunder's husband removed her to another place; and Besheer was bewailing their separation day and night. One day he said to an Arab, with whom he had been long intimate, I want to visit Chunder, but come you along with me: the Arab consented. In short, they both set out together. When they arrived near Chun-der's dwelling, they alighted under a tree; Besheer sent the Arab, who went to her house, and pre-sented his friend's compliments. Chunder said, At night I will be under that tree. At night Chunder went to the spot, when Besheer clasped her round the waist, and the lovers were united. Besheer asked if she would continue there the whole night? She answered, No, unless the Arab undertook a commission, in which case she would be able to stay. The Arab asked what he was to do: Chun-der said, Put on my gown, enter my house, and sit down in the court-yard: when my husband comes with a bowl of milk, and gives you to drink, don't take the bowl, neither uncover your face; upon which he will place the milk near you and go away; afterwards drink it. The Arab consented, and got into her house. When Chunder's hus-band came with the bowl of milk, all he said could not prevail on the Arab either to drink, or to open his mouth, or even to take the bowl from his hand. The husband fell into a rage, and began scourging him, saying, Notwithstanding I shew you so much indulgence, you will not open your lips, nor give any answer to my words. In short, he flogged the Arab so unmercifully that his skin was black and blue. When Chunder's husband left the Arab, he both wept and laughed. At that juncture came Chun-der's mother, and said, I am continually admonish-ing you; why will you not make a friend of your husband? If you pine after Besheer, your husband will not see your face again. The mother went away, and said to Chunder's sister, Go and sit with her, and ask her why she will not agree with her husband? Chunder's sister approached the Arab, who, at the sight of her face, forgot what he had suffered from the flogging, and putting his head out of the sheet, said, Ah madam! your sister is gone to-night to Besheer, and sent me to fill her place; see what a flogging I have undergone for her sake: come now and pass the night with me, in order to preserve my secret, or otherwise both your sister and myself will suffer disgrace. Chunder's sister laughed; and then slept with the Arab. When it was near morning, the Arab repaired to Chun-der, who asked him how he had passed the night? He told her all the circumstances about the hus-band, and shewed her his back. Chunder was greatly ashamed of herself; but knew not how pleasantly he had passed the night with her sister.”
The parrot, having finished the story, said to Kho-jisteh, “Now arise and go to your sweet-heart.” She wanted to have gone; but the cock crowed, and the morning appearing, her departure was deferred.
WHEN the sun had gone down in the west, and the moon was risen in the east, Khojisteh put on fine attire, and, going to the parrot, said, “Although I am able of myself to go to my lover, still I do not think it adviseable without your consent, because I rely on your judgment: be expeditious to-night in giv-ing me permission.” The parrot answered, “My mistress, they who are wise do nothing without deliberation; you possess a good understanding, and therefore will never act rashly. I am well assured, that if any one should choose to act ini-mically towards you, such will be your manage-ment that no misfortune will befall you: just as the merchant wisely contrived.” Khojisteh asked, “What is the nature of his story?”
The parrot began: “In time of yore, there was a wise merchant who had a vicious horse. One day, during the time the merchant was eating a meal, a person arrived on a mare, and, having alighted, wanted to tie his mare near the merchant's horse. The merchant said to him, Don't tie her near my horse! The man did not mind, but tied his mare close to the merchant's horse, and then sat him-self down to eat with the merchant; who, there-upon said, What kind of person art thou, thus to sit down at my table uninvited? The man feigned himself deaf, and did not give any answer. The merchant imagined the man was deaf or dumb, and being helpless said nothing further. A moment after, the merchant's horse kicked the mare so violently that her belly was ripped open, and she died. The owner began to dispute with the mer-chant, saying, Your horse has killed my mare, cer-tainly I will make you pay me her value. In short, he went and lodged his complaint before the Cazy, who cited the merchant, and he obeyed the sum-mons, but pretended to be dumb, and did not give any answer to all the Cazy's interrogatories. The Cazy observed, the merchant is dumb, and is not in the least to blame. The plaintiff asked the Judge, How do you know he is dumb? at the time I wanted to tie my mare near his horse he said to me, Don't tie! Now he feigns himself dumb. The Cazy remarked, if he warned you against the accident, what then is his fault? Go from hence! you are a bastard, and a blockhead; you have made your own tongue convict you.”
The parrot, having finished the story, said, “Now go to your lover.” She wanted to have gone; at the very time the cock crowed, and the dawn appearing, her visit was put off.
WHEN the sun sunk down in the west, and the moon got up in the east, Khojisteh went to the parrot to ask leave, and said, “Ah, thou preserver of my secret! take pity on me, quickly give me permis-sion; and whatever you may have to say, deliver it hastily.” The parrot replied, “My mistress, I have repeatedly put you to the proof, but have always found you wise; you need not my advice: how-ever, if, peradventure, any accident should befall you, play off a stratagem, like the woman in the desert, who, by practising artifice with a lion, did not suffer any injury.” Khojisteh asked, “What kind of story is that?”
The parrot began, saying, “In a certain city lived a man who had a very ill-natured wife, a great scold. One day, having chastised her for some fault, she, with two infants, took the road to the desert. It happened that the woman saw a lion; and, being terrified, said to herself, I have acted very ill in coming abroad without having the consent of my husband: if no calamity befalls me from this lion, I will return home and be obedient to him. In short, the woman formed her plan, and said to the lion, Come near and listen to my words. The lion was astonished, and said, Speak! what have you to say? The woman said, In this desert is a mighty lion, the terror of every man and beast; the king sends three or four men for his daily subsistence: to-day the lot has fallen on myself and these two infants: take my children and devour them, and then escape from this desert; I also, being alone and unencum-bered, may then run away. The lion replied, Well, now you have told me all your own circum-stances: it would answer no purpose for me to de-vour either you or your children; because I have no place of retreat. In short, the lion went to ano-ther part of the desert; and the woman took the road to her own city, and, during the remainder of her life, was obedient to her husband.”
The parrot, having finished the story, said to Kho-jisteh, “Arise, my mistress, delay not, go to your lover.” Khojisteh got up, and made an effort to go. At the instant the cock crowed, and morning appearing, her departure was deferred.
WHEN the sun sunk into the west, and the moon appeared in the east, Khojisteh went to the parrot, to ask leave, and said, “O parrot! when will that time arrive that I shall join my beloved? I wish to go, but have not resolution: I know not what kind of fortune mine is.” The parrot said, “Alas, my mistress! my heart at this instant bears witness, that I will quickly unite you with your friend; but if you get to your lover, perform all the conditions which friendship requires, neglecting not an item; just as Khaliss and Mukhless served the king's son, in exact conformity to the duties of friendship.” Khojisteh asked, “What is the nature of this story?”
