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IntroductionIntroductory Note
Introductory Note
"The Thousand and One Nights" is one of the great story-books of the
world. It was introduced to European readers by the French scholar Galland,
who discovered the Arabic original and translated it into French in the first
decade of the eighteenth century; but its earlier history is still involved in
obscurity. There existed as early as the tenth century of our era a Persian
collection of a thousand tales, enclosed in a framework which is practically
the one used in the present collection, telling of a King who was in the habit
of killing his wives after the first night, and who was led to abandon this
practise by the cleverness of the Wezir`s daughter, who nightly told him a
tale which she left unfinished at dawn, so that his curiosity led him to spare
her till the tale should be completed. Whether more than the framework of the
Arabian collection was borrowed from this Persian work is uncertain. The tales
in the collection of Galland and in more complete editions discovered since
his time are chiefly Persian, Indian, and Arabian in source, and in ultimate
origin come from all the ends of the earth. No two manuscripts have precisely
the same contents, and some of the most famous of the tales here printed are
probably not properly to be regarded as belonging to the collection, but owe
their association with the others to their having been included by Galland.
Thus "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" is found in no Oriental version of the
"Nights," and "`Ala-ed-Din and the Wonderful Lamp" was long supposed to be in
the same situation, though within recent years it has turned up in two
manuscripts.
Both the place and the date of the original compilation are still matters
of dispute among scholars. From such evidences as the detailed nature of the
references to Cairo and the prevailing Mohammedan background, Lane argued that
it must have been put together in Egypt; but this opinion is by no means
universally accepted. As to date, estimates vary by several centuries. Burton,
who believed in a strong Persian element, thought that some of the oldest
tales, such as that of "Sindibad," might be as old as the eighth century of
our era; some thirteen he dated tenth century, and the latest in the
sixteenth. There is a fair amount of agreement on the thirteenth century as
the date of arrangement in the present framework, though they were probably
not committed to writing till some two centuries later.
Of a collection of fables, fairy-stories, and anecdotes of historical
personages such as this, there can, of course, be no question of a single
author. Both before and after they were placed in the mouth of Shahrazad, they
were handed down by oral recitation, the usual form of story-telling among the
Arabs. As in the case of our own popular ballads, whatever marks of individual
authorship any one story may originally have borne, would be obliterated in
the course of generations of tradition by word of mouth. Of the personality of
an original editor or compiler, even, we have no trace. Long after writing had
to some extent fixed their forms, the oral repetition went on; and some of
them could be heard in Mohammedan countries almost down to our own times.
[See Shahrazad: Shahrazad relating a story to the Sultan.]
In the two hundred years of their currency in the West, the stories of
the "Nights" have engrafted themselves upon European culture. They have made
the fairy-land of the Oriental imagination and the mode of life of the
medieval Arab, his manners and his morals, familiar to young and old; and
allusions to their incidents and personages are wrought into the language and
literature of all the modern civilized peoples. Their mark is found upon music
and painting as well as on letters and the common speech, as is witnessed by
such diverse results of their inspiration as the music of Rimsky-Korsakoff,
the illustrations of Parrish, and the marvelous idealization of their
background and atmosphere in Tennyson`s "Recollections of the Arabian Nights,"
"Barmecide Feast," "Open Sesame," "Old Lamps for New," "Solomon`s Seal," "The
Old Man of the Sea," "The Slave of the Lamp," "The Valley of Diamonds," "The
Roc`s Egg," Haroun al-Raschid and his "Garden of Delight," - these and many
more phrases and allusions of every-day occurrence suggest how pervasive has
been the influence of this wonder-book of the mysterious East.
[Hear Scheherazade]
"Scheherazade Symphony Suite" Op.35, by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Op.35.
The Sea and Sinbad`s Ship motive from the first movement.
[Hear Fanfare]
From the second movement of the "Scheherazade Symphony Suite".
The translation by E. W. Lane used here has been the standard English
version for general reading for eighty years. The translations of "`Ali Baba"
and "`Ala-ed-Din" are by S. Lane-Poole and for permission to use the latter we
are indebted to Messrs. G. P. Putnam`s Sons.
