There was once in olden time a King of might, Kundamir highs, who
had been a brave and doughty man of war, a Kahramán,
[FN#313] in
his day, but was grown passing old and decrepit. Now it pleased
Allah to vouchsafe him, in his extreme senility, a son, whom he
named Ajíb
[FN#314]--the Wonderful--because of his beauty and
loveliness; so he committed the babe to the midwives and wet-
nurses and handmaids and serving-women, and they reared him till
he was full seven years old, when his father gave him in charge
to a divine of his own folk and faith. The priest taught him the
laws and tenets of their Misbelief and instructed him in
philosophy and all manner of other knowledge, and it needed but
three full told years ere he was proficient therein and his
spirit waxed resolute and his judgment mature; and he became
learned, eloquent and philosophic
[FN#315]; consorting with the
wise and disputing with the doctors of the law. When his father
saw this of him, it pleased him and he taught him to back the
steed and stab with spear and smite with sword, till he grew to
be an accomplished cavalier, versed in all martial exercises;
and, by the end of his twentieth year, he surpassed in all things
all the folk of his day. But his skill in weapons made him grow
up a stubborn tyrant and a devil arrogant, using to ride forth a-
hunting and a-chasing amongst a thousand horsemen and to make
raids and razzias upon the neighbouring knights, cutting off
caravans and carrying away the daughters of Kings and nobles;
wherefore many brought complaints against him to his father, who
cried out to five of his slaves and when they came said, "Seize
this dog!" So they seized Prince Ajib and, pinioning his hands
behind him, beat him by his father's command till he lost his
senses; after which the King imprisoned him in a chamber so dark
one might not know heaven from earth or length from breadth; and
there he abode two days and a night. Then the Emirs went in to
the King and, kissing the ground between his hands, interceded
with him for the Prince, and he released him. So Ajib bore with
his father for ten days, at the end of which he went in to him as
he slept by night and smote his neck. When the day rose, he
mounted the throne of his sire's estate and bade his men arm
themselves cap-à-pie in steel and stand with drawn swords in
front of him and on his right hand and on his left. By and by,
the Emirs and Captains entered and finding their King slain and
his son Ajib seated on the throne were confounded in mind and
knew not what to do. But Ajib said to them, "O folk, verily ye
see what your King hath gained. Whoso obeyeth me, I will honour
him, and whoso gainsayeth me I will do with him that which I did
with my sire." When they heard these words they feared lest he do
them a mischief; so they replied, "Thou art our King and the son
of our King;" and kissed ground before him; whereupon he thanked
them and rejoiced in them. Then he bade bring forth money and
apparel and clad them in sumptuous robes of honour and showered
largesse upon them, wherefore they all loved him and obeyed him.
In like manner he honoured the governors of the Provinces and the
Shaykhs of the Badawin, both tributary and independent, so that
the whole kingdom submitted to him and the folk obeyed him and he
reigned and bade and forbade in peace and quiet for a time of
five months. One Night, however, he dreamed a dream as he lay
slumbering; whereupon he awoke trembling, nor did sleep visit him
again till the morning. As soon as it was dawn he mounted his
throne and his officers stood before him, right and left. Then he
called the oneiromants and the astrologers and said to them
"Expound to me my dream!" "What was the dream?" asked they; and
he answered, "As I slept last Night, I saw my father standing
before me, with his yard uncovered, and there came forth of it a
thing the bigness of a bee, which grew till it became as a mighty
lion, with claws like hangers. As I lay wondering at this lo! it
ran upon me and smiting me with its claws, rent my belly in
sunder; whereupon I awoke startled and trembling. So expound ye
to me the meaning of this dream." The interpreters looked one at
other; and, after considering, said, "O mighty King, this dream
pointeth to one born of thy sire, between whom and thee shall
befal strife and enmity, wherein he shall get the better of thee:
so be on thy guard against him, by reason of this thy vision."
When Ajib heard their words, he said, "I have no brother whom I
should fear; so this your speech is mere lying." They replied,
"We tell thee naught save what we know;" but he was an angered
with them and bastinadoed them. Then he rose and, going in to the
paternal palace, examined his father's concubines and found one
of them seven months gone with child; whereupon he gave an order
to two of his slaves, saying, "Take this damsel, ye twain, and
carry her to the sea-shore and drown her." So they took her
forthright and, going to the sea-shore, designed to drown her,
when they looked at her and seeing her to be of singular beauty
and loveliness said to each other, "Why should we drown this
damsel? Let us rather carry her to the forest and live with her
there in rare love-liasse." Then they took her and fared on with
her days and nights till they had borne her afar off and had
brought her to a bushy forest, abounding in fruit-trees and
streams, where they both thought at the same time to win their
will of her; but each said, "I will have her first." So they fell
out one with the other concerning this, and while so doing a
company of blackamoors came down upon them, and they drew their
swords and both sides fell to laying on load. The mellay waxed
hot with cut and thrust; and the two slaves fought their best;
but the blacks slew them both in less than the twinkling of an
eye. So the damsel abode alone and wandered about the forest,
eating of its fruits and drinking of its founts, till in due time
she gave birth to a boy, brown but clean limbed and comely, whom
she named Gharíb, the Stranger, by reason of her strangerhood.
Then she cut his navel-string and wrapping him in some of her own
clothes, gave him to suck, harrowed at heart, and with vitals
sorrowing for the estate she had lost and its honour and solace.
And Shahrazed perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say,
When it was the Six Hundred and Twenty-fifth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the damsel
abode in the bush harrowed at heart and a-sorrowed; but she
suckled her babe albeit she was full of grief and fear for her
loneliness. Now behold, one day, there came horsemen and footmen
into the forest with hawks and hounds and horses laden with
partridges and cranes and wild geese and divers and other
waterfowl; and young ostriches and hares and gazelles and wild
oxen and lynxes and wolves and lions.
[FN#316] Presently, these
Arabs entered the thicket and came upon the damsel, sitting with
her child on her breast a-suckling him: so they drew near and
asked her, "Say art thou a mortal or a Jinniyah?" Answered she,
"I am a mortal, O Chiefs of the Arabs." Thereupon they told their
Emir, whose name was Mardás, Prince of the Banú Kahtán,
[FN#317]
and who had come forth that day to hunt with five hundred of his
cousins and the nobles of his tribe, and who in the course of the
chase had happened upon her. He bade them bring her before him,
which they did and she related to him her past from first to
last, whereat he marvelled. Then he cried to his kinsmen and
escort to continue the chase, after which they took her and
returned to their encampment, where the Emir appointed her a
separate dwelling-place and five damsels to serve her; and he
loved her with exceeding love and went in to her and lay with
her. She conceived by him straightway, and, when her months were
accomplished, she bare a man child and named him Sahím al-
Layl.
[FN#318] He grew up with his brother Gharib among the nurses
and throve and waxed upon the lap of the Emir Mardas who, in due
time committed the two boys to a Fakih for instruction in the
things of their faith; after which he gave them in charge to
valiant knights of the Arabs, for training them to smite with
sword and lunge with lance and shoot with shaft; so by the time
they reached the age of fifteen, they knew all they needed and
surpassed each and every brave of their tribe; for Gharib would
undertake a thousand horse and Sahim al-Layl no fewer. Now Mardas
had many enemies, and the men of his tribe were the bravest of
all the Arabs, being doughty cavaliers, none might warm himself
at their fire.
[FN#319] In his neighbourhood was an Emir of the
Arabs, Hassan bin Sábit hight, who was his intimate friend; and
he took to wife a noble lady of his tribe and bade all his
friends to the wedding, amongst them Mardas lord of the Banu
Kahtan, who accepted his invitation and set forth with three
hundred riders of his tribe, leaving other four hundred to guard
the women. Hassan met him with honour and seated him in the
highest stead. Then came all the cavaliers to the bridal and he
made them bride-feasts and held high festival by reason of the
marriage, after which the Arabs departed to their dwelling-
places. When Mardas came in sight of his camp, he saw slain men
lying about and birds hovering over them right and left; and his
heart sank within him at the sight. Then he entered the camp and
was met by Gharib, clad in complete suit of ring-mail, who gave
him joy of his safe return. Quoth Mardas, "What meaneth this
case, O Gharib?"; and quoth Gharib, "Al-Hamal bin Májid attacked
us with five hundred horsemen of his tribe." Now the reason of
this was that the Emir Mardas had a daughter called Mahdíyah,
seer never saw fairer than she, and Al-Hamal, lord of the Banu
Nabhán,
[FN#320] heard of her charms; whereupon he took horse with
five hundred of his men and rode to Mardas to demand her hand;
but he was not accepted and was sent away disappointed.