The parrot began, saying, “Once on a time, there was a mighty monarch, who had two sons; and when he departed from this world, the eldest son assumed his crown and throne, and wanted to kill his younger brother; who, having no resource, quitted the city and kingdom, unattended. One day he came to the side of a pond, where a snake had seized a frog, who was crying out. The prince called out to the snake, who, thereupon quitted his hold: the frog jumped into the water, and the snake remained. The prince was ashamed, in that he had taken the food out of the snake's mouth. In short, he cut a piece of flesh from his own body, and flung it to the snake, who went to his female with the flesh in his mouth. The female, on tasting it, said to the male, From whence did you bring this savoury meat? The snake told her all the circumstances. The female said, You ought to shew your gratitude to the person who did you such kindness. The snake, having transformed himself into the shape of a man, waited on the prince, and said, My name is Khaliss (or sincere): I want to engage in your service. The prince assented. When the frog leaped from the jaws of the snake, stained with blood, he went to his female and told her all the circumstances. The female said to him, Go now, and be ready to do a service to that person. The frog, also, having assumed the human form, came to the prince, and said, My name is Mukh-less (or candid); I wish to serve you, like the rest of your slaves. The prince entertained him also in his service. These three men departed from thence, and came to a city, wherein was a king; to whom the prince went, and said, I am so valiant, that alone I am able to fight against an hundred men: if you will pay me one thousand rupees daily, I will enter into your service; and whatever business you shall command me to perform, I will always accomplish. The king took him into his service, and ordered him one thousand rupees daily allow-ance. The prince received one thousand rupees every day, one hundred of which sufficed for his own expences, two hundred he divided between his companions, and the remainder he bestowed in cha-rity. One day the king went to enjoy the sport of fishing: it happened that the king's ring fell into the river; and, notwithstanding all the search that was made after it, could not be recovered. He said to the prince, Fetch my ring out of the river. The prince conversed with his companions, who asked, What kind of business is this which the king has commanded you to perform? Mukhless said, Make your mind easy, I will execute this business. Mukhless, accordingly, having assumed the form of a frog, plunged into the river, and instantly brought out the ring. The prince presented the ring to his majesty, who increased his kindness towards him. Some days after, the king's daugh-ter being bit by a snake, all the remedies applied by the physicians produced no effect. The king commanded the prince to cure his daughter. The prince was pensive, and said to himself, This is not my business. Khaliss (or candid) said, Convey me to the lady, and place her in a retired situation; I will cure her. He did so. Khaliss applied his own mouth to the wound which the snake had made, and sucked out all the poison; when the princess instantly obtained relief. The king was highly de-lighted, and bestowed his daughter in marriage on the prince, whom he made his lieutenant. Khaliss and Mukhless both said, We now want leave to depart. The prince observed, What a time is this for taking leave! Khaliss said, I am that snake to whom you gave your own flesh; Mukhless said, I am the very frog whom you delivered from the mouth of the snake: we now wish to return to our own habitations. The prince took leave of them both.”
The parrot, having finished the tale, said to Kho-jisteh, “Go now, delay not.” Khojisteh arose in order to have gone; immediately the cock crowed, and her departure was deferred.
WHEN the sun went into the west, and the moon appeared in the east, Khojisteh repaired to the parrot, and sat down, contemplative. The parrot asked, “Alas, my mistress! why art thou thoughtful to-night?” Khojisteh said, “Last night these reflections came into my mind—whether my lover is wise or sim-ple, learned or ignorant. If he is silly, his society will resemble death.” The parrot said, “My mis-tress, go this time to the house of your lover, and relate to him the story of the merchant's daughter, in order to try his understanding. If he gives you a proper answer, you may esteem him wise.” Kho-jisteh asked, “What is the nature of the story?”
The parrot began: “In Cabul was an opulent merchant, who had a beautiful daughter, named Zerah (or Venus). Wealthy persons, of every city, courted her: but the girl did not approve of any one of them; but said to her father, I will marry one who is either completely wise, or very skilful. This declaration was rumoured throughout all countries. In one city dwelt three youths, each of whom pos-sessed a valuable art. These three young men went to Cabul, and said to the merchant, If your daugh-ter requires a man of skill, either of us three can assert that character. One said, My art is this: whenever any thing is lost, I know where it is; and have also a foreknowledge of future events. The second said, I can make such a horse of wood, that whosoever mounts it, floats in the air, like the throne of Solomon. The third person said, I am an archer, and can pierce any object at which I point my arrow. The merchant communicated to his daugh-ter the several pretensions of these three youths. The daughter said, I will deliberate the matter in my own mind, and tell you to-morrow which of them I shall prefer. At night the daughter disap-peared from the house. In the morning all search was ineffectual; it could not be discovered whither she was gone. The merchant went to the young man who knew all circumstances relative to any thing lost, and said, Inform me where my daughter is? After an hour's consideration, the man replied, A fairy has carried your daughter to the summit of a mountain, inaccessible to men. The merchant then addressed the second youth, saying, Make you a wooden horse, and give it to the young archer, that he may mount it and ascend the mountain, and, after having killed the fairy with his arrow, bring back the girl. He made a wooden horse, the young archer mounted, ascended the mountain, and having transfixed the fairy with his shaft, brought away the young virgin. Each of the three claimed her as his right, and disputation com-menced.”
When the parrot had brought Khojisteh to this part of the story, he said, “Carry this tale to your lover, and ask him to which of the three youths the young woman ought to have been given. If he returns you a proper answer, be satisfied in re-gard to his understanding.” Khojisteh said, “I must beg you will first tell me to whom the girl justly belonged?” The parrot answered, “To the person who killed the fairy, and brought back the merchant's daughter: because the others merely exhibited their skill; whilst this repaired to the place of danger, and exposed himself to great diffi-culties, regardless of his own life.”
The parrot, having finished the story, said to Kho-jisteh, “Be expeditious, and go to your lover.” She got up, and wanted to have gone: the cock crowed, morning appeared, and her visit was deferred.
WHEN the sun sunk into the west, and the moon appeared in the east, Khojisteh went to the parrot to ask leave, and said, “O thou wise bird! whose counsels are prudent, and who acts the part of a friend; if you think it adviseable, delay not to-day in giving me permission: or else speak plainly, to the end that I may be patient, and make choice of retirement.” The parrot answered, “Every night I give you leave; but I know not what kind of luck attends you, that it will never befriend you. It is incumbent on you to go quickly to-day, and have an interview with your lover: however, give ear to my counsel, that you may act in such a manner that no misfortune may befall you, but advantage or prosperity; like as the brah-min, who having fallen in love with the daughter of the king of Babylon, got possession not only of his beloved, but also of money and property, without suffering any misfortune.” Khojisteh asked, “What is the nature of his story?”