Writer`s Introduction
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
Praise be to God, the Beneficent King, the Creator of the universe, who
hath raised the heavens without pillars, and spread out the earth as a bed;
and blessing and peace be on the lord of apostles, our lord and our master
Mohammad, and his Family; blessing and peace, enduring and constant, unto the
day of judgment.
To proceed: - The lives of former generations are a lesson to posterity;
that a man may review the remarkable events which have happened to others, and
be admonished; and may consider the history of people of preceding ages, and
of all that hath befallen them, and be restrained. Extolled be the perfection
of Him who hath thus ordained the history of former generahions to be a lesson
to those which follow. Such are the Tales of a Thousand and One Nights, with
their romantic stories and their fables.
It is related (but God alone is all-knowing, as well as all-wise, and
almighty, and all-bountiful), that there was, in ancient times, a King of
the countries of India and China, possessing numerous troops, and guards, and
servants, and domestic dependents; and he had two sons; one of whom was a man
of mature age; and the other, a youth. Both of these princes were brave
horsemen; but especially the elder, who inherited the kingdom of his father,
and governed his subjects with such justice that the inhabitants of his
country and whole empire loved him. He was called King Shahriyar: his younger
brother was named Shah-Zeman,^1 and was King of Samarkand. The administration
of their governments was conducted with rectitude, each of them ruling
over his subjects with justice during a period of twenty years with the
utmost enjoyment and happiness. After this period, the elder King felt a
strong desire to see his brother, and ordered his Wezir^2 to repair to him and
bring him.
[Footnote 1: Shahriyar, "Friend of the City;" Shah-Zeman, "King of the
Age."]
[Footnote 2: In Persian and Turkish, Vezir; popular, Vizier.]
Having taken the advice of the Wezir on this subject, he immediately gave
orders to prepare handsome presents, such as horses adorned with gold and
costly jewels, and memluks,^3 and beautiful virgins, and expensive stuffs. He
then wrote a letter to his brother, expressive of his great desire to see him;
and having sealed it, and given it to the Wezir, together with the presents
above mentioned, he ordered the minister to strain his nerves, and tuck up his
skirts, and use all expedition in returning. The Wezir answered, without
delay, I hear and obey; and forthwith prepared for the journey: he packed his
baggage, removed the burdens, and made ready all his provisions within three
days; and on the fourth day, he took leave of the King Shahriyar, and went
forth towards the deserts and wastes. He proceeded night and day; and each of
the kings under the authority of King Shahriyar by whose residence he passed
came forth to meet him, with costly presents, and gifts of gold and silver,
and entertained him three days; after which, on the fourth day, he accompanied
him one day`s journey, and took leave of him. Thus he continued on his way
until he drew near to the city of Samarkand, when he sent forward a messenger
to inform King Shah-Zeman of his approach. The messenger entered the city,
inquired the way to the palace, and, introducing himself to the King, kissed
the ground before him, and acquainted him with the approach of his brother`s
Wezir; upon which Shah-Zeman ordered the chief officers of his court, and
the great men of his kingdom, to go forth a day`s journey to meet him; and
they did so; and when they met him, they welcomed him, and walked by his
stirrups until they returned to the city. The Wezir then presented himself
before the King Shah-Zeman, greeted him with a prayer for he divine
assistance in his favour, kissed the ground before him, and informed him of
his brother`s desire to see him; after which he handed to him the letter. The
King took it, read it, and understood its contents; and answered by expressing
his readiness to obey the commands of his brother. But, said he (addressing
the Wezir), I will not go until I have entertained thee three days.
Accordingly, he lodged him in a palace befitting his rank, accommodated his
troops in tents, and appointed them all things requisite in the way of food
and drink: and so they remained three days. On the fourth day, he equipped
himself for the journey, made ready his baggage, and collected together costly
presents suitable to his brother`s dignity.
[Footnote 3: Male white slaves.]
These preparations being completed, he sent forth his tents and camels
and mules and servants and guards, appointed his Wezir to be governor of the
country during his absence, and set out towards his brother`s dominions. At
midnight, however, he remembered that he had left in his palace an article
which he should have brought with him; and having returned to the palace to
fetch it, he there beheld his wife sleeping in his bed, and attended by a male
negro slave, who had fallen asleep by her side.