[FN#321]
So he awaited till Mardas was absent on his visit to Hassan, when
he mounted with his champions and, falling upon the camp of the
Banu Kahtan, slew a number of their knights and the rest fled to
the mountains. Now Gharib and his brother had ridden forth a-
hunting and chasing with an hundred horse and returned not till
midday, when they found that Al-Hamal had seized the camp and all
therein and had carried off the maidens, among whom was Mahdiyah,
driving her away with the captives. When Gharib saw this, he lost
his wits for rage and cried out to Sahim, saying, "O my brother,
O son of an accursed dam,
[FN#322] they have plundered our camp
and carried off our women and children! Up and at the enemy, that
we may deliver the captives!" So Gharib and Sahim and their
hundred horse rushed upon the foe, and Gharib's wrath redoubled,
and he reaped a harvest of heads slain, giving the champions
death-cup to drain, till he won to Al-Hamal and saw Mahdiyah
among the captives. Then he drave at the lord of the Banu Nabhan
braves; with his lance lunged him and from his destrier hurled
him; nor was the time of mid-afternoon prayer come before he had
slain the most part of the foe and put to rout the rest and
rescued the captives; whereupon he returned to the camp in
triumph, bearing the head of Al-Hamal on the point of his lance
and improvising these couplets,
"I am he who is known on the day of fight,
And the Jinn of
earth at my shade take fright:
And a sword have I when my right hand wields,
Death hastens
from left on mankind to alight;
I have eke a lance and who look thereon
See a crescent head of
the liveliest light.[FN#323]
And Gharib I'm highs of my tribe the brave
And if few my men I
feel naught affright."
Hardly had Gharib made an end of these verses when up came Mardas
who, seeing the slain and the vultures, was sore troubled and
with fluttering heart asked the cause. The youth, after due
greetings, related all that had befallen the tribe in his step-
sire's absence. So Mardas thanked him and said, "Thou hast well
requited our fosterage-pains in rearing thee, O Gharib!"; then he
alighted and entered his pavilion, and the men stood about him,
all the tribe praising Gharib and saying, "O our Emir, but for
Gharib, not one of the tribe had been saved!" And Mardas again
thanked him.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
to say her permitted say,
When it was the Six Hundred and Twenty-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Mardas,
hearing the tribesmen's praises of Gharib, again thanked him for
his derring-do. But the youth, when he had delivered Mahdiyah
from Al-Hamal whom he slew, was smitten by the shaft of her
glances and fell into the nets of her allurements, wherefore his
heart could not forget her and he became drowned in love and
longing and the sweets of sleep forsook him and he had no joy of
drink or meat. He would spur his horse up to the mountain tops,
where he would spend the day in composing verses and return at
nightfall; and indeed manifest upon him were the signs of
affection and distraction. He discovered his secret to one of his
companions and it became noised abroad in the camp, till it
reached the ears of Mardas, who thundered and lightened and rose
up and sat down and sparked and snorted and reviled the sun and
the moon, saying, "This is the reward of him who reareth the sons
of adultery! But except I kill Gharib, I shall be put to
shame.''
[FN#324] Then he consulted one of the wise men of his
tribe and after telling his secret took counsel with him of
killing the youth. Quoth the elder, "O Emir, 'twas but yesterday
that he freed thy daughter from captivity. If there be no help
for it but thou must slay him, let it be by the hand of another
than thyself, so none of the folk may misdoubt of thee." Quoth
Mardas, "Advise me how I may do him die, for I look to none but
to thee for his death." "O Emir," answered the other, "wait till
he go forth to hunt and chase, when do thou take an hundred horse
and lie in wait for him in some cave till he pass; then fall upon
him unawares and cut him in pieces, so shalt thou be quit of his
reproach." Said Mardas, "This should serve me well;" and chose
out an hundred and fifty of his furious knights and
Amalekites
[FN#325] whom he lessoned to his will. Then he watched
Gharib till one day, he went forth to hunt and rode far away
amongst the dells and hills; whereupon Mardas followed him with
his men, ill-omened wights, and lay in wait for him by the way
against he should return from the chase that they might sally
forth and slay him. But as they lay in ambush among the trees
behold, there fell upon them five hundred true Amalekites, who
slew sixty of them and made fourscore and ten prisoners and
trussed up Mardas with his arms behind his back. Now the reason
of this was that when Gharib put Al-Hamal and his men to the
sword, the rest fled and ceased not flying till they reached
their lord's brother and told him what had happened, whereat his
Doom-day rose and he gathered together his Amalekites and
choosing out five hundred cavaliers, each fifty ells
high,
[FN#326] set out with them in quest of blood-revengement for
his brother. By the way he fell in with Mardas and his companions
and there happened between them what happened; after which he
bade his men alight and rest, saying, "O folk, the idols have
given us an easy brood-wreak; so guard ye Mardas and his
tribesmen, till I carry them away and do them die with the
foulest of deaths." When Mardas saw himself a prisoner, he
repented of what he had done and said, "This is the reward of
rebelling against the Lord!" Then the enemy passed the night
rejoicing in their victory, whilst Mardas and his men despaired
of life and made sure of doom. So far concerning them; but as
regards Sahim al-Layl, who had been wounded in the fight with Al-
Hamal, he went in to his sister Mahdiyah, and she rose to him and
kissed his hands, saying, "May thy two hands ne'er wither nor
shine enemies have occasion to be blither! But for thee and
Gharib, we had not escaped captivity among our foes. Know,
however, O my brother, that thy father hath ridden forth with an
hundred and fifty horse, purposing to slaughter Gharib; and thou
wottest it would be sore loss and foul wrong to slay him, for
that it was he who saved your shame and rescued your good." When
Sahim heard this, the light in his sight became Night, he donned
his battle-harness; and, mounting steed, rode for the place where
Gharib was a-hunting. He presently came up with him and found
that he had taken great plenty of game; so he accosted him and
saluted him and said, "O my brother, why didst thou go forth
without telling me?" Replied Gharib, "By Allah, naught hindered
me but that I saw thee wounded and thought to give thee rest."
Then said Sahim, "O my brother, beware of my sire!" and told him
how Mardas was abroad with an hundred and fifty men, seeking to
slay him. Quoth Gharib, "Allah shall cause his treason to cut his
own throat." Then the brothers set out campwards, but night
overtook them by the way and they rode on in the darkness, till
they drew near the Wady wherein the enemy lay and heard the
neighing of steeds in the gloom; whereupon said Sahim, "O my
brother, my father and his men are ambushed in yonder valley; let
us flee from it." But Gharib dismounted and throwing his bridle
to his brother, said to him, "Stay in this stead till I come back
to thee." Then he went on till he drew in sight of the folk, when
he saw that they were not of his tribe and heard them naming
Mardas and saying, "We will not slay him, save in his own land."
Wherefore he knew that nuncle Mardas was their prisoner, and
said, "By the life of Mahdiyah, I will not depart hence till I
have delivered her father, that she may not be troubled!" Then he
sought and ceased not seeking till he hit upon Mardas and found
him bound with cords; so he sat down by his side and said to him,
"Heaven deliver thee, O uncle, from these bonds and this shame!"
When Mardas saw Gharib his reason fled, and he said to him, "O my
son, I am under thy protection: so deliver me in right of my
fosterage of thee!" Quoth Gharib, "If I deliver thee, wilt thou
give me Mahdiyah?" Quoth the Emir, "O my son, by whatso I hold
sacred, she is thine to all time!" So he loosed him, saying,
"Make for the horses, for thy son Sahim is there:" and Mardas
crept along like a snake till he came to his son, who rejoiced in
him and congratulated him on his escape. Meanwhile, Gharib
unbound one after another of the prisoners, till he had freed the
whole ninety and they were all far from the foe. Then he sent
them their weapons and war horses, saying to them, "Mount ye and
scatter yourselves round about the enemy and cry out, Ho, sons of
Kahtan! And when they awake, do ye remove from them and encircle
them in a thin ring.''