The parrot began: “Once on a time, a brahmin, who was both handsome and discreet, having thought proper to quit his city and native soil, went to the city of Babylon. One day as this brahmin was walking in a garden, the daughter of the king of Babylon came also to the same spot, to take an airing, and to view the display of flowers. The brahmin and the virgin were mu-tually enamoured of each other at the first glance. When she returned home, she became distracted; and the brahmin, on returning to his habitation, fell sick. In short, the brahmin went to a ma-gician, and entered into his service.—After some time the magician was quite confounded how to requite his great attention and faithful services. One day he said to him, Ask me for any thing that you desire, and I will give it; shew and declare what it is that you want. The brahmin discovered his situation to the magician, who said, I thought you would have asked for a gold mine—what mighty business is it to bring man and woman together? The magician im-mediately formed a magic ball, and giving it to the brahmin, said, If a man puts this ball in his mouth, whoever sees him will suppose him a wo-man; and if a female uses it in the same man-ner, she appears a man to all beholders. Next day the magician himself personated the brahmin; and the brahmin, putting the ball in his mouth, being transformed into a woman, the magician went to the king of Babylon, and said, I am a brahmin, and have a son, who having suddenly become insane has wandered abroad—this is his wife: if you will admit her into your palace for a few days, then I will go in search of him. The king granted the brahmin's request, and, more-over, gave him something for his expences, and sent the woman to his own daughter. By this artifice, the magician introduced the brahmin to the king's daughter, and himself got good money in hand. The princess shewed great tenderness to the woman, alias the brahmin. In short, one day the brahmin said to the princess, Why does your complexion fade in this manner, becoming every day more and more pale, whilst your strength seems exhausted? The young woman wanted to conceal her secret from the brahmin; but he press-ing her on the subject, said, I perceive you are in love with somebody—it will be much better to make me your confidante, when I will cer-tainly apply a remedy to the disease. The prin-cess related to the brahmin all the particulars of her case. He said, If now you were to see that brahmin, do you think you could recollect him? She replied, Yes, I should certainly know him again. Immediately the brahmin took the ball out of his mouth, and she knew him, and they embraced each other. After some days the young lady advised thus with the brahmin, It is most adviseable that we depart hence, and take up our abode in some other country, where we may fol-low the dictates of our inclinations. Then, hav-ing agreed together on this point, the king of Ba-bylon's daughter stole out of her father's treasury a great quantity of gold and jewels, sufficient to support them as long as they should live; and, at night, accompanied by the brahmin, she left the house. In one day and night they got beyond the limits of her father's dominions, and fixed their abode in another territory, where, free of all restraints from others, they entered on the enjoy-ment of their amorous inclinations with boundless pleasure and delight. The king was greatly asto-nished at this event; but, notwithstanding his most diligent enquiries, could not find out his daugh-ter, because she had escaped beyond the bounda-ries of his territories.”
The parrot, having finished the tale, said to Kho-jisteh, “Now arise, and go to your lover.” She wanted to have done so, when instantly the cock crowed, and, dawn appearing, her departure was deferred.
WHEN the sun descended in the west, and the moon arose in the east, Khojisteh went to the parrot to ask leave, and said, “Whenever I may go to my lover, I wish first to make trial of his under-standing. If I discover him to be wise, I will strengthen my friendship with him: otherwise I will exercise patience; for the sages have said, that in friendship three things ought not to be trusted: first, friendship with women; secondly, having intimacy or associating with children; and thirdly, the company of blockheads.” The parrot replied, “My mistress, whatever you say is proper: to-night you must tell a tale to your lover, and require of him an answer; which if he gives properly, you may account him wise; but if he returns an improper answer, rest assured he is de-ficient in understanding.” Khojisteh asked, “What tale is it on which I am to question him?”
The parrot began: “Once on a time, the son of the king of Babylon, happening to enter an idol temple, there beheld a young woman, the bright-ness of whose countenance resembled the moon, as did her jetty locks the darkest night; her sta-ture was as erect as the cypress, and her walk graceful as the pheasant: he was instantly smit-ten with her charms; and, laying his head at the feet of the principal idol in the temple, in a plain-tive and feeble tone thus expressed himself, If that young woman should marry me, I will sever my head from my body, and sacrifice it to you. In short, the king's son sent a message to the girl's father, and asked her in marriage. Her father gave his consent, and the marriage was performed agreeably to the rites and ceremonies of their respective tribes. In short, the lovers were united. After some days, the father invited his daughter and son-in-law to his own house. The king's son, with his wife, set out for the father-in-law's house; and a brahmin who had been the intimate companion of the king's son, also accompanied them. When the prince approached the temple where he had first seen his wife, he recollected the vow he had made to the idol of the place. He went alone into the temple, in order to perform his vow, and, cutting off his own head, dropped it at the feet of the image. Afterwards, when the brahmin also entered the temple, he saw the prince lying dead, and was terrified: he thought, if I remain alone, people will suppose me to have been his murderer. When many such reflections had passed in his mind, he said, It will be best for me to cut off my own head, and leave it also at the feet of the idol. Then the brahmin cut off his own head, and dropped down at the feet of the image. A minute after, the wife also came into the temple, and seeing both persons slain, was astonished, not being able to account for what had happened. She resolved to sever her own head from her body, and to burn with her husband. At that interval a voice issued from the temple, O woman! replace the severed heads on their re-spective trunks, when they will be alive again. The woman was so overjoyed on hearing these words, that, in her hurry, she placed her husband's head on the brahmin's body, and put the brahmin's head upon her husband's shoulders, and instantly they were both restored to life and stood before the woman. Then began a dispute between the prince's body and the brahmin's head, each claim-ing her for his wife.”
When the parrot had related thus far of the story, he said to Khojisteh, “If you want to try his under-standing, ask him, which had a right to the wife, the husband's head, or the husband's body?”— Khojisteh requested the parrot to instruct her on this point? The parrot replied, “The rightful owner of that woman is the husband's head, be-cause the head is the seat of wisdom, and presides over the body.” When Khojisteh had heard the end of the story, she stood up, with intention to go to her lover: instantly the cock crowed, and dawn appearing, her departure was delayed.