On beholding this scene, the world became black before his eyes; and he
said within himself, If this is the case when I have not departed from the
city, what will be the conduct of this vile woman while I am sojourning with
my brother? He then drew this sword, and slew them both in the bed: after
which he immediately returned, gave orders for departure, and journeyed to his
brother`s capital.
Shahriyar, rejoicing at the tidings of his approach, went forth to meet
him, saluted him, and welcomed him with the utmost delight. He then ordered
that the city should be decorated on the occasion, and sat down to entertain
his brother with cheerful conversation: but the mind of King Shah-Zeman was
distracted by reflections upon the conduct of his wife; excessive grief took
possession of him; and his countenance became sallow; and his frame emaciated.
His brother observed his altered condition, and, imagining that it was
occasioned by his absence from his dominions, abstained from troubling him or
asking respecting the cause, until after the lapse of some days, when at
length he said to him, O my brother, I perceive that thy body is emaciated,
and thy countenance is become sallow. He answered, O brother, I have an
internal sore: - and he informed him not of the conduct of his wife which he
had witnessed. Shahriyar then said, I wish that thou wouldest go out with me
on a hunting excursion; perhaps thy mind might so be diverted: - but he
declined; and Shahriyar went alone to the chase.
Now there were some windows in the King`s palace commanding a view of his
garden; and while his brother was looking out from one of these, a door of the
palace was opened, and there came forth from it twenty females and twenty male
black slaves; and the King`s wife, who was distinguished by extraordinary
beauty and elegance, accompanied them to a fountain, where they all disrobed
themselves, and sat down together. The King`s wife then called out, O Mes`ud!
and immediately a black slave came to her, and embraced her; she doing the
like. So also did the other slaves and the women; and all of them continued
revelling together until the close of the day. When Shah-Zeman beheld this
spectacle he said within himself, By Allah! my affliction is lighter than
this! His vexation and grief were alleviated, and he no longer abstained from
sufficient food and drink.
When his brother returned from his excursion, and they had saluted each
other, and King Shahriyar observed his brother Shah-Zeman, that his colour
had returned, that his face had recovered the flush of health and that he ate
with appetite, after his late abstinence, he was surprised, and said, O my
brother, when I saw thee last, thy countenance was sallow, and now thy colour
hath returned to thee: acquaint me with thy state. - As to the change of my
natural complexion, answered Shah-Zeman, I will inform thee of its cause;
but excuse my explaining to thee the return of my colour. - First, said
Shahriyar, relate to me the cause of the change of thy proper complexion, and
of thy weakness: let me hear it. - Know then, O my brother, he answered, that
when thou sentest thy Wezir to me to invite me to thy presence, I prepared
myself for the journey, and when I had gone forth from the city, I remembered
that I had left behind me the jewel that I had gone forth from the city, I
remembered that I had left behind me the jewel that I have given thee; I
therefore returned to my palace for it, and there I found my wife sleeping in
my bed, and attended by a black male slave; and I killed them both, and came
to thee: but my mind was occupied by reflections upon this affair, and this
was the cause of the change of my complexion, and of my weakness: now, as to
the return of my colour, excuse my informing thee of its cause. - But when his
brother heard these words, he said, I conjure thee by Allah that thou acquaint
me with the cause of the return of thy colour: - so he repeated to him all
that he had seen. I would see this, said Shahriyar, with my own eye. - Then,
said Shah-Zeman, give out that thou art going again to the chase, and
conceal thyself here with me, and thou shalt witness this conduct, and obtain
ocular proof of it.
Shahriyar, upon this, immediately announced that it was his intention to
make another excursion. The troops went out of the city with the tents, and
the King followed them; and after he had reposed awhile in the camp, he said
to his servants, Let no one come in to me: - and he disguised himself, and
returned to his brother in the palace, and sat in one of the windows
overlooking the garden; and when he had been there a short time, the women and
their mistress entered the garden with the black slaves, and did as his
brother had described, continuing so until the hour of the afternoon - prayer.