[FN#327] So he waited till the last and
third watch of the Night, when he cried out, "Ho, sons of
Kahtan!" and his men answered in like guise, crying, "Ho, sons of
Kahtan," as with one voice; and the mountains echoed their
slogan, so that it seemed to the raiders as though the whole
tribe of Banu Kahtan were assailing them; wherefore they all
snatched up their arms and fell upon one another,--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say,
When it was the Six Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
raiders
[FN#328] awoke from sleep and heard Gharib and his men
crying out, "Ho, sons of Kahtan!"; they imagined that the whole
tribe was assailing them; wherefore they snatched up their arms
and fell one upon other with mighty slaughter. Gharib and his men
held aloof, and they fought one another till daybreak, when
Gharib and Mardas and their ninety warriors came down upon them
and killed some of them and put the rest to flight. Then the Banu
Kahtan took the horses of the fugitives and the weapons of the
slain and returned to their tribal camp, whilst Mardas could
hardly credit his deliverance from the foe. When they reached the
encampment, the stay-at-home folk all came forth to meet them and
rejoiced in their safe return. Then they alighted and betook them
to their tents; and all the youths of the tribe flocked to
Gharib's stead and great and small saluted him and did him
honour. But when Mardas saw this and the youths encircling his
stepson he waxed more jealous of Gharib than before and said to
his kinsfolk, "Verily, hatred of Gharib groweth on my heart, and
what irketh me most is that I see these flocking about him! And
to-morrow he will demand Mahdiyah of me." Quoth his confidant, "O
Emir, ask of him somewhat he cannot avail to do." This pleased
Mardas who passed a pleasant night and on the morrow, as he sat
on his stuffed carpet, with the Arabs about him, Gharib entered,
followed by his men and surrounded by the youth of the tribe, and
kissed the ground before Mardas who, making a show of joy, rose
to do him honour and seated him beside himself. Then said Gharib,
"O uncle, thou madest me a promise; do thou fulfil it." Replied
the Emir, "O my son, she is shine to all time; but thou lackest
wealth." Quoth Gharib, "O uncle, ask of me what thou wilt, and I
will fall upon the Emirs of the Arabs in their houses and on the
Kings in their towns and bring thee fee
[FN#329] enough to fence
the land from East to West." "O my son," quoth Mardas," I have
sworn by all the Idols that I would not give Mabdiyah save to him
who should take my blood-wite of mine enemy and do away my
reproach." "O uncle," said Gharib, "tell me with which of the
Kings thou hast a feud, that I may go to him and break his throne
upon his pate." "O my son," replied Mardas, "I once had a son, a
champion of champions, and he went forth one day to chase and
hunt with an hundred horse. They fared on from valley to valley,
till they had wandered far away amongst the mountains and came to
the Wady of Blossoms and the Castle of Hám bin Shays bin Shaddád
bin Khalad. Now in this place, O my son, dwelleth a black giant,
seventy cubits high, who fights with trees from their roots
uptorn; and when my son reached his Wady, the tyrant sallied out
upon him and his men and slew them all, save three braves, who
escaped and brought me the news. So I assembled my champions and
fared forth to fight the giant, but could not prevail against
him; wherefore I was baulked of my revenge and swore that I would
not give my daughter in marriage save to him who should avenge me
of my son." Said Gharib, "O uncle, I will go to this Amalekite
and take the wreak of thy son on him with the help of Almighty
Allah." And Mardas answered, saying, "O Gharib, if thou get the
victory over him, thou wilt gain of him such booty of wealth and
treasures as fires may not devour." Cried Gharib, "Swear to me
before witnesses thou wilt give me her to wife, so that with
heart at ease I may go forth to find my fortune." Accordingly,
Mardas swore this to him and took the elders of the tribe to
witness; whereupon Gharib fared forth, rejoicing in the
attainment of his hopes, and went in to his mother, to whom he
related what had passed. "O my son," said she, "know that Mardas
hateth thee and doth but send thee to this mountain, to bereave
me of thee; then take me with thee and let us depart the tents of
this tyrant." But he answered, "O my mother, I will not depart
hence till I win my wish and foil my foe." Thereupon he slept
till morning arose with its sheen and shone, and hardly had he
mounted his charger when his friends, the young men, came up to
him; two hundred stalwart knights armed cap-à-pie and cried out
to him, saying, "Take us with thee; we will help thee and company
thee by the way." And he rejoiced in them and cried, "Allah
requite you for us with good!" adding, "Come, my friends, let us
go." So they set out and fared on the first day and the second
day till evening, when they halted at the foot of a towering
mount and baited their horses. As for Gharib, he left the rest
and walked on into that mountain, till he came to a cave whence
issued a light. He entered and found, at the higher facing end of
the cave a Shaykh, three hundred and forty years old, whose
eyebrows overhung his eyes and whose moustachios hid his mouth.
Gharib at this sight was filled with awe and veneration, and the
hermit said to him, "Methinks thou art of the idolaters, O my
son, stone-worshipping
[FN#330] in the stead of the All-powerful
King, the Creator of Night and Day and of the sphere rolling on
her way." When Gharib heard his words, his side muscles quivered
and he said, "O Shaykh, where is this Lord of whom thou speakest,
that I may worship him and take my fill of his sight?" Replied
the Shaykh, "O my son, this is the Supreme Lord, upon whom none
may look in this world. He seeth and is not seen. He is the Most
High of aspect and is present everywhere in His works. He it is
who maketh all the made and ordereth time to vade and fade; He is
the Creator of men and Jinn and sendeth the Prophets to guide His
creatures into the way of right. Whoso obeyeth Him, He bringeth
into Heaven, and whoso gainsayeth Him, He casteth into Hell."
Asked Gharib, "And how, O uncle, saith whoso worshippeth this
puissant Lord who over all hath power?" "O my son," answered the
Shaykh, "I am of the tribe of Ad, which were transgressors in the
land and believed not in Allah. So He sent unto them a Prophet
named Húd, but they called him liar and he destroyed them by
means of a deadly wind; but I believed together with some of my
tribe, and we were saved from destruction.
[FN#331] Moreover, I
was present with the tribe of Thamúd and saw what befel them with
their Prophet Sálih. After Salih, the Al-mighty sent a prophet,
called Abraham the Friend,
[FN#332] to Nimrod son of Canaan, and
there befel what befel between them. Then my companions died in
the Saving Faith and I continued in this cave to serve Allah the
Most High, who provideth my daily bread without my taking
thought." Quoth Gharib, "O uncle, what shall I say, that I may
become of the troop of this mighty Lord?" "Say," replied the old
man, ‘There is no god but the God and Abraham is the Friend of
God.' " So Gharib embraced the Faith of Submission
[FN#333] with
heart and tongue and the Shaykh said to him, "May the sweetness
of belief and devotion be stablished in thy heart!" Then he
taught him somewhat of the biblical ordinances and scriptures of
Al-Islam and said to him, "What is thy name?"; and he replied,
"My name is Gharib." Asked the old man, "Whither art thou bound,
O Gharib?" So he told him all his history, till he came to the
mention of the Ghúl of the Mountain whom he sought,--And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say,
When it was the Six Hundred and Twenty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Gharib
became a Moslem and told the Shaykh his past, from first to last,
till he came to the mention of the Mountain-Ghul whom he sought,
the old man asked him, "O Gharib, art thou mad that thou goest
forth against the Ghul of the Mountain single handed?"; and he
answered, "O my lord, I have with me two hundred horse." "O
Gharib," rejoined the hermit, "hadst thou ten thousand riders yet
shouldest thou not prevail against him, for his name is The-Ghul-
who-eateth-men-we-pray-Allah-for-safety, and he is of the
children of Ham. His father's name was Hindi who peopled Hind and
named it, and he left this son after him, whom he called Sa'adan
the Ghul. Now the same was, O my son, even in his sire's
lifetime, a cruel tyrant and a rebellious devil and had no other
food than flesh of the sons of Adam. His father when about to die
forbade him from this, but he would not be forbidden and he
redoubled in his forwardness, till Hindi banished him and drove
him forth the Land of Hind, after battles and sore travail. Then
he came to this country and fortifying himself herein,
established his home in this place, whence he is wont to sally
forth and cut the road of all that come and go, presently
returning to the valley he haunteth. Moreover, he hath begotten
five sons, warlike warlocks, each one of whom will do battle with
a thousand braves, and he hath flocked the valley with his booty
of treasure and goods besides horses and camels and cattle and
sheep. Wherefore I fear for thee from him; so do thou implore
Almighty Allah to further thee against him by the Tahlíl, the
formula of Unity, and when thou drivest at the Infidels, cry,
‘God is most Great!' for, saying, ‘There is no god but the God'
confoundeth those who misbelieve." Then the Shaykh gave him a
steel mace, an hundred pounds in weight, with ten rings which
clashed like thunder whenas the wielder brandished it, and a
sword forged of a thunderbolt,
[FN#334] three ells long and three
spans broad, wherewith if one smote a rock, the stroke would
cleave it in sunder. Moreover he gave him a hauberk and target
and a book and said to him, "Return to thy tribe and expound unto
them Al-Islam." So Gharib left him, rejoicing in his new Faith,
and fared till he found his companions, who met him with salams,
saying, "What made thee tarry thus?" Whereupon he related to them
that which had befallen him and expounded to them Al-Islam, and
they all islamised. Early next morning, Gharib mounted and rode
to the hermit to farewell him, after which he set out to return
to his camp when behold, on his way, there met him a horseman
cap-à-pie armed so that only his eyes appeared, who made at him,
saying, "Doff what is on thee, O scum
[FN#335] of the Arabs; or I
will do thee die!" Therewith Gharib crave at him and there befel
between them a battle such as would make a new-born child turn
grey and melt the flinty rock with its sore affray; but presently
the Badawi did off his face-veil, and lo! it was Gharib's half-
brother Sahim al-Layl. Now the cause of his coming thither was
that when Gharib set out in quest of the Mountain-Ghul, Sahim was
absent and on his return, not seeing his brother, he went in to
his mother, whom he found weeping. He asked the reason of her
tears and she told him what had happened of his brother's
journey, whereupon, without allowing himself aught of rest, he
donned his war-gear and mounting rode after Gharib, till he
overtook him and there befel between them what befel. When,
therefore. Sahim discovered his face, Gharib knew him and saluted
him, saying, "What moved thee to do this?" Quoth Sahim, "I had a
mind to measure myself with thee in the field and make trial of
my lustihood in cut and thrust." Then they rode together and on
the way Gharib expounded Al-Islam to Sahim, who embraced the
Faith; nor did they cease riding till they were hard upon the
valley. Meanwhile, the Mountain-Ghul espied the dust of their
horses' feet and said to his sons, "O my sons, mount and fetch me
yonder loot." So the five took horse and made for the party. When
Gharib saw the five Amalekites approaching, he plied shovel-iron
upon his steed's flank and cried out, saying, "Who are ye, and
what is your race and what do ye require?" Whereupon Falhún bin
Sa'adan, the eldest of the five, came out and said, "Dismount ye
and bind one another
[FN#336] and we will drive you to our father,
that he may roast various of you and boil various, for it is long
since he has tasted the flesh of Adam-son." When Gharib heard
these words he drove at Falhun, shaking his mace, so that the
rings rang like the roaring thunder and the giant was confounded.