WHEN the sun was set, and the moon got up, Khojisteh went to the parrot, and said, “I am fear-ful, and in my own mind greatly confounded, lest when I join my lover, he may be angry with me because of the delay. I know not what artifice to practise on that occasion.” The parrot said, “My mistress, it requires no thought or considera-tion; for women are able to devise many artifices, and are exceedingly prompt at repartee. I have seen and approved many women's tricks. If you will wait a little, I will tell you a short story of an excellent trick which a woman played her hus-band, and carried her point with her gallant.”— Khojisteh asked, “What kind of story is that?”
The parrot said: “Once on a time a man gave some feloose127 to his wife, who went to a grocer's shop in the market to buy sugar. As soon as the grocer saw the woman, he had an inclination for her. The woman bought a seer127a of sugar, and tied it in a corner of her veil. The grocer plied the woman with pleasant discourse, and she yielded to his desires. In short the grocer conducted her into his own house, and she left her veil in the shop. The grocer's shopman took the sugar out of her veil, and, substituting an equal quantity of sand, tied it up in the corner of the veil. When the woman came out again, she took up her veil and returned home. When she came to her hus-band, he untied the veil, and seeing it contain sand, he said to her, Why, wife, what pleasantry is this you are using with me? I sent you for sugar, and you have brought me sand. The wife, without any hesitation, said, As soon as I got out of the house an ox ran at me, upon which I took to flight, and tumbled down on the ground; the money fell out of my hand, and as I was ashamed to look for it before the men who were present, I took up the sand from the spot, and have brought it here: the money must be amongst this sand. The husband kissed her from head to foot, and said, The money, being lost, is of no consequence; but why did you trouble yourself to bring a quantity of sand? In short, the wife answering in this manner without hesitation, the husband was not angry, but even pitied her.”
The parrot, having finished this story, said to Khojisteh, “Arise, go to your lover; and if per-chance he should be angry with you, certainly you will at the time think of some good excuse.” Khojisteh was comforted by the words of the parrot. When she put her shoes on her feet, and wanted to have got up, the cock crowed, dawn appeared, and her departure was deferred.
WHEN the sun was set, and the moon risen, Khojisteh, with a downcast countenance, went to the parrot, and said, “O thou possessor of my secret! the sages have said, that a woman with-out shame is the worst of women:—Now I wish to avoid going to a strange man, and to sit at home patiently.” The parrot answered, “My mistress, whatever you say is right; but I fear that if you restrain yourself, your constitution will decline, like the king's.” Khojisteh asked, “What kind of story is his?”
The parrot began: “In a certain city was a merchant, who had plenty of money and effects, and kept horses and elephants. He had a very handsome daughter, the fame of whose beauty reached distant countries and cities. Merchants and traders of that country wanted to marry the merchant's daughter; but the father would not accept of their proposals. When the young woman became marriageable, one day the mer-chant wrote and sent a letter to the king, couched in the following terms:—‘I have a daughter, the beauty of whose countenance resembles the moon, her walk is graceful as the mountain pheasant, and her voice may compare with the nightingale with a thousand notes; from the desire of hearing her discourse, the birds are arrested in their flight, and become intoxicated and senseless. I flatter myself, that if your Majesty sees good, she is worthy of your choice, and may be the means of increasing my own rank in life.’ On the receipt of this letter, the king was greatly delighted, and said, Every thing comes of itself, to him who is fortunate. The king had four viziers, to all of whom he said, Go you to the merchant's house, take a view of his daughter, and if she is worthy of my choice, bring her immediately. The viziers entered the merchant's house, and, on beholding the daughter's face, were deprived of their senses. They consulted together, and said, If the king should see a woman with so beautiful a counte-nance, he would lose his reason, and, remaining with her night and day, will pay no attention to the duties of royalty, so that all public affairs will go to ruin. Then the four viziers returned to the king, and thus reported: This virgin is not remarkably handsome: in the royal palace are many that have equal pretensions to beauty. The king said, If it is as you represent, then I will not marry her. In short, the king did not ask the merchant's daughter in marriage. The mer-chant, in despair, married his daughter to the cutwal of that city. One day the young woman said to herself, It is extraordinary that the king rejected me, who am so beautiful; some time or other I will shew myself to him. In short, one day, as the king was passing by the cutwal's ha-bitation, the woman was standing on the roof of the house, and shewed herself to the king, who, as soon as he saw her, fell in love; and, having sent for the viziers, said to them, Why did you tell me such false words? They answered, We unanimously agreed, that, if your Majesty were to see this woman, you would neglect the affairs of your kingdom. The king approved of the viziers' excuse, and his love for the woman affected his health. The ministers of state recommended, that the king should demand the woman of the cut-wal; and if he did not resign her willingly, that she should be taken from him by force. The king said: I am the prince of this kingdom; be careful how you advise: I will not be guilty of an action so very repugnant to justice; it does not become monarchs to behave with such ty-ranny towards their subjects and servants. In short, after a few days, the king was seized with melancholy on account of this woman; he became emaciated, and, at length, died of grief.”
The parrot having finished this story, said to Kho-jisteh, “It is not adviseable for you to restrain your passion; arise, and have an interview with your lover, or else you, like the king, will suffer in your health.” Khojisteh wanted to have gone; instantly the cock crowed, and dawn appearing, her departure was deferred.
WHEN the sun went to the western quarter, Kho-jisteh, with her eyes full of tears, and an aching heart, went to the parrot and said, “When an Arab went to a rich man, and said, ‘I will go to Mecca;’ the rich man answered, ‘Go.’ He said, ‘I have not the means.’ The rich man replied, ‘If you have not money, it is not proper for you to go thither; for God has not commanded those who are poor to go to Mecca.’ The Arab returned, ‘I come to you in hopes of obtaining some money, and not to consult you on a point of law.’—Thus do you re-count to me maxims and fables, when I come merely to ask permission to visit my lover, not to hear advice and listen to stories.” The parrot said, “Be not uneasy at my words and exhortations, since the advice of a friendly monitor is serviceable for this world as well as for the next.” Khojisteh rejoined, “O parrot! I listen to every advice that you give me; to-night, being dark, I am afraid to go alone, and want to take my own slave along with me.” The parrot said, “A slave is a menial ser-vant, not fit to accompany you; for the sages have said, that no reliance ought to be placed on those of low degree. Have not you heard the story of the potter?” Khojisteh asked, “What kind of story is this?”
The parrot said: “One day a potter, having drank a quantity of liquor, was intoxicated, and, falling over the pots and pans, cut his face and body.— The cuts on his face were cured in a short time, but the wounds in his body left such marks that they resembled the scars of a sword or an arrow. A famine happening in the potter's town, he was obliged to go to another place in quest of service. The king of that country seeing such kind of scars on the potter's body, he thought this must be some valiant man to have put himself in the way of re-ceiving such wounds: thereupon the king engaged him, and exalted him to high rank. A few days after, the king was engaged in a war, and made the potter commander of his forces, and designed to send him to oppose the enemy. The potter, being terrified, fell sick, and said to the king, I am a potter, and shall never be able to perform military duty. The king laughed very heartily, but within himself was ashamed, and he sent another person to conduct the war.”