When King Shahriyar beheld this occurrence, reason fled from his head,
and he said to his brother, Shah-Zeman, Arise, and let us travel whither we
please, and renounce the regal state, until we see whether such a calamity as
this have befallen any other person like unto us; and if not, our death will
be preferable to our life. His brother agreed to his proposal, and they went
out from a private door of the palace, and journeyed continually, days and
nights, until they arrived at a tree in the midst of a meadow, by a spring of
water, on the shore of the sea. They drank of this spring, and sat down to
rest; and when the day had a little advanced, the sea became troubled before
them, and there arose from it a black pillar, ascending towards the sky, and
approaching the meadow. Struck with fear at the sight, they climbed up into
the tree, which was lofty; and thence they gazed to see what this might be:
and behold, it was a Jinni^4 of gigantic stature, broad-fronted and bulky,
bearing on his head a chest. He landed, and came to the tree into which the
two kings had climbed, and, having seated himself beneath it, opened the
chest, and took out of it another box, which he also opened; and there came
forth from it a young woman, fair and beautiful, like the shining sun. When
the Jinni cast his eyes upon her, he said, O lady of noble race, whom I
carried off on thy wedding-night, I have a desire to sleep a little: and he
placed his head upon her knee, and slept. The damsel then raised her head
towards the tree, and saw there the two Kings; upon which she removed the head
of the Jinni from her knee, and, having placed it on the ground, stood under
the tree, and made signs to the two Kings, as though she would say, Come down,
and fear not this `Efrit. They answered her, We conjure thee by Allah that
thou excuse us in this matter. But she said, I conjure you by the same that ye
come down; and if ye do not, I will rouse this `Efrit, and shall put you to a
cruel death. So, being afraid, they came down to her; and, after they had
remained with her as long as she required, she took from her pocket a purse,
and drew out from this a string, upon which were ninety-eight seal-rings;
and she said to them, Know ye what are these? They answered, We know not. -
The owners of these rings, said she, have, all of them, been admitted to
converse with me, like as ye have, unknown to this foolish `Efrit; therefore,
give me your two rings, ye brothers. So they gave her their two rings from
their fingers; and then she said to them, This `Efrit carried me off on my
wedding-night, and put me in the box, and placed the box in the chest, and
affixed to the chest seven locks, and deposited me thus imprisoned, in the
bottom of the roaring sea, beneath the dashing waves; not knowing that, when
one of our sex desires to accomplish any object, nothing can prevent her. In
accordance with this, says one of the poets:
[See The Captive Princess: The Jinni married her and placed her in prison.]
[Footnote 4: Sing. of Jinn (Genii), being created of fire. The species of Jinn
is said to have been created some thousands of years before Adam. According to
a tradition from the Prophet, this species consists of five orders or classes;
namely, Jann (who are the least powerful of all), Jinn, Sheytans (or Devils),
`Efrits, and Marids. The last, it is added, are the most powerful; and the
Jann are transformed Jinn; like as certain apes and swine were transformed
men. The terms Jinn and Jann, however, are generally used indiscriminately, as
names of the whole species (including the other orders above mentioned),
whether good or bad; the former term in the more common. [Iblis is Satan,
their King.] "Sheytan" is commonly used to signify any evil Jinn. An `Efrit is
a powerful evil Jinni: a Madrid, an evil Jinni of the most powerful class. The
Jinn (but generally speaking, evil ones) are called by the Persians Divs; the
most powerful evil Jinn, Narahs (which signifies "males," though they are said
to be males and females); the good Jinn, Peris, though this term is commonly
applied to females.]
Never trust in women; nor rely upon their vows;
For their pleasure and displeasure depend upon their passions.
They offer a false affection; for perfidy lurks within their clothing.
By the tale of Yusuf be admonished, and guard against their stratagems.
Dost thou not consider that Iblis ejected Adam by means of woman?
And another poet says: -
Abstain from censure; for it will strengthen the censured, and increase desire
into violent passion.