Then he smote him a light blow with the mace between the
shoulders, and he fell to the ground like a tall-trunked palm-
tree; whereupon Sahim and some of his men fell upon him and
pinioned him; then, putting a rope about his neck, they haled him
along like a cow. Now when his brothers saw him a prisoner they
charged home upon Gharib, who took three
[FN#337] of them captive
and the fifth fled back to his sire, who said to him, "What is
behind thee and where are the brothers of thee?" Quoth he
"Verily, a beardless youth, forty cubits high, hath taken them
prisoner." Quoth Sa'adan, "May the sun pour no blessing on you!"
and, going down from his hold, tore up a huge tree, with which he
went in quest of Gharib and his folk; and he was on foot, for
that no horse might carry him, because of the bigness of his
body. His son followed him and the twain went on till they came
up with Gharib and his company, when the Ghul fell upon them,
without word said, and slew five men with his club. Then he made
at Sahim and struck at him with his tree, but Sahim avoided the
blow and it fell harmless; whereat Sa'adan was wroth and throwing
down the weapon, sprang upon Sahim and caught him in his pounces
as the sparrow hawk catcheth up the sparrow. Now when Gharib saw
his brother in the Ghul's clutches, he cried out, saying, "Allaho
Akbar God is most Great! Oh the favour of Abraham the Friend, the
Muhammad,
[FN#338] the Blessed One (whom Allah keep and assain!)"-
-And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say,
When it was the Six Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
Gharib saw his brother in the clutches of the Ghul, he cried out,
saying "Oh the favour of Ibrahim, the Friend, the Blessed One
(whom Allah keep and assain!) "; and crave his charger at
Sa'adan, shaking his mace, till the rings loud rang. Then he
cried out again, "God is most Great!" and smote the Ghul on the
flat of the ribs with his mace, whereupon he fell to the ground,
insensible, and loosed his grip on Sahim; nor did he come to
himself ere he was pinioned and shackled. When his son saw this,
he turned and fled; but Gharib drove steed after him and smiting
him with his mace between the shoulders, threw him from his
horse. So they bound him with his father and brethren and
haltering them with ropes, haled them all six along like baggage-
camels, till they reached the Ghul's castle, which they found
full of goods and treasures and things of price; and there they
also came upon twelve hundred Ajamis, men of Persia, bound and
shackled. Gharib sat down on Sa'adan's chair, which had aforetime
belonged to Sásá
[FN#339] bin Shays bin Shaddad bin Ad causing
Sahim to stand on his right and his companions on his either
hand, and sending for the Ghul of the Mountain, said to him, "How
findest thou thyself, O accursed?" Replied Sa'adan, "O my lord,
in the sorriest of plights for abasement and mortification; my
sons and I, we are bound with ropes like camels." Quoth Gharib,
"It is my will that you enter my faith, the faith Al-Islam highs,
and acknowledge the Unity of the All knowing King whose All-might
created Light and Night and every thing, there is no God ‘but He,
the Requiting King! and confess the mission and prophethood of
Abraham the Friend (on whom be peace!)." So the Ghul and his sons
made the required profession after the goodliest fashion, and
Gharib bade loose their bonds; whereupon Sa'adan wept and would
have kissed his feet, he and his sons: but Gharib forbade them
and they stood with the rest who stood before him. Then said
Gharib, "Harkye, Sa'adan!"; and he replied, "At thy service, O my
lord!" Quoth Gharib, "What are these captives?" "O my lord,"
quoth the Ghul, "these are my game from the land of the Persians
and are not the only ones." Asked Gharib, "And who is with
them?"; and Sa'adan answered, "O my lord, there is with them the
Princess Fakhr Táj, daughter of King Sabúr of Persia,
[FN#340] and
an hundred damsels like moons." When Gharib heard this, he
marvelled and said, "O Emir, how came ye by these?" Replied
Sa'adan, "I went forth one night with my sons and five of my
slaves in quest of booty, but finding no spoil in our way, we
dispersed over wilds and words and fared on, hoping we might
happen on somewhat of prey and not return emptyhanded, till we
found ourselves in the land of the Persians. Presently, we espied
a dust cloud and sent on to reconnoitre one of our slaves, who
was absent a while and presently returned and said, ‘O my lord,
this is the Princess Fakhr Taj, daughter of Sabur, King of the
Persians, Turcomans and Medes; and she is on a journey, attended
by two thousand horse.' Quoth I, ‘Thou hast gladdened us with
good news! We could have no finer loot than this.' Then I and my
sons fell upon the Persians and slew of them three hundred men
and took the Princess and twelve hundred cavaliers prisoners,
together with all that was with her of treasure and riches and
brought them to this our castle." Quoth Gharib, "Hast thou
offered any violence to the Princess Fakhr Taj?" Quoth Sa'adan,
"Not I, as thy head liveth and by the virtue of the Faith I have
but now embraced!" Gharib replied "It was well done of thee, O
Sa'adan, for her father is King of the world and doubtless he
will despatch troops in quest of her and lay waste the dwellings
of those who took her. And whoso looketh not to issue and end
hath not Fate to friend. But where is the damsel?" Said Sa'adan,
"I have set apart a pavilion for her and her damsels;" and said
Gharib, "Show me her lodging," whereto Sa'adan rejoined,
"Hearkening and obedience!" So he carried him to the pavilion,
and there he found the Princess mournful and cast down, weeping
for her former condition of dignity and delight. When Gharib saw
her, he thought the moon was near him and magnified Allah, the
All-hearing, the All-seeing. The Princess also looked at him and
saw him a princely cavalier, with velour shining from between his
eyes and testifying for him and not against him; so she rose and
kissed his hands, then fell at his feet, saying, "O hero of the
age, I am under thy protection; guard me from this Ghul, for I
fear lest he do away my maidenhead and after devour me. So take
me to serve shine handmaidens." Quoth Gharib, "Thou art safe and
thou shalt be restored to thy father and the seat of thy
worship." Whereupon she prayed that he might live long and have
advancement in rank and honour. Then he bade unbind the Persians
and, turning to the Princess, said to her, "What brought thee
forth of thy palace to the wilds and wastes, so that the highway-
robbers made prize of thee?" She replied, "O my lord, my father
and all the people of his realm, Turks and Daylamites, are
Magians, worshipping fire, and not the All-powerful King. Now in
our country is a monastery called the Monastery of the Fire,
whither every year the daughters of the Magians and worshippers
of the Fire resort at the time of their festival and abide there
a month, after which they return to their houses. So I and my
damsels set out, as of wont, attended by two thousand horse, whom
my father sent with me to guard me; but by the way this Ghul came
out against us and slew some of us and, taking the rest captive,
imprisoned us in this hold. This, then, is what befel me, O
valiant champion, whom Allah guard against the shifts of Time!"