The parrot, having finished the tale, said to Kho-jisteh, “Don't take a slave along with you, but go alone, for no good actions can proceed from mean persons.” Khojisteh wanted to have gone unattended; instantly the cock crowed, and dawn appearing, her departure was deferred.
WHEN the sun went to the western quarter, Kho-jisteh, arrayed in man's apparel, repaired to the parrot, to ask leave. The parrot laughed heartily at seeing Khojisteh dressed in man's clothes, and said to her, “As this is a dark night, you have done well in put-ting on man's clothes, and coming alone, instead of bringing the slave along with you. To-day, as a parrot, an old friend of mine, was flying, seeing me in the cage, he approached me, and from him I heard a tale similar to that I related to you last night.” Khojisteh asked, “What is the nature of it?”
The parrot began: “Once on a time, a lion dwelt in a desert along with his female and two whelps. One day he roamed about the woods and thickets in quest of game; but, notwithstanding all his search and labour, not being able to find any thing, was returning towards his own den, when he saw, lying on the ground, a jackal cub only a few days old: he took it up, and brought it to the lioness, saying to her, This is all the game I have picked up to-day; I cannot find in my heart to eat it: I can fast one or two days, but you are not able to do so; therefore eat this. The lioness answered, You are a male, whose heart is hard and void of compassion, yet will not eat it; how then can I, who am a female with two young ones, and have a tender heart, devour it? Nay, if you command me, I will nourish this orphan, and supply the place of its mother. The lion replied, It is well. A month or two after this, the lion's whelps and the young jackal, all three were increased in size. The lion's whelps imagined the young jackal was their brother, and they played together as such. One day these three young ones went to hunt together, and saw an elephant. The young jackal fled from the place, and hid himself under a tree. The lion whelps, on seeing their elder brother run away, fled also. An hour after, all the young ones came home together, and told their adventure to the lioness; who then observed, He is the cub of a jackal! how should he be valiant? and what does he know of war?”
The parrot having finished this story, said to Khojisteh, “Stand up now, and go to your lover.” Khojisteh wanted to have gone: immediately the cock crowed, and dawn appearing, her departure was deferred.
WHEN the sun went to the western quarter, and the moon appeared above the eastern horizon, Kho-jisteh, whose eyes were full of tears, repaired to the parrot, and said, “My heart is consumed with the fire of love; to-night, by all means, I will go to my sweetheart.” When the parrot saw that Kho-jisteh was particularly anxious this night to go to her lover, he was alarmed, and, after considering with himself, said, “My mistress, I wish to God to send you quickly to your lover, and every night I give you leave: but you yourself create delay, and are not able to go; I know not what has befallen you. Now arise and go to your lover; but place no con-fidence in an enemy, otherwise you must meet with the same return as the nobleman experienced from the snake.” Khojisteh asked, “What is the nature of the story?”
The parrot began: “One day, as a nobleman was hunting, a frightened snake came to him, and said, O my lord, allow me to conceal myself in some place! The nobleman asked, Why are you afraid? He said, An enemy with a stick is pursuing me to kill me. The nobleman pitied the snake, and admitted him into his own sleeve, where he lay concealed. An instant after, a person with a stick came to the spot, and said, A black snake escaped from me and ran this way—has any body seen it? The nobleman answered, No. The man with the stick in his hand looked about, but, not seeing the snake, went his way. The nobleman said to the snake, Your enemy is departed; do you also go your own way. The snake answered, I will bite and kill you, after which I will go: know you not that I am your enemy? You are an egregious blockhead to have had reliance on me, and out of compassion to have admitted me into your sleeve. The nobleman said to the snake, I have done good to you; why want you to render me evil? The snake replied, The sages have said, It is not right to do good to every person. The nobleman in his own mind was frightened, and re-pented of what he had done, and thought to him-self, By what means can I deliver my life from his designs, and get him out of my sleeve? He was prompt in the business, and said to the snake, Here comes another of your species; lay our matter before him, and if he approves of your sentiments, then treat me as you please. Hereupon the snake turned his head in order to look at the other, when the nobleman seizing the opportunity, struck a stone against the snake's head, and killed it.”
When Khojisteh had heard the story to the end, she said to the parrot, “I approve of your exhorta-tion, and have listened to your tale; now hear one word of mine—Be pleased to give me leave.”— The parrot said, “Arise, and delay not, and go to your lover, for that is my wish.” Khojisteh stood up, and set out. The cock crowed: Khojisteh abused the cock, and coming again to the parrot, said— “Now that day has appeared, it is not a time for me to go.” In short, this night also her departure was deferred.
WHEN the sun sunk into the western quarter, and it was evening, the stars appeared, Khojisteh ate some fruit; she combed her hair, and having applied collyrium to her eyes, put on fine apparel, and bedecked her ears and neck with gold and jewels, and then went to the parrot to ask leave, saying, “O thou possessor of my secret, make a sign for me to go!” The parrot said, “Keep in remembrance a maxim of mine—Not to tell one's secret to any one, otherwise it will be discovered; just as the gold-smith's secret was found out.” Khojisteh asked, “What is his story?”
The parrot began: “In a certain city was a wealthy goldsmith. A soldier thought him his friend, and believed him sincerely attached to his interest. One day the soldier found on the road a purse full of money, and having opened it, counted two hundred and fifty gold mohurs. The soldier carried the mohurs to the goldsmith, and rejoicing, said, I am very fortunate that, without labour, I have found this sum of money on the highway. He then gave all the money in charge to the goldsmith. Some days after, the soldier wanted his own money. The goldsmith said, You tell a falsehood; when did you entrust your mo-ney to me? I imagined you my friend, not know-ing you to be such an enemy; you want to get money by fraud. The soldier, having no alterna-tive, went to the Cazy; who asked him, Have you any person as a witness? He answered, No. The Cazy thought to himself, Goldsmiths are a faith-less set of people, and thieves, so that it is not at all improbable but he may have stolen the money. In short, the Cazy sent for the goldsmith and his wife; but to all his interrogations they would not confess. The Cazy said to them, I know very well that you have taken the money; if you do not restore it, I will send you to hell. Then the Cazy entered the house, and concealed two persons in a chest placed in one of the chambers. After so doing, he came out, and again said to the gold-smith, If you do not consent to restore his money, to-morrow I will put you to death. He then gave orders that the goldsmith and his wife should be shut up together in that chamber. At midnight the woman said to the goldsmith, If you did take this money, tell me where you have put it? The goldsmith said, In such a place, I put it into the ground. In short, when the night was ended, and the sun rose, the Cazy sent for the goldsmith and his wife, and, confronting them with the two per-sons who had been in the chest, asked the latter what conversation the goldsmith had with his wife the preceding night? They related to the Cazy whatever they had heard. The Cazy sent his own men to the goldsmith's house, and described the spot where the purse of money had been put, and on digging up the ground they found it and brought it to the Cazy. He restored the purse to the sol-dier, and hanged the goldsmith on a gibbet.”