If I suffer such passion, my case is but the same that as of many a man before
me:
For greatly indeed to be wondered at is he who hath kept himself safe from
women`s artifice.
When the two Kings heard these words from her lips they were struck with
the utmost astonishment, and said, one to the other, If this is an `Efrit, and
a greater calamity hath happened unto him than that which hath befallen us,
this is a circumstance that should console us: - and immediately they
departed, and returned to the city.
As soon as they had entered the palace, Shahriyar caused his wife to be
beheaded, and in like manner the women and black slaves; and thenceforth he
made it his regular custom, every time that he took a virgin to his bed, to
kill her at the expiration of the night. Thus he continued to do during a
period of three years; and the people raised an outcry against him, and fled
with their daughters, and there remained not a virgin in the city of a
sufficient age for marriage. Such was the case when the King ordered the Wezir
to bring him a virgin according to his custom; and the Wezir went forth and
searched, and found none; and he went back to his house enraged and vexed,
fearing what the King might do to him.
Now the Wezir had two daughters; the elder of whom was named Shahrazad;
and the younger, Dunyzad. The former had read various books of histories, and
the lives of preceding kings, and stories of past generations: it is asserted
that she had collected together a thousand books of histories, relating to
preceding generations and kings, and works of the poets: and she said to her
father on this occasion, Why do I see thee thus changed, and oppressed with
solicitude and sorrows? It has been said by one of the poets: -
Tell him who is oppressed with anxiety, that anxiety will not last:
As happiness passeth away, so passeth away anxiety.
When the Wezir heard these words from his daughter, he related to her all
that had happened to him with regard to the King: upon which she said, By
Allah, O my father, give me in marriage to this King: either I shall die, and
be a ransom for one of the daughters of the Muslims, or I shall live, and be
the cause of their deliverance from him. I conjure thee by Allah, exclaimed
he, that thou expose not thyself to such peril: - but she said, It must be so.
Then, said he, I fear for thee that the same will befall thee that happened in
the case of the Ass and the Bull and the husbandman. - And what, she asked,
was that, O my father?
Know, O my daughter, said the Wezir, that there was a certain merchant,
who possessed wealth and cattle, and had a wife and children; and God, whose
name be exalted, had also endowed him with the knowledge of the languages of
beasts and birds. The abode of this merchant was in the country; and he had,
in his house, an ass and a bull. When the bull came to the place where the ass
was tied, he found it swept and sprinkled; in his manger were sifted barley
and sifted cut straw, and the ass was lying at his ease; his master being
accustomed only to ride him occasionally, when business required, and soon to
return: and it happened, one day, that the merchant overheard the bull saying
to the ass, May thy food benefit thee! I am oppressed with fatigue, while thou
art enjoying repose: thou eatest sifted barley, and men serve thee; and it is
only occasionally that thy master rides thee, and returns; while I am
continually employed in ploughing, and turning the mill. - The ass answered,
When thou goest out to the field, and they place the yoke upon thy neck, lie
down, and do not rise again, even if they beat thee; or, if thou rise, lie
down a second time; and when they take thee back, and place the beans before
thee, eat them not, as though thou wert sick: abstain from eating and drinking
a day or two days, or three; and so shalt thou find rest from trouble and
labour. - Accordingly, when the driver came to the bull with his fodder, he
ate scarcely any of it; and on the morrow, when the driver came again to take
him to plough, he found him apparently quite infirm: so the merchant said,
Take the ass, and make him draw the plough in his stead all the day. The man
did so; and when the ass returned at the close of the day, the bull thanked
him for the favour he had conferred upon him by relieving him of his trouble
on that day; but the ass returned him no answer, for he repented most
grievously. On the next day, the ploughman came again, and took the ass, and
ploughed with him till evening; and the ass returned with his neck flayed by
the yoke, and reduced to an extreme state of weakness; and the bull looked
upon him, and thanked and praised him. The ass exclaimed, I was living at
ease, and nought but my meddling hath injured me! Then said he to the bull,
Know that I am one who would give thee good advice: I heard our master say, If
the bull rise not from his place, take him to the butcher, that he may kill
him, and make a nat^5 of his skin: - I am therefore in fear for thee, and so I
have given thee advice; and peace be on thee! - When the bull heard these
words of the ass, he thanked him, and said, To-morrow I will go with
alacrity: - so he ate the whole of his fodder, and even licked the manger. -
Their master, meanwhile, was listening to their conversation.