And Gharib said, "Fear not; for I will bring thee to thy palace
and the seat of thy honours." Wherefore she blessed him and
kissed his hands and feet. Then he went out from her, after
having commanded to treat her with respect, and slept till
morning, when he made the Wuzu-ablution and prayed a two-bow
prayer, after the rite of our father Abraham the Friend (on whom
be peace!), whilst the Ghul and his sons and Gharib's company all
did the like after him. Then he turned to the Ghul and said to
him, "O Sa'adan, wilt thou not show me the Wady of
Blossoms?''
[FN#341] "I will, O my lord," answered he. So Gharib
and his company and Princess Fakhr Taj and her maidens all rose
and went forth, whilst Sa'adan commanded his slaves and slave-
girls to slaughter and cook and make ready the morning-meal and
bring it to them among the trees. For the Giant had an hundred
and fifty handmaids and a thousand chattels to pasture his camels
and oxen and sheep. When they came to the valley, they found it
beautiful exceedingly and passing all degree; and birds on tree
sang joyously and the mocking-nightingale trilled out her melody,
and the cushat filled with her moan the mansions made by the
Deity,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
her permitted say,
When it was the Six Hundred and Thirtieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Gharib
and his merry men and the Giant and his tribe reached the Wady of
Blossoms they found birds flying free; the cushat filling with
her moan the mansions made by the Deity, the bulbul singing as if
'twere human harmony and the merle whom to describe tongue
faileth utterly; the turtle, whose plaining maddens men for
loveecstasy and the ringdove and the popinjay answering her with
fluency. There also were trees laden with all manner of fruitery,
of each two kinds,
[FN#342] the pomegranate, sweet and sour upon
branches growing luxuriantly, the almond-apricot,
[FN#343] the
camphor-apricot
[FN#344] and the almond Khorasan highs; the plum,
with whose branches the boughs of the myrobalan were entwined
tight; the orange, as it were a cresses flaming light, the
shaddock weighed down with heavy freight; the lemon, that cures
lack of appetite, the citron against jaundice of sovereign might,
and the date, red and yellow-bright, the especial handiwork of
Allah the Most High. Of the like of this place saith the
enamoured poet,
"When its birds in the lake make melody,
The lorn lover
yearneth its sight to see:
'Tis as Eden breathing a fragrant breeze,
With its shade and
fruits and rills flowing free."
Gharib marvelled at the beauty of that Wady and bade them set up
there the pavilion of Fakhr Taj the Chosroite; so they pitched it
among the trees and spread it with rich tapestries. Then he sat
down and the slaves brought food and they ate their sufficiency;
after which quoth Gharib, "Harkye, Sa'adan!": and quoth he, "At
thy service, O my lord." "Hast thou aught of wine?" asked Gharib,
and Sa'adan answered, "Yes, I have a cistern full of old wine."
Said Gharib, "Bring us some of it." So Sa'adan sent ten slaves,
who returned with great plenty of wine, and they ate and drank
and were mirthful and merry. And Gharib bethought him of Mahdiyah
and improvised these couplets,
"I mind our union days when ye were nigh,
And flames my heart
with love's consuming lowe.
By Allah, Ne'er of will I quitted you:
But shifts of Time from
you com pelled me go:
Peace and fair luck and greetings thousand-fold
To you, from
exiled lover's pining woe."
They abode eating and drinking and taking their pleasure in the
valley for three days, after which they returned to the castle.
Then Gharib called Sahim and said to him, "Take an hundred horse
and go to thy father and mother and thy tribe, the Banu Kahtan,
and bring them all to this place, here to pass the rest of their
days, whilst I carry the Princess of Persia back to her father.
As for thee, O Sa'adan, tarry thou here with thy sons, till I
return to thee." Asked Sa'adan, "And why wilt thou not carry me
with thee to the land of the Persians?"; and Gharib answered,
"Because thou stolest away King Sabur's daughter and if his eye
fall on thee, he will eat thy flesh and drink thy blood." When
the Ghul heard this, he laughed a loud laugh, as it were the
pealing thunder, and said, "O my lord, by the life of thy head,
if the Persians and Medes united against me, I would make them
quaff the cup of annihilation." Quoth Gharib, " 'Tis as thou
sayest;
[FN#345] but tarry thou here in fort till I return to
thee;" and quoth the Ghul, "I hear and I obey." Then Sahim
departed with his comrades of the Banu Kahtan for the dwelling
places of their tribe, and Gharib set out with Princess Fakhr Taj
and her company, intending for the cities of Sabur, King of the
Persians. Thus far concerning them; but as regards King Sabur, he
abode awaiting his daughter's return from the Monastery of the
Fire, and when the appointed time passed by and she came not,
flames raged in his heart. Now he had forty Wazirs, whereof the
oldest, wisest and chiefest was highs Daydán: so he said to him,
"O Minister, verily my daughter delayeth her return and I have no
news of her though the appointed time is past; so do thou send a
courier to the Monastery of the Fire to learn what is come of
her." "Hearkening and obedience," replied Daydan; and, summoning
the chief of the couriers, said to him, "Wend thou forthright to
the Monastery." So he lost no time and when he reached it, he
asked the monks of the King's daughter, but they said, "We have
not seen her this year." So the courier returned to the city of
Isbánír
[FN#346] and told the Wazir, who went in to the King and
acquainted him with the message. Now when Sabur heard this, he
cast his crown on the ground, tore his beard and fell down in a
trance. They sprinkled water upon him, and presently he came to
himself, tearful-eyed and heavy-hearted, and repeated the words
of the poet,
"When I far-parted patience call and tears,
Tears came to call
but Patience never hears:
What, then, if Fortune parted us so far?
Fortune and Perfidy
are peers
Then he called ten of his captains and bade them mount with a
thousand horse and ride in different directions, in quest of his
daughter. So they mounted forthright and departed each with his
thousand; whilst Fakhr Taj's mother clad herself and her women in
black and strewed ashes on her head and sat weeping and
lamenting. Such was their case;--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Sabur
sent his troops in quest of his daughter, whose mother clad
herself and her women in black. Such was their case; but as
regards the strange adventures of Gharib and the Princess, they
journeyed on ten days, and on the eleventh day, appeared a dust
cloud which rose to the confines of the sky; whereupon Gharib
called the Emir of the Persians and said to him, "Go learn the
cause thereof." "I hear and obey," replied he and crave his
charger, till he came under the cloud of dust, where he saw folk
and enquired of them. Quoth one of them, "We are of the Banu
Hattál and are questing for plunder; our Emir is Samsam bin Al-
Jiráh and we are five thousand horse." The Persians returned in
haste and told their saying to Gharib, who cried out to his men
of the Banu Kahtan and to the Persians, saying, "Don your arms!"
They did as he bade them and presently up came the Arabs who were
shouting, "A plunder! a plunder!" Quoth Gharib, "Allah confound
you, O dogs of Arabs!" Then he loosed his horse and drove at them
with the career of a right valiant kNight, shouting, "Allaho
Akbar! Ho for the faith of Abraham the Friend, on whom be peace!"
And there befel between them great fight and sore fray and the
sword went round in sway and there was much said and say; nor did
they leave fighting till fled the day and gloom came, when they
drew from one another away. Then Gharib numbered his tribesmen
and found that five of the Banu Kahtan had fallen and three-and-
seventy of the Persians; but of the Banu Hattal they had slain
more than five hundred horse. As for Samsam, he alighted and
sought nor meat nor sleep, but said, "In all my life I never saw
such a fighter as this youth! Anon he fighteth with the sword and
anon with the mace; but, to-morrow I will go forth on champion
wise and defy him to combat of twain in battle plain where edge
and point are fain and I will cut off these Arabs." Now, when
Gharib returned to his camp, the Princess Fakhr Taj met him,
weeping and affrighted for the terror of that which had befallen,
and kissed his foot in the stirrup, saying, "May thy hands never
wither nor thy foes be blither, O champion of the age!
Alhamdolillah--Praise to God--who hath saved thee alive this day!
Verily, I am in fear for thee from yonder Arabs." When Gharib
heard this, he smiled in her face and heartened and comforted
her, saying, "Fear not, O Princess! Did the enemy fill this wild
and wold yet would I scatter them, by the might of Allah
Almighty." She thanked him and prayed that he might be given the
victory over his foes; after which she returned to her women and
Gharib went to his tent, where he cleansed himself of the blood
of the Infidels, and they lay on guard through the night. Next
morning, the two hosts mounted and sought the plain where cut and
thrust ruled sovereign. The first to prick into the open was
Gharib, who crave his charger till he was near the Infidels and
cried out, "Who is for jousting with me? Let no sluggard or
weakling come out to me!" Whereupon there rushed forth a giant
Amalekite of the lineage of the tribe of Ad, armed with an iron
flail twenty pounds in weight, and drove at Gharib, saying, "O
scum of the Arabs, take what cometh to thee and learn the glad
tidings that thy last hour is at hand!" So saying, he aimed a
blow at Gharib, but he avoided it and the flail sank a cubit into
the ground. Now the badawi was bent double with the blow, so
Gharib smote him with his mace and clove his forehead in sunder
and he fell down dead and Allah hurried his soul to Hell-fire.