The parrot having finished this story, said to Kho-jisteh, “If the goldsmith had not told the secret to his own wife, it would not have been discovered. Now arise and go to your lover.” Khojisteh stood up; instantly the cock crowed, and the dawn appearing, her departure was deferred.
WHEN the sun went into the western side, and the moon got up, and the stars appeared, Khojisteh having put on apparel of gold brocade, ornamented her ears and neck with gold and jewels, and went to the parrot to ask leave, saying, “I want to go to my lover at midnight; now tell a short story.”
The parrot said: “In a certain city was an opu-lent merchant, who had not any child. One day he said to himself, I have amassed a great quantity of riches in this world, but have not any child to possess my wealth at my decease; it is adviseable for me to dispose of all my property amongst der-veishes, the poor, and orphans. In short, he gave away all his property in charity. That very night, in a dream, he saw a person, to whom he said, Who art thou? The vision answered, I am the archetype of your destiny: Forasmuch as you have this day disposed of all your riches amongst the poor without having reserved any part to yourself, I will visit you to-morrow under the semblance of a brahmin, when do you strike me several blows on the head with a stick, on which I will fall to the ground, and be converted into gold; whatever member you may require cut it off, and imme-diately its place will be supplied with another limb. The next day a barber was shaving the merchant's beard, at which time a brahmin arrived. The mer-chant got up, and with a stick struck the brahmin several times on the head, who fell on the ground and was changed into gold. The merchant gave the barber some rupees, and said, Tell not this adventure to any one. The barber concluded, that upon any person striking with a stick a brahmin he would be turned into gold. The barber went to his own house, when he invited several brah-mins, and gave a feast; after which he took up a stick and repeatedly belaboured the brahmins on their heads in such a manner that their pates were broken, and blood flowed. The brahmins began to vociferate their complaints, which brought to-gether a crowd of people, who dragged the bar-ber before the magistrate. The judge asked him, Why did you beat the brahmins? He answered, Because when I was at the house of a certain mer-chant a brahmin entered, to whom the merchant gave several blows on the head with a stick; whereupon he was changed into gold; and I there-fore supposed that on any person beating a brah-min with a stick he would be thereby turned into gold: Covetous of this gain, I also beat the brah-mins: not one is changed into gold; but mis-chief has ensued. The magistrate sent for the merchant, and asked, What is it that this barber saith? The merchant replied, He was my servant, and some days ago went out of his mind. The magistrate gave credit to the merchant's assertion, and drove away the barber.”
The parrot having finished this story, said to Kho-jisteh, “Now arise.” She stood up, and was inclined to go, when the cock crowed, and the dawn appearing, her departure was delayed.
killed the Elephant.
WHEN the sun was sunk into the west, and moonshine appeared, Khojisteh went to the parrot, and asked leave. The parrot said, “Rejoice, my mis-tress! be not in the least thoughtful: I will most undoubtedly exert myself in your business, and bring about your meeting with your lover.” Kho-jisteh answered, “O thou greencoat! notwithstand-ing you and I, with one mind, exert our joint en-deavours, yet they produce no effect. I know not why my stars are so unpropitious.” The parrot replied, “Know you not, madam, that, once on a time, a frog, a bee, and a bird, by means of their unanimity, vanquished an elephant, the most tre-mendous of all beasts: how is it, then, that our joint exertions cannot effect our purpose?” Kho-jisteh desiring to know the story,
The parrot began: “In a certain city was a tree resembling a round umbrella, wherein an inoffen-sive Saweh152 had laid her eggs. One day an ele-phant came there, and began scrubbing his body against the trunk of the tree, and, from the vio-lence of the shock, the eggs fell out of the tree. The poor Saweh fluttered about in great perturba-tion, beat herself against the branches, and wept; but what can a flea do in opposition to an ele-phant? The Saweh said to herself, A powerful enemy must be subdued by art and stratagem.— She had a friend, another bird, called the Long-bill, to whom she repaired, and, making her com-plaint, said, An elephant has oppressed me! con-trive some stratagem to revenge me on him; for friends are serviceable to us when we are labour-ing under misfortunes. The bird said, It is an arduous undertaking to war with an elephant, and without assistance cannot succeed. I have a friend, a Bee, who is remarkable for his wisdom; him I will consult. They accordingly went together to the bee, and set forth all the circumstances. When he heard the case, he expressed his apprehensions, and said, I have long devoted myself to the service of my friends; however, out of sincere regard, I wish that this story may be told to the general of the army of frogs. Thereupon the Saweh, the Bee, and the Longbill, all three went together to the Frog; they acquainted him with the particulars, and entreated his assistance. The frog expressed great concern at the destruction of the eggs, and said, Make your mind easy; for, by art, even a mountain may be levelled. The frog added, There now occurs to my mind a stratagem whereby the elephant may be overcome, and which is this: Let the bee approach the elephant's ear, and vex him with a continued gentle buzzing; and when he is furious, the bird with the long bill shall apply the point of his beak to the elephant's eyes, and pluck them both out, and turn his light in this world into darkness. Some days afterwards, when he is tormented with thirst, I will get before him, and begin croaking; he will know my voice, and say to himelf, There must be water in a place where there are frogs: then, following me, he shall plunge into such a place that he shall not be able to get out of it; and as no one shall hear his cry, after striving some days he will die of him-self. Thus they acted, and by art and stratagem killed the elephant.”
The parrot, having brought the tale to this part, said to Khojisteh, “Two or three feeble animals formed a resolution, and destroyed such a mighty elephant. We two persons, with our resolutions, how can we fail accomplishing our desire? Now arise quickly and go to your lover.” Khojisteh wanted to have gone; at that instant the cock crowed, and the dawn appearing, her departure was deferred.
in love with the Queen of Room.
