The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night

• Cover of the 1897 Library edition
• Titlepage of the 1897 edition
• Titlepage of the original edition

2. The Jinni seated her under the tree. . . . Presently she raised her gracious head towards the tree-top and saw the two kings
3. I climbed upon the roof. . . . And lo! my fair cousin had gone in to a hideous negro slave
4. Then she came up out of the cistern, and throwing herself upon the Porter’s lap, said, ‘O my lord, O my love, what callest thou this?’
5. He put his mouth to my cheek. . . . But, while kissing me, he bit me so hard a bite that it tore the flesh from my cheek
6. Then the singing-girls beat their tabrets. . . . And the bride was as the full moon when at fullest. . . . Thus they displayed the bride . . . wholly neglecting the Gobbo, who sat moping alone
7. So I bade the page open the box and the Barber laid down the astrolabe, leaving the greater part of my head unpolled; and, sitting on the ground, turned over the scents and incense and aloes-wood and essences till I was well-nigh distraught
8. Then she set out at a run, and he ran after her while she rushed into room after room and rushed out of room after room, my brother scampering after her in a rage of desire
9. Next he kissed her lips and she kissed his and . . . when the two little slave-girls saw their young master go in unto the damsel, Anis al-Jalis, they cried out
10. One night as he laid by her side . . . she awoke and sat upright. . . . When Ghanim heard her words and knew that she was a concubine of the Caliph, he drew back
11. He set his breast against hers; but when he felt waist touch waist his strength failed him, and she . . . threw him to the ground
12. When the vile slave heard this from her, he waxt more enraged and his eyes grew redder: and he came up to her and, smiting her with the sword on her neck, wounded her to the death
13. So at last we lifted up the door; and, going in, found him dead, with his flesh torn into strips and bits and his bones broken. When we saw him in this condition it was grievous to us
14. I stood behind the door . . . and ere I knew it a damsel ran up . . . she had tucked up her trousers to her knees
15. The King . . . being violently enraged, seized a dagger, and was about to strike Taj al-Muluk with it
16. I arose in haste and, drawing the sword from under his head, dealt him a blow that made his head fall from his body. . . . Then she drew a sword . . . and threw herself thereon . . . and she fell to the ground dead
17. While they were thus enjoying themselves, lo! up came a damsel, trembling for fear and said, ‘O my Lady! The Commander of the Faithful’s eunuchs are at the door’
18. And inside she saw a couch spread, whereon was a human form with the wax-candle burning at his head, and the lanthorn at his feet. . . . Then she folded her wings and stood by the bed and, drawing back the coverlid, discovered Kamar al-Zaman’s face
19. Wherein was a saloon and, behold! in the middle of it there were forty old men, well stricken in years, collected together and forming a single ring as they sat round about a lighted fire to which they were doing worship and prostrating themselves
20. One of the Badawin levelled his javelin and would have plunged it into his breast when he cried out . . . and behold! he saw a hand turn the lance away from his breast
21. And repairing to the Caliph’s sitting-saloon planted his scaling ladder and cast his grapnel on to the side of the terrace-roof; then, raising the trap-door, let himself down into the saloon, where he found the eunuchs asleep
22. She drugged a cup with Bhang, and he drank it off and fell upon his back. . . . Ala al-Din went to the King, and finding him lying drugged and helpless, pinioned him fast and manacled and fettered him with chains. . . . Then he wrote a scroll
23. So I mounted on his back, and he flew up with me into the firmament. . . . But as we flew, behold! one clad in green raiment, with streaming tresses and radiant face, holding in his hand a javelin whence flew sparks of fire, accosted me
24. Then I fumigated the vulture with musk, and lo! the Ifrits flocked to me from all sides, saying, ‘At thy service’ (frontispiece)
25. They sat down and she took place on her chair of state, watching them. . . . Then they fell to eating
26. The horse forthwith soared with him high in ether, as it were a bird, and gave not over flying till it disappeared. . . . The King . . . was enraged with sore rage . . . and gave himself up to weeping and keening, he and his wife and daughters and all the folk of the city
27. There came up to him a serpent as big as a mule, bearing on its back a tray of gold, wherein lay another serpent which shone like crystal and whose face was as that of a woman and who spake with human speech
28. And they saw lying at full length upon the throne our lord Solomon . . . his right hand was passed over his breast, and on the middle finger was the seal-ring whose lustre outshone that of all other gems in the place. . . . Then he (Affan) went up to the throne, but as he drew near unto it, lo! a mighty serpent came forth from beneath it and cried out at him with so terrible a cry that the whole place trembled and sparks flew from its mouth (frontispiece)
29. They all rejoiced with exceeding joy, and King Shahlan took horse and rode out, commanding all his guards and Ifrits and Marids honourably to meet the Prince . . . and . . . brought him in great state to the castle
30. So he took him up, shrieking for fear, and flew with him to Janshah, who hade the four Marids bind him on the litter and hang him liigh in the air over his camp, that he miglit witness the slaughter of his men
31. So I threw the devil off my shoulders . . . and fearing lest he should shake off his drunkenness and do me a mischief . . . I took up a great stone from among the trees and coming up to him smote him therewith on the head with all my might, and crushed in his skull as he lav dead drunk
32. He took me on his back and flew up with me so high in air, that I heard the angels glorifying God
33. They came to the chief market-place . . . and found all its shops open . . . and they beheld the merchants sitting on the shop-boards dead
34. Then the Moor took the two caskets and conjured over them both . . . till the two caskets flew in sunder, the fragments flying about, and there came forth two men, with pinioned hands
35. Behold, the water disappeared and uncovered the river-bed, and discovered the door of the treasure. . . . There came forth a figure with a drawn sword, who said to him, ‘Stretch forth thy neck’
36. They hastened to skin the Infidel and roasted him and brought him to the Ghul, who ate his flesh and crunched his bones
37. The two Marids, after catching up Gharib and Sahim in their sleep, carried them to Mura’ash, King of the Jann, whom they saw seated on the throne of his kingship, as he were a huge mountain, with four heads on his body, the first that of a lion, the second that of an elephant, the third that of a panther, and the fourth that of a lynx. . . . They brought a brazier of gold and setting it before him, kindled therein fire and cast on drugs
38. So the two Marids flew aloft. . . . Kaylajan came forward, caught up the Prince and Kurajan snatched up the King, and the twain flew back with them to Gharib
39. They found Gharib standing at the gate, clad in complete war-gear. . . . They ran at him, but he fell on them like a rending lion . . . slaying of them much people. . . . When the night came they . . . would have taken him by strenuous effort, when, behold! there descended upon the Infidels a thousand Marids
40. Then he took up a cup of water, and conjuring over it, sprinkled Ali with somewhat thereof, saying, ‘Take thou shape of bear;’ whereupon he instantly became a bear, and the Jew put a collar about his neck, muzzled him, and chained him to a picket of iron. Then he sat down and ate and drank
41. Thereupon the two walked down to the sea-shore and the Princess stood on the beach, whilst the Prince waded in the water to his waist and laying his hand with the ring on the surface of the sea . . . the coffer of alabaster rose to the surface
42. But the damsel he loved sought for her plumage that she might put it on, but found it not; whereupon she shrieked and beat her cheeks
43. The old woman set Hasan a couch of alabaster . . . by the river-side, and he sat down thereon, having first bound his face with a chin-kerchief, that discovered naught of him but his eyes. . . . So the whole army mustered before her and putting off their clothes went down into the stream
44. Smiting the earth with the rod . . . the earth clave asunder and out came ten Ifrits, with their feet in the bowels of the earth and their heads in the clouds
45. Their Queen and her chief officers and the grandees of her realm were captive ta’en . . . The Seven Kings . . . set thereby a throne of ivory
46. So Khalifah rose forthright, and casting his net into the Tigris drew up a great cat-fish the bigness of a lamb. . . . He carried it to the ape
47. So the Captain set the sack in the boat and paddled till he came unto the palace, where he saw the King seated at the lattice
48. He gave not over tugging at the net till blood came from the palms of his hands, and when he got it ashore, he saw a man in it, and took him for one of the Ifrits of the lord Solomon . . . wherefore he fled from him
49. There came to him a damsel with a face like the rondure of the moon and hair long, hips heavy, eyes black-edged and waist slender; but she was naked and had a tail. . . . In came the Merman’s wife, who was beautiful of form and favour, and with her two children
50. He emptied the cup behind the pillow and laid down. . . . Then, taking a sharp knife, she went in to him
51. Taking up a lump of granite, I . . . hurled it at the dragon. It smote him on the head and crushed it, and ere I knew, the white snake changed and became a young girl bright with beauty and loveliness and brilliancy and perfect grace
52. So they aligned the idols in a Diwan, setting my father’s idol on a chair of gold at the upper end . . . he went up to the idol and dealt it a cuff on the neck, that it fell to the ground, whereupon the King waxed wrath
53. Suddenly and unexpectedly there came to me the Red King’s daughter . . . she seized me, and pulling out a whip, flogged me till I fainted away
54. Now while he sat weeping, behold, the wall clave and there came forth to him therefrom one of tall stature, whose aspect caused his body-pile to bristle and his flesh to creep
55. Then they entered the Cathedral-mosque and prayed the noon-prayers, and what was left him of the thousand gold pieces he scattered on the heads of the worshippers
56. So the Jinni signed with his hand to the ground, which clave asunder . . . presently, there came forth young boys full of grace and fair of face, bearing golden baskets filled with gold
57. She dealt him a kick, her foot striking him full in the stomach, and he fell over on his back senseless; whereupon she cried out to her attendants, who came to her in haste
58. As he looked, behold, he caught sight of an earthern pan lying arsy-versy upon its mouth; so he raised it from the ground and found under it a horse’s tail, freshly cut off and the blood oozing from it; whereby he knew that the Cook adulterated his meat with horseflesh
59. Accordingly, he dug him up and pulled him forth of the grave. . . . Then he tied the dead man’s legs and laid on to him with the staff and beat him a grievous beating; but the body never budged
60. Presently, she set it aside and taking the lute, tightened its strings. . . . Then she turned and saw within the chamber an old man, handsome in his hoariness and stately of semblance
61. Up came the guards and eunuchs escorting the women, who were weeping and shrieking and farewelling one another. . . . Now each of them was shackled
62. She had only began when appeared to her one of the Jann . . . she fell to the ground oppressed by her affright
63. She beheld a man crying, ‘Ho! who will exchange old lamps for new lamps?’ and the little ones pursuing and laughing at him
64. Then the twain dug up from the grave a corpse which had been newly buried, and the Ghul and my wife Aminah tore off pieces of the flesh which she ate, making merry the while and chatting with her companion
65. But the unhappy man ran full tilt against the Captain, who stood in front of the band, and felled him to the ground; whereupon a robber standing near his chief at once bared his brand and with one cut clave Kasim clean in twain
66. And lastly he handed to me the slipper, which was exceeding long and broad and heavy. . . . So I took it up and fared forth
67. Then I stripped him of all his clothing, and drawing forth a calf’s tail . . . I beat him till I stripped him of his skin and he lost his senses
68. Then lo and behold! a wall a-middlemost the chamber clave asunder, and there issued forth the cleft a Basilisk resembling a log of palm-tree, and he was blowing like the storm-blast and his eyes were as cressets and he came on wriggling and waving
69. ‘Rise and fill me an ewer with water; then mount therewith to the terrace-roof and pour down the contents round and about the house, after which come down to me.’ The youth did his bidding . . . when, lo and behold! the site had become an island a-middlemost a main dashing with clashing billows
70. He retired and clomb the branches of a tree. . . . But as regards the Princess, she ceased not to roam about the Emir Salamah’s garden until there approached her two score of snow-white birds
71. Thereupon he donned a closely-woven mail-coat and armed himself with the magical scymitar and spear; then, taking the skins of animals freshly slain, he made a hood and vizor thereof and wrapped strips of the same around his arms and legs that no harm from the sea might enter his frame. . . . And as soon as he touched bottom he was confronted by the Ifrit

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