Then Gharib charged and wheeled and called for champions; so
there came out to him a second and a third and a fourth and so
on, till ten had come forth to him and he slew them all. When the
Infidels saw his form of fight and his smashing blows they hung
back and forebore to fare forth to him, whereupon Samsam looked
at them and said, "Allah never bless you! I will go forth to
him." So he donned his battle-gear and driving his charger into
mid-field where he fronted the foe and cried out to Gharib
saying, "Fie on thee, O dog of the Arabs! hath thy strength waxed
so great that thou shouldst defy me in the open field and
slaughter my men?" And Gharib replied, "Up and take bloodrevenge
for the slaughter of thy braves!" So Samsam ran at Gharib who
awaited him with broadened breast and heart enheartened, and they
smote each at other with maces, till the two hosts marvelled and
every eye was fixed on them. Then they wheeled about in the field
and struck at each other two strokes; but Gharib avoided Samsam's
stroke which wreak had wroke and dealt with a buffet that beat in
his breastbone and cast him to the ground--stone dead. Thereupon
all his host ran at Gharib as one man, and he ran at them,
crying, "God is most Great! Help and Victory for us and shame and
defeat for those who misbelieve the faith of Abraham the Friend,
on whom be peace!"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased to say her permitted say,
When it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Sam
sam's tribesmen rushed upon Gharib as one man, he ran at them
crying, "God is most Great! Help and Victory for us and shame and
defeat for the Miscreant!" Now when the Infidels heard the name
of the All-powerful King, the One, the All-conquering, whom the
sight comprehendeth not, but He comprehendeth the sight,
[FN#347]
they looked at one another and said, "What is this say that
maketh our side-muscles tremble and weakeneth our resolution and
causeth the life to fail in us? Never in our lives heard we aught
goodlier than this saying!" adding, "Let us leave fighting, that
we may ask its meaning." So they held their hands from the battle
and dismounted; and their elders assembled and held counsel
together, seeking to go to Gharib and saying, "Let ten of us
repair to him!" So they chose out ten of their best, who set out
for Gharib's tents. Now he and his people had alighted and
returned to their camp, marvelling at the withdrawal of the
Infidels from the fight. But, presently, lo and behold! the ten
came up and seeking speech of Gharib, kissed the earth before him
and wished him glory and lasting life. Quoth he to them, "What
made you leave fighting?"; and quoth they, "O, my lord, thou
didst affright us with the words thou shoutest out at us." Then
asked Gharib, "What calamity do ye worship?"; and they answered,
"We worship Wadd and Suwá'a and Yaghús,
[FN#348] lords of the
tribe of Noah"; and Gharib, "We serve none but Allah Almighty,
Maker of all things and Provider of all livings. He it is who
created the heavens and the earth and stablished the mountains,
who made water to well from the stones and the trees to grow and
feedeth wild beasts in word; for He is Allah, the One, the All-
powerful Lord." When they heard this, their bosoms broadened to
the words of Unity-faith, and they said, "Verily, this be a Lord
high and great, compassionating and compassionate!"; adding, "And
what shall we say, to become of the Moslems, of those which
submit themselves to Him?" Quoth Gharib, "Say, ‘There is no god
but the God and Abraham is the Friend of God.'" So the ten made
veracious profession of the veritable religion and Gharib said to
them, "An the sweet savour of Al-Islam be indeed stablished in
your hearts, fare ye to your tribe and expound the faith to them;
and if they profess, they shall be saved, but if they refuse we
will burn them with fire." So the ten elders returned and
expounded Al-Islam to their people and set forth to them the path
of truth and creed, and they embraced the Faith of Submission
with heart and tongue. Then they repaired on foot to Gharib's
tent and kissing ground between his hands wished him honour and
high rank, saying, "O our lord, we are become thy slaves; so
command us what thou wilt, for we are to thee audient and
obedient and we will never depart from thee, since Allah hath
guided us into the right way at thy hands." Replied he, "Allah
abundantly requite you! Return to your dwellings and march forth
with your good and your children and forego me to the Wady of
Blossoms and the castle of Sásá bin Shays,
[FN#349] whilst I carry
the Princess Fakhr Taj, daughter of Sabur, King of the Persians,
back to her father and return to you." "Hearkening and
obedience," said they and straightway returned to their
encampment, rejoicing in Al-Islam, and expounded the True Faith
to their wives and children, who became Believers. Then they
struck their tents and set forth, with their good and cattle, for
the Wady of Blossoms. When they came in sight of the castle of
Shays, Sa'adan and his sons sallied forth to them, but Gharib had
charged them, saying, "If the Ghul of the Mountain come out to
you and offer to attack you, do ye call upon the name of Allah
the All-creator, and he will leave his hostile intent and receive
you hospitably." So when he would have fallen upon them they
called aloud upon the name of Almighty Allah and straightway he
received them kindly and asked them of their case. They told him
all that had passed between Gharib and themselves, whereupon he
rejoiced in them and lodged them with him and loaded them with
favours. Such was their case; but as regards Gharib, he and his,
escorting the Princess fared on five days' journey towards the
City of Isbanir, and on the sixth day they saw a dust-cloud. So
Gharib sent one of the Persians to learn the meaning of this and
he went and returned, swiftlier than bird in flight, saying, "O
my lord, these be a thousand horse of our comrades, whom the King
hath sent in quest of his daughter Fakhr Taj." When Gharib heard
this, he commanded his company to halt and pitch the tents. So
they halted and waited till the new comers reached them, when
they went to meet them and told Túmán, their captain, that the
Princess was with them; whereupon he went in to Gharib and
kissing the ground before him, enquired for her. Gharib sent him
to her pavilion, and he entered and kissed her hands and feet and
acquainted her with what had befallen her father and mother. She
told him in return all that had betided her and how Gharib had
delivered her from the Ghul of the Mountain,--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say,
When it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-third Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
King's daughter, Fakhr Taj, had told Tuman all that had befallen
her from the Mountain-Ghul, and how he had imprisoned her and
would have devoured her but for Gharib, adding, "And indeed, it
behoveth my sire to give him the half of his reign," Tuman arose
and returned to Gharib and kissed his hands and feet and thanked
him for his good dealing, saying, "With thy leave, O my lord, I
will return to Isbanir City and deliver to our King the good news
of his daughter's approach." "Go," replied Gharib, "and take of
him the gift of glad tidings." So Tuman returned with all
dillgence to Isbanir, the Cities, and entering the palace, kissed
ground before the King, who said to him, "What is there of new, O
bringer of good news?" Quoth Tuman, "I will not speak thee, till
thou give me the gift of glad tidings." Quoth the King, "Tell me
thy glad tidings and I will content thee." So Tuman said, "O
King, I bring thee joyful intelligence of the return of Princess
Fakhr Taj." When Sabur heard his daughter's name, he fell down
fainting and they sprinkled rose-water on him, till he recovered
and cried to Tuman, "Draw near to me and tell me all the good
which hath befallen her." So he came forward and acquainted him
with all that had betided the Princess; and Sabur beat hand upon
hand, saying, "Unhappy thou, O Fakhr Taj!''
[FN#350] And he bade
give Tuman ten thousand gold pieces and conferred on him the
government of Isfáhán City and its dependencies. Then he cried
out to his Emirs, saying, "Mount, all of you, and fare we forth
to meet the Princess Fakhr Taj!"; and the Chief Eunuch went in to
the Queen-mother and told her and all the Harim the good news,
whereat she rejoiced and gave him a robe of honour and a thousand
dinars. Moreover, the people of the city heard of this and
decorated the market streets and houses. Then the King and Tuman
took horse and rode till they had sight of Gharib, when Sabur
footed it and made some steps towards Gharib, who also dismounted
and advanced to meet him; and they embraced and saluted each
other, and Sabur bent over Gharib's hand and kissed it and
thanked him for his favours.
[FN#351] They pitched their pavilions
in face of each other and Sabur went in to his daughter, who rose
and embracing him told him, all that had befallen her and how
Gharib had rescued her from the clutches of the Ghul of the
Mountain. Quoth the King, "By thy life, O Princess of fair ones,
I will overwhelm him with gifts!"; and quoth she, "O my papa,
make him thy son-in-law, that he may be to thee a force against
thy foes, for he is passing valiant." Her father replied, "O my
daughter, knowst thou not that King Khirad Sháh seeketh thee in
marriage and that he hath cast the brocade
[FN#352] and hath given
an hundred thousand dinars in settlement, and he is King of
Shiraz and its dependencies and is lord of empire and horsemen
and footmen?" But when the Princess heard these words she said,
"O my papa! I desire not that whereof thou speakest, and if thou
constrain me to that I have no mind to, I will slay myself." So
Sabur left her and went in to Gharib, who rose to him; and they
sat awhile together; but the King could not take his fill of
looking upon him; and he said in his mind, "By Allah, my daughter
is excusable if she love this Badawi!" Then he called for food
and they ate and passed the night together. On the morrow, they
took horse and rode till they arrived at the City of Isbanir and
entered, stirrup to stirrup, and it was for them a great day.
Fakhr Taj repaired to her palace and the abiding-place of her
rank, where her mother and her women received her with cries of
joy and loud lullilooings. As for King Sabur, he sat down on his
throne and seated Gharib on his right hand, whilst the Princes
and Chamberlains, the Emirs, Wazirs and Nabobs stood on either
hand and gave him joy of the recovery of his daughter. Said
Sabur, "Whoso loveth me let him bestow a robe of honour on
Gharib," and there fell dresses of honour on him like drops of
rain. Then Gharib abode the King's guest ten days, when he would
have departed, but Sabur clad him in an honourable robe and swore
him by his faith that he should not march for a whole month.
Quoth Gharib, "O King, I am plighted to one of the girls of the
Arabs and I desire to go in to her." Quoth the King, "Whether is
the fairer, thy betrothed or Fakhr Taj?" "O King of the age,"
replied Gharib, "what is the slave beside the lord?" And Sabur
said, "Fakhr Taj is become thy handmaid, for that thou didst
rescue her from the pounces of the Ghul, and she shall have none
other husband than thyself." Thereupon Gharib rose and kissed
ground, saying, "O King of the age, thou art a sovereign and I am
but a poor man, and belike thou wilt ask a heavy dowry." Replied
the King, "O my son, know that Khirad Shah, lord of Shiraz and
dependencies thereof, seeketh her in marriage and hath appointed
an hundred thousand dinars to her dower; but I have chosen thee
before all men, that I may make thee the sword of my kingship and
my shield against vengeance.''
[FN#353] Then he turned to his
Chief Officers and said to them, "Bear witness
[FN#354] against
me, O Lords of mine Empire, that I marry my daughter Fakhr Taj to
my son Gharib."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased to say her permitted say,
When it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sabur,
King of Ajam-land said to his Chief Officers, "Bear ye witness
against me that I marry my daughter Fakhr Taj, to my son Gharib!"
With that he joined palms
[FN#355] with him and she became his
wife. Then said Gharib, "Appoint me a dower and I will bring it
to thee, for I have in the Castle of Sasa wealth and treasures
beyond count." Replied Sabur, "O my son, I want of thee neither
treasure nor wealth and I will take nothing for her dower save
the head of Jamrkán King of Dasht and the city of Ahwáz.
[FN#356]"
Quoth Gharib, "O King of the age, I will fetch my folk forthright
and go to thy foe and spoil his realm." Quoth Sabur, "Allah
requite thee with good!" and dismissed the lords and commons,
thinking, "If Gharib go forth against Jamrkan, he will never more
return." When morning morrowed the King mounted with Gharib and
bidding all his troops take horse rode forth to the plain, where
he said to his men, "Do ye tilt with spears and gladden my
heart." So the champions of Persia land played one against other,
and Gharib said, "O King of the age, I have a mind to tilt with
the horsemen of Ajam-land, but on one condition." Asked the King,
"What is that?"; and answered Gharib, "It is that I shall don a
light tunic and take a headless lance, with a pennon dipped in
saffron, whilst the Persian champions sally forth and tilt
against me with sharp spears. If any conquer me, I will render
myself to him: but, if I conquer him I will mark him on the
breast and he shall leave the plain." Then the King cried to the
commander of the troops to bring forward the champions of the
Persians; so he chose out from amongst the Princes one thousand
two hundred of his stoutest champions, and the King said to them,
in the Persian tongue, "Whoso slayeth this Badawi may ask of me
what he will." So they strove with one another for precedence and
charged down upon Gharib and truth was distinguished from
falsehood and jest from earnest. Quoth Gharib, "I put my trust in
Allah, the God of Abraham the Friend, the Deity who hath power
over all and from whom naught is hidden, the One, the Almighty,
whom the sight comprehendeth not!" Then an Amalekite-like giant
of the Persian champions rushed out to him, but Gharib let him
not stand long before him ere he marked him and covered his
breast with saffron and as he turned away, he smote him on the
nape with the shaft of his lance, and he fell to the ground and
his pages bore him from the lists.
[FN#357] Then a second champion
came forth against him and he overcame him and marked him on the
breast; and thus did he with a third and a fourth and a fifth;
and there came out against him champion after champion till he
had overcome them all and marked them on the breast; for Almighty
Allah gave him the victory over them and they fared forth
vanquish from the plain. Then the servants set food and strong
wine before them! and they ate and drank, till Gharib's wits were
dazed by the drink. By and by, he went out to obey a call of
Nature and would have returned, but lost his way and entered the
palace of Fakhr Taj. When she saw him, her reason fled and she
cried out to her women saying, "Go forth from me to your own
places!" So they withdrew and she rose and kissed Gharib's hand,
saying "Welcome to my lord, who delivered me from the Ghul!
Indeed I am shine handmaid for ever and ever." Then she drew him
to her bed and embraced him, whereupon desire was hot upon him
and he broke her seal and lay with her till the morning.
Meanwhile the King thought that he had departed; but on the
morrow he went in to him and Sabur rose to him and made him sit
by his side. Then entered the tributary kings and kissing the
ground stood ranged in rows on the right and left and fell to
talking of Gharib's velour and saying, "Extolled be He who gave
him such prowess albeit he is so young in years!" As they were
thus engaged, behold all espied from the palace-windows the dust
of horse approaching and the King cried out to his scouts,
saying, "Woe to you! Go and bring me news of yonder dust!" So a
cavalier took horse and riding off, returned after a while, and
said "O King, we found under that dust an hundred horse belonging
to an Emir highs Sahim al-Layl." Gharib hearing these words,
cried out, "O my lord, this is my brother, whom I had sent on an
errand, and I will go forth to meet him." So saying, he mounted,
with his hundred men of the Banu Kahtan and a thousand Persians,
and rode to meet his brother in great state, but greatness
belongeth to God alone.
[FN#358] When the two came up with each
other, they dismounted and embraced, and Gharib said to Sahim, "O
my brother, hast thou brought our tribe to the Castle of Sasa and
the Wady of Blossoms?" "O my brother," replied Sahim, "when the
perfidious dog Mardas heard that thou hadst made thee master of
the stronghold belonging to the Mountain-Ghul, he was sore
chagrined and said, ‘Except I march hence, Gharib will come and
carry off my daughter Mahdiyah without dower.' So he took his
daughter and his goods and set out with his tribe for the land of
Irak, where he entered the city of Cufa and put himself under the
protection of King Ajib, seeking to give him his daughter to
wife." When Gharib heard his brother's story, he well-nigh gave
up the ghost for rage and said, "By the virtue of the faith of
Al-Islam, the faith of Abraham the Friend, and by the Supreme
Lord, I will assuredly go to the land of Irak and fierce war upon
it I will set on foot." Then they returned to the city and going
in to the King, kissed ground before him. He rose to Gharib and
saluted Sahim; after which the elder brother told him what had
happened and he put ten captains at his commandment, under each
one's hand ten thousand horse of the doughtiest of the Arabs and
the Ajams, who equipped themselves and were ready to depart in
three days. Then Gharib set out and journeyed till he reached the
Castle of Sasa whence the Ghul and his sons came forth to meet
him and dismounting, kissed his feet in the stirrups. He told
them all that had passed and the giant said, "O my lord, do thou
abide in this thy castle, whilst I with my sons and servants
repair to Irak and lay waste the city Al-Rusták
[FN#359] and bring
to thy hand all its defenders bound in straitest bond." But
Gharib thanked him and said, "O Sa'adan, we will all go." So he
made him ready and the whole body set out for Irak, leaving a
thousand horse to guard the Castle. Thus far concerning them; but
as regards Mardas, he arrived with his tribe in the land of Irak
bringing with him a handsome present and fared for Cufa-city
which he entered. Then, he presented himself before Ajib and
kissed ground between his hands and, after wishing him what is
wished to kings, said, "O my lord, I come to place myself under
thy protection."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say,
When it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King that Mardas
coming into the presence of Ajib, said to him, "I come to place
myself under thy protection!" Quoth Ajib, "Tell me who hath
wronged thee, that I may protect thee against him, though it were
Sabur, King of the Persians and Turcomans and Daylamites." Quoth
Mardas, "O King of the Age, he who hath wronged me is none other
than a youth whom I reared in my bosom. I found him in his
mother's lap in a certain valley and took her to wife She brought
me a son, whom I named Sahim al-Layl, and her own son, Gharib
highs, grew up on my knees and became a blasting thunderbolt and
a lasting calamity,
[FN#360] for he smote Al-Hamal,
[FN#361] Prince
of the Banu Nabhan, and slew footmen and threw horsemen. Now I
have a daughter, who befitteth thee alone, and he sought her of
me; so I required of him the head of the Ghul of the Mountain,
wherefore he went to him and, after engaging him in singular
combat, made the master his man and took the Castle of Sasa bin
Shays bin Shaddad bin Ad, wherein are the treasures of the
ancients and the hoards of the moderns. Moreover, I hear that,
become a Moslem, he goeth about, summoning the folk to his faith.
He is now gone to bear the Princess of Persia, whom he delivered
from the Ghul, back to her father, King Sabur, and will not
return but with the treasures of the Persians." When Ajib heard
the story of Mardas he changed colour to yellow and was in ill
case and made sure of his own destruction; then he said, O
Mardas, is the youth's mother with thee or with him?"; and Mardas
replied, "She is with me in my tents." Quoth Ajib, What is her
name?"; quoth Mardas, "Her name is Nusrah." " 'Tis very she,"
rejoined Ajib and sent for her to the presence. Now when she came
before him, he looked on her and knew her and asked her, "O
accursed, where are the two slaves I sent with thee?"; and she
answered, "They slew each other on my account;" whereupon Ajib
bared his blade and smote her and cut her in twain. Then they
dragged her away and cast her out; but trouble and suspicion
entered Ajib's heart and he cried, "O Mardas, give me thy
daughter to wife." He rejoined, "She is one of shine handmaids: I
give her to thee to wife, and I am thy slave." Said Ajib, "I
desire to look upon this son of an adulteress, Gharib, that I may
destroy him and cause him taste all manner of torments." Then he
bade give Mardas, to his daughter's dowry, thirty thousand dinars
and an hundred pieces of silk-brocaded and fringed with gold and
an hundred pieces of silk bordered stuffs and kerchiefs and
golden collars. So he went forth with this mighty fine dowry and
set himself to equip Mahdiyah in all diligence. Such was their
case; but as regards Gharib, he fared on till he came to Al-
Jazírah, which is the first town of Al-Irak
[FN#362] and is a
walled and fortified city and he hard by it called a halt. When
the townsfolk saw his army encamped before it, they bolted the
gates and manned the walls, then went to the King of the city,
who was called Al-Dámigh, the Brainer, for that he used to brain
the champions in the open field of fight, and told him what was
come upon them. So he looked forth from the battlements of the
palace and seeing a conquering host, all of them Persians,
encamped before the city, said to the citizens, "O folk, what do
yonder Ajams want?"; and they replied, "We know not." Now Al-
Damigh had among his officers a man called Saba' al-Kifár, the
Desert-lion, keen of wit and penetrating as he were a flame of
fire; so he called him and said to him, "Go to this stranger host
and find out who they be and what they want and return quickly."
Accordingly, he sped like the wind to the Persian tents, where a
company of Arabs rose up and met him saying, "Who art thou and
what dost thou require?" He replied, "I am a messenger and an
envoy from the lord of the city to your chief." So they took him
and carried him through the lines of tents, pavilions and
standards, till they came to Gharib's Shahmiyánah and told him of
the mission. He bade them bring him in and they did so, whereupon
he kissed ground before Gharib and wished him honour and length
of days. Quoth Gharib, "What is shine errand?" and quoth Saba'
al-Kifar, "I am an envoy from the lord of the city of Al-Jazirah,
Al-Damigh, brother of King Kundamir, lord of the city of Cufa and
the land of Irak." When Gharib heard his father's name, the tears
railed from his eyes in rills and he looked at the messenger and
said, "What is thy name?"; and he replied, "My name is Saba' al-
Kifar." Said Gharib, "Return to thy lord and tell him that the
commander of this host is called Gharib, son of Kundamir, King of
Cufa, whom his son Ajib slew, and he is come to take blood-
revenge for his sire on Ajib the perfidious hound." So Saba' al-
Kifar returned to the city and in great joy kissed the ground,
when Al-Damigh said, "What is going on there, O Saba' al-Kifar?"
He replied, "O my master, the leader of yon host is thy nephew,
thy brother's son," and told him all. The King deemed himself in
a dream and asked the messenger, "O Saba' al-Kifar, is this thou
tellest me true?" and the Desert-lion answered, "As thy head
liveth, it is sooth!" Then Al-Damigh bade his chief officers take
horse forthright and all rode out to the camp, whence Gharib came
forth and met him and they embraced and saluted each other; after
which Gharib carried him to his tents and they sat down on beds
of estate. Al-Damigh rejoiced in Gharib, his brother's son, and
presently turning to him, said, "I also have yearned to take
blood-revenge for thy father, but could not avail against the dog
thy brother; for that his troops are many and my troops are few."
Replied Gharib, "O uncle, here am I come to avenge my sire and
blot out our shame and rid the realm of Ajib." Said Al-Damigh, "O
son of my brother, thou hast two blood-wreaks to take, that of
thy father and that of thy mother." Asked Gharib, "And what
aileth my mother?" and Al-Damigh answered, "Thy brother Ajib hath
slain her."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
to say her permitted say,
When it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Gharib
heard these words of his uncle Al-Damigh, "Verily thy brother
Ajib hath slain her!", he asked what was the cause thereof and
was told of all that had happened, especially how Mardas had
married his daughter to Ajib who was about to go into her.
Thereupon Gharib's reason fled from his head and he swooned away
and was nigh upon death. No sooner did he come to himself than he
cried out to the troops, saying, "To horse!" But Al-Damigh said
to him, "O son of my brother, wait till I make ready mine affairs
and mount among my men and fare with thee at thy stirrup."
Replied Gharib "I have no patience to wait; do thou equip thy
troops and join me at Cufa." Thereupon Gharib mounted with his
troops and rode, till he came to the town of Babel,
[FN#363] whose
folk took fright at him. Now there was in this town a King called
Jamak, under whose hand were twenty thousand horsemen, and there
gathered themselves together to him from the villages other fifty
thousand horse, who pitched their tents facing the city. Then
Gharib wrote a letter and sent it to King Jamak by a messenger,
who came up to the city-gate and cried out, saying, "I am an
envoy;" whereupon the Warder of the Gate went in and told Jamak,
who said, "Bring him to me." So he led in the messenger, who
kissing the ground before the King, gave him the letter, and
Jamak opened it and read its contents as follows: "Praise be to
Allah, Lord of the Three Worlds, Lord of all things, who giveth
to all creatures their daily bread and who over all things is
Omnipotent! These from Gharib, son of King Kundamir, lord of Irak
and Cufa, to Jamak. Immediately this letter reacheth thee, let
not thy reply be other than to break shine idols and confess the
unity of the All-knowing King, Creator of light and darkness,
Creator of all things, the All-powerful; and except thou do as I
bid thee, I will make this day the blackest of thy days. Peace be
on those who follow in the way of Salvation, fearing the issues
of fornication, and obey the hest of the Most High King, Lord of
this world and the next, Him who saith to a thing, ‘Be'; and it
becometh!" Now when Jamak read this letter, his eyes paled and
his colour failed and he cried out to the messenger, "Go to thy
lord and say to him, ‘To-morrow, at daybreak there shall be fight
and conflict and it shall appear who is the conquering hero.'" So
he returned and told Gharib, who bade his men make ready for
battle, whilst Jamak commanded his tents to be pitched in face of
Gharib's camp; and his troops poured forth like the surging sea
and passed the night with intention of slaughter. As soon as
dawned the day, the two hosts mounted and drew up in battle array
and beat their drums amain and drave their steeds of swiftest
strain; and they filled the whole earthly plain; and the
champions to come out were fain. Now the first who sallied forth
a championing to the field was the Ghul of the Mountain, bearing
on shoulder a terrible tree, and he cried out between the two
hosts, saying, "I am Sa'adan the Ghul! Who is for fighting, who
is for jousting? Let no sluggard come forth to me nor weakling."
And he called out to his sons, saying, "Woe to you! Bring me fuel
and fire, for I am an-hungered." So they cried upon their slaves
who brought firewood and kindled a fire in the heart of the
plain. Then there came out to him a man of the Kafirs, an
Amalekite of the unbelieving Amalekites, bearing on his shoulder