[Footnote 5: Nat`- a large round piece of leather which, spread upon the
ground, serves as a table for dinner, etc.]
On the following morning, the merchant and his wife went to the bull`s
crib, and sat down there; and the driver came, and took out the bull; and when
the bull saw his master, he shook his tail, and showed his alacrity by sounds
and actions, bounding about in such a manner that the merchant laughed until
he fell backwards. His wife, in surprise, asked him, At what dost thou laugh?
He answered, At a thing that I have heard and seen; but I cannot reveal it;
for if I did, I should die. She said, Thou must inform me of the cause of thy
laughter, even if thou die. - I cannot reveal it, said he: the fear of death
prevents me. - Thou laughedst only at me, she said; and she ceased not to urge
and importune him until he was quite overcome and distracted. So he called
together his children and sent for the Kadi and witnesses, that he might make
his will, and reveal the secret to her, and die: for he loved her excessively,
since she was the daughter of his paternal uncle, and the mother of his
children, and he had lived with her to the age of a hundred and twenty years.
Having assembled her family and his neighbours, he related to them his story,
and told them that as soon as he revealed his secret he must die; upon which
every one present said to her, We conjure thee by Allah that thou give up this
affair, and let not thy husband, and the father of thy children, die. But she
said, I will not desist until he tell me, though he die for it. So they ceased
to solicit her; and the merchant left them, and went to the stable to perform
the ablution, and then to return, and tell them the secret, and die.
Now he had a cock, with fifty hens under him, and he had also a dog; and
he heard the dog call to the cock, and reproach him, saying, Art thou happy
when our master is going to die? The cock asked, How so? - and the dog related
to him the story; upon which the cock exclaimed, By Allah! our master has
little sense: I have fifty wives; and I please this, and provoke that; while
he has but one one wife, and cannot manage this affair with her: why does he
not take some twigs of the mulberry tree, and enter her chamber, and beat
her until she dies or repents? She would never, after that ask him a question
respecting anything. - And when the merchant heard the words of the cock, as
he addressed the dog, he recovered his reason, and made up his mind to beat
her. - Now, said the Wezir to his daughter Shahrazad, perhaps I may do to thee
as the merchant did to his wife. She asked, And what did he? He answered, He
entered her chamber after he had cut off some twigs of the mulberry tree,
and hidden them there; and then said to her, Come into the chamber, that I may
tell thee the secret while no one sees me, and then die: - and when she had
entered, he locked the chamber door upon her, and beat her until she became
almost senseless and cried out, I repent: - and she kissed his hands and his
feet, and repented, and went out with him; and all the company, and her own
family, rejoiced; and they lived together in the happiest manner until death.
When the Wezir`s daughter heard the words of her father, she said to him,
It must be as I have requested. So he arrayed her, Shahriyar. Now she had
given directions to her younger sister saying to her, When I have gone to the
King, I will send to request thee to come; and when thou comest to me, and
seest a convenient time, do thou say to me, O my sister, relate to me some
strange story to beguile our waking hour: - and I will relate to thee a story
that shall, if it be the will of God, be the means of procuring deliverance.
Her father, the Wezir, then took her to the King, who, when he saw him,
was rejoiced, and said, Hast thou brought me what I desired? He answered Yes.
When the King, therefore, introduced himself to her, she wept; and he said to
her, What aileth thee? She answered, O King, I Have a young sister, and I wish
to take leave of her. So the King sent to her; and she came to her sister, and
embraced her, and sat near the foot of the bed; and after she had waited for a
proper opportunity, she said, By Allah! O my sister, relate to us a story to
beguile the waking hour of our night. Most willingly, answered Shahrazad, if
this virtuous King permit me. And the King, hearing these words, and being
restless, was pleased with the idea of listening to the story; and thus, on
the first night of the thousand and one, Shahrazad commenced her recitations.
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