WHEN the sun had set, and the moon was risen, Khojisteh, full of thought, went to the parrot, and said, “O thou, who art my associate! I have heard that some one asked a great man, What is love? He answered, Love is a kind of death in the midst of life. Now this same love, which is my occu-pation, is arrived at such a pitch that I wish to relinquish it altogether, and not even to mention the word love in future.” The parrot said, “O Khojisteh, there is a wide difference between speak-ing and acting. What relation hath love with pa-tience? and can the lover exist without the mis-tress? If a woman could live (continued he) uncon-nected with man, then the queen of Room had re-mained single; but notwithstanding she had for years felt an aversion towards man, she at last took unto herself a husband.” Khojisteh asked— “What kind of story is this?”
The parrot said—“It is thus related: Once on a time, there was an emperor of China, who had a wise vizier. One day, when the emperor was asleep, the vizier, having come to consult him on some affairs of government, awaked him. The emperor, on being roused from his sleep, drew his sword, and pursued the vizier, who fled from his presence, and escaped into another house. The emperor smote his hands together, rent his gar-ments, and uttered exclamations. The ministers of state said, What has befallen you? He an-swered, At that juncture I saw in a dream a place where was a woman surpassing in beauty all I have ever beheld. Sometimes she kissed my hands, and sometimes I placed my head on her feet; at that instant the vizier awaked me out of the dream. In short, the emperor was continually contemplating that form. He had another vizier, who was a skilful limner; to him he described the face, and the vizier drew the picture. He erected a hermitage on the high road, where he attended every day; and to every person who ar-rived from a distant country he shewed this pic-ture, and asked, Have you seen or heard of any woman resembling this portrait? But no person answered in the affirmative. After some time, a traveller came into the hermitage, to whom the vizier shewed the portrait, and asked him about it. The traveller said, I know this face very well; this is the portrait of the Queen of Room: after this, he was lavish in her praise, and said, With all this beauty she will not marry. The vizier asked, Do you know any reason why she does not like to marry? He answered, I do know the reason, which is this: Once on a time the queen was sit-ing in a summer-house situated in a garden, where, on the top of a tree, a peahen had deposited her eggs. Suddenly the garden was struck with light-ning, which burnt all the trees; when, the flames approaching that tree, the peacock, unable to sup-port the heat of the fire, inhumanely quitted the nest; but the hen, from her affection for the eggs, remained with them and was burnt. When the queen saw this want of feeling in the male, she exclaimed, Men are very faithless! I vow to my-self never to speak of a man! Accordingly years have elapsed without her having mentioned the name of a man. When the vizier heard this dis-course, he went to the emperor and said, From the day that I drew the picture of the woman whom your Majesty saw in a dream, I have been stationed on the road; and whenever a traveller arrived from afar, I asked him if he knew such a face. To-day arrived a traveller, to whom I shewed the picture, and he said, This is the por-trait of the Queen of Room. The emperor was highly pleased at this discovery, and said, This very day some person must be sent to the territory of Room, to require the queen in marriage for me. The vizier said, The queen has agreed with her-self never to accept of a husband. The emperor asked, What mystery is there in this resolution formed by the queen? The vizier related, as he had heard from the traveller, the story of the pea-cock. The emperor said, What ought to be done? The vizier answered, If I am commanded, I my-self will go, and shew her your picture; and, as you fell in love with her appearance in a dream, she, whilst awake, will be enamoured of your por-trait. The emperor replied, It will be well. The vizier immediately took his leave, and set out for Room, where he passed himself off for a painter. When the queen heard of his skill, she commanded him to be brought, in order that he might exer-cise his art in her palace, and decorate it with as many portraits as he was able to delineate. The vizier repaired to the queen's palace, and painted the emperor's portrait, with the beasts in the me-nagerie. The queen, on viewing these paintings, was struck with amazement; she asked, Whose picture is that, and what place is here represented? The vizier answered, It is the portrait of the Em-peror of China; this is his bull; and these are his beasts, deer and fawns. One day, as the empe-ror was sitting in a balcony belonging to a sum-mer-house, a deer brought thither a fawn. Sud-denly the river overflowed its banks, when the doe, not having resolution to face the water, separated herself at a distance from her young; that is the representation of the female running away: but the buck, having more natural affection, staid there with the fawn and was drowned. May it please your Majesty, from the day he saw such inhu-manity committed by the doe, he has never men-tioned the name of woman. When the queen had heard this relation, and perceived that the empe-ror's adventure was similar to her own, she said to the painter, The emperor's case is parallel with mine: I, from having seen the inhumanity of the peacock, forsook the society of man; whilst he, on viewing the insensibility of the doe, resolved not to mention the name of woman. If an alli-ance could be formed between us, how delightful it would be! In short, the next day, the queen sent an ambassador to the emperor of China, and consented to marry him.”
When the parrot had proceeded thus far with the tale, he observed to Khojisteh, “My mistress, you say you will abandon your friend; if every person had persisted in this course, the Queen of Room would not have married the Emperor of China. Get up now, and be going to your friend.” Kho-jisteh wanted to have done so; instantly the cock crowed, and the dawn appearing, her departure was deferred.
Prisoners.
WHEN the sun was set, and the moon appeared, Khojisteh went to the parrot to ask leave, and said, “Thou who art the depository of my secret, I have thus heard—That Omar Abdullah ul Azeez slept neither day nor night. They asked him, Why do not you sleep at some appointed time? He an-swered, If I should sleep during the night, God would not be worshipped; and were I to take rest in the day-time, my subjects would suffer: therefore I do not take any regular rest. O par-rot! I also am afraid that, by obliging my friend, I may lose my husband; and that if I am faith-ful to him, my lover will be jealous and dissatis-fied: I therefore wish to relinquish both, and con-ceal myself with the veil of chastity.” The parrot said, “Khojisteh, continence is very commend-able, but there is a time for all things; at pre-sent, it is as unpleasant as the ass's song.” Kho-jisteh asked, “What kind of story is that?”
The parrot said—They have thus related: Once “on a time, an ass had contracted friendship with an elk, and they grazed together on the same spot. One night, in the season of spring, the ass and the elk happened to be grazing together. All of a sudden the ass was in high spirits, and said to the elk, In this delightful night, whilst the garden diffuses its sweets, and the air scatters musk all around us, if I were to sing, how pleasant it would be! The elk said to the ass, What discourse are you uttering? You may be able to converse about pack-saddles and fullers, but your voice is harsh beyond all comparison; what business has an ass with singing? We have got into this garden by stealth, and if you should now begin braying, the gardener, being awakened, will call other men to his assistance, when you and I shall be made pri-soners. Just as when some thieves, having got into the house of a rich man, found in a corner a vessel full of wine, which having seized, and placed before them, they said, Let us now drink this liquor, till it shall be time to commit the rob-bery. When they had drunken the wine, they began to bawl and to sing: the master of the house awoke, gathered together his servants, seized the thieves, and put them in bonds. The ass replied, I am a citizen, and you a country boor; what judge are you of singing? Positively I will sing: what harm will it do you to hear me? In short, the ass began braying, which awakened the gar-dener and the master of the house, who bound them both.”
The parrot having finished this discourse, said to Khojisteh, “My mistress, whosoever doth not act con-formably to circumstances will meet with this fate; I would, therefore, advise you to observe all times. Arise, and go quickly to your friend.” Khojisteh wanted to have gone:—at that instant the cock crowed, and the dawn appearing, her departure was deferred.
death by the hands of Miemun.
WHEN the sun descended into the west, and the moon appeared in the east, Khojisteh went to the parrot, and said, “I have waited on you many nights and go away without accomplishing my desire: preserve thy allegiance to my salt: sprinkle not so much salt upon my wound, but quickly give me leave.” The parrot said, “My mistress, this night I will exert every means in my power, and carry you to your lover. However, if you disco-ver your secret to any one besides myself, con-trive like the daughter of the Emperor of Room, who established her reputation for virtue.” Kho-jisteh asked, “How is that?
The parrot began: “Once on a time there was a king whose dominions bordered on the territory of Room. One day the vizier said to the king: The emperor of Room has a beautiful daughter; it would be well were he to give her in marriage to your majesty. The king was pleased at the vizier's dis-course, and immediately sent an ambassador to the emperor of Room, with valuable presents, and to ask his daughter in marriage. The emperor of Room was not satisfied with the proposal. On that the ambassador returned, without having ef-fected his purpose. The king, with a large army, invaded the territory of Room, and desolated the country. The emperor of Room, being reduced to great straits, gave his daughter to the king. The princess had a son by a former marriage; which circumstance the emperor, her father, charged her never to divulge to the king. When she came to the king's palace, she was continually grieving at being separated from her son. She wanted to contrive some means of discovering the affair to the king. It happened that one day the king having made her a present of a casket full of jewels, she said, My father has a slave very skilful in jewels; if he were now here, he would discriminate mi-nutely between the good and the bad. The king said, If I were to ask that slave of your father, would he part with him to me? She answered, No; because he considers him as his adopted son: but if your majesty is desirous to have him, I will send a merchant with certain tokens from me to him, and who, alluring him by promises of promo-tion, may perhaps engage him to come. Accord-ingly the king sent to Room an intelligent merchant, with articles of trade. The emperor's daughter said privately to the merchant, He is not a slave, but my own son, although, for particular reasons, I have told the king he is a bondman; you must not treat him like a slave. In short, the mer-chant, after some time had elapsed, brought him to the king, who, on beholding his beautiful coun-tenance, and perceiving his good capacity, was greatly pleased, and bestowed on the merchant a dress of state, with other valuable gifts. The youth's mother saw him from a distance, and was delighted with salutations and messages. It hap-pened that one day, when the king went a hunting, the wife called her son into the palace, kissed his head and face, and, bidding adieu to sorrow, con-versed with him freely. The porter being ap-prised of this mystery, entertained unfavourable suspicions; and when the king returned, told him what he had discovered. The king was afflicted, and said to himself, This woman, by practising de-ceit, has brought her lover here. Immediately he entered the haram; the woman, plainly perceiving that the king had learnt the circumstances of the preceding night, said, Why are you thoughtful? The king rejoined, Why should I not be thought-ful? You, by your artifice, have called your gal-lant hither from Room, and have lain with him: what audaciousness and impudence is this? He wanted to have punished her, but was restrained by his affection. He said to himself, I must re-venge myself on this boy. He accordingly said to some one, Take this boy into a private place, and immediately separate his head from his body. The man, when he took him from thence, said to him, O youth! were you not apprised that she is the king's wife, and why did you go in? He said, I am her own son by a former husband; she is my mother; through delicacy she avoided men-tioning it to the king. You have the power either to kill me, or to spare my life; I have told the truth. The executioner, on hearing these words, was filled with compassion, and said to himself, Perhaps this secret will one day be discovered to the king, who may require the boy at my hands, and will then repent. It is, at all events, most adviseable that this boy should not be killed for some time: in short, he did not put him to death. The next day he went to the king and said, I have killed the boy. The king's anger was a little abated, but he had no confidence remaining in his wife. The queen wondered what would be the issue; her son being slain, and her husband's af-fection lost. In the palace was an old woman, who said to the queen, I perceive you are full of thought. She communicated to the old woman the whole of her story. The old woman said, Set your heart at ease; I will contrive it so, that the king will be pleased with you. The queen answered, O mother! only ease this pain, and I will fill your lap and pockets with jewels. In short, one day the old woman perceiving the king thought-ful, said, I observe that your majesty is sad. The king answered, Alas! my mother, I have a pain which cannot be fully described; and which is this—My wife sent to Room for a slave, who is her gallant; I have killed the slave, but cannot prevail on myself to put to death my wife; because my suspicions may be true, or they may be false. The old woman said, I have an amulet; when your wife is asleep, place it on her bosom, and whatever she says in her sleep will be true. The king said, Bring the amulet quickly. The old woman gave it to the king immediately; and then going to the queen, told her, When the king shall place the amulet on your bosom, feign yourself asleep, and tell the whole story truly. After the first watch of the night, the king having placed the amulet on his wife's bosom, she related all the par-ticulars about her former husband, and her son. When the king comprehended the story, he kissed his wife's face and hair, and said, Why did you con-ceal from me this secret? The wife said, Because I was ashamed. The king immediately sent for the murderer, and said, Where is the tomb of the youth you killed? The man answered, I did not kill him; he is still alive. The king was greatly delighted hereat, and immediately ordered the boy to be produced. The man brought him, and when the mother saw her son, she embraced him, and praised God.”
The parrot, having brought the tale to this period, said to Khojisteh, “My mistress, do you also, if any difficulty should occur, assert your own purity. Now arise, and go to your friend.” Kho-jisteh wanted to have gone; instantly the cock crowed, and dawn appearing, her departure was deferred.
It so happened that on that very day Miemun returned from his journey. Upon not seeing the Sharuck, he asked what was become of her? Kho-jisteh had not yet opened her lips in order to have given an answer, when the parrot said, “Require of me a relation of all the adventures of the Sha-ruck and of Khojisteh.” Miemun said, “Speak!” The parrot related to Miemun, from beginning to end, all the particulars of Khojisteh falling in love with the young man, and how the Sharuck was killed by the hands of Khojisteh. Miemun immediately put an end to the life of Khojisteh.