The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, vol 14 by Sir Richard Francis Burton (best book clubs .TXT) 📖
- Author: Sir Richard Francis Burton
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youth! And when the mother saw thee she took from thee a piece of cloth and brought it to her daughter and promised thou shouldst visit her. Thence-forwards she ceased not repeating her calls to thee for the period thou wottest well until by her cunning she brought thee hither; and that happened which happened and thou didst take the daughter to wife. Such is her tale and beware lest thou reveal my disclosure.” “No, by Allah,” replied I. Then the lunatic resumed speaking to the Sultan:—O my lord, I continued to cohabit with her for the space of one month, going daily to see my mother and to sell in my shop and I returned to my wife every evening blindfolded and guided as usual by my mother-in-law. Now one day of the days as I was sitting at my business, a damsel came into the Bazar-street.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night and that was The Three Hundred and Fifty-third Night, Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!” She replied, “With love and good will!” It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the youth continued:—A damsel came into the Bazar-street bearing the image of a cock made of precious ore and crusted with pearls and rubies and other gems; and she offered it to the goodmen[FN#91] of the market for sale. So they opened the biddings at five hundred dinars and they ceased not contending[FN#92] thereanent till the price went up to nine hundred and fifty gold pieces. All this time and I looked on nor did I interfere by speaking a syllable or by adding to the biddings a single bit of gold. At last, when none would offer aught more, the girl came up to me and said, “O
my lord, all the gentlemen have increased their biddings for the cock; but thou hast neither bidden nor heartened my heart by one kind word.” Quoth I, “I have no need thereof;” and quoth she, “By Allah, needs must thou bid somewhat more than the others.” I replied, “Since there is no help for it, I will add fifty dinars which will fill up the thousand.” She rejoined, “Allah gar thee gain!”[FN#93] So I fared into my shop to fetch the money, saying in my mind, “I will present this curiosity to my Harim: haply ‘twill pleasure her.” But when I was about, O my lord the Sultan, to count out the thousand ducats, the damsel would not accept aught of me but said, “I have a request to make of thee, O youth!
to wit, that I may take one kiss from thy cheek.” I asked her, “For what purpose?” and she answered, “I want one kiss of thy cheek which shall be the price of my cock, for I need of thee naught else.” I thought to myself, “By Allah, a single kiss of my cheek for the value of a thousand sequins were an easy price;”
and I gave my consent thereto, O my lord. Then she came up to me and leaned over me and bussed my cheek, but after the kiss she bit me with a bite which left its mark:[FN#94] then she gave me the cock and went her ways in haste. Now when it was noon I made for my wife’s house and came upon the old woman awaiting me at the customed stead and she bound the kerchief over my eyes and after blindfolding them fared with me till we reached our home when she unbound it. I found my wife sitting in the saloon dressed from head to foot in cramoisy[FN#95] and with an ireful face, whereupon I said to myself, “O Saviour,[FN#96] save me!” I then went up to her and took out the cock which was covered with pearls and rubies, thinking that her evil humour would vanish at the sight of it and said, “O my lady, accept this cock for ‘tis curious and admirable to look upon; and I bought it to pleasure thee.” She put forth her hand and taking it from me examined it by turning it rightwards and leftwards; then exclaimed, “Didst thou in very sooth buy this on my account?” Replied I, “By Allah, O my lady, I bought it for thee at a thousand gold pieces.”
Hereupon she shook her head at me, O my lord the Sultan, and cried out after a long look at my face, “What meaneth that bite on thy cheek?” Then with a loud and angry voice she called to her women who came down the stairs forthright bearing the body of a young girl with the head cut off and set upon the middle of the corpse;[FN#97] and I looked and behold, it was the head of the damsel who had sold me the cock for a kiss and who had bitten my cheek. Now my wife had sent her with the toy by way of trick, saying to her, “Let us try this youth whom I have wedded and see if he hold himself bound by his plighted word and pact or if he be false and foul.” But of all this I knew naught. Then she cried a second cry and behold, up came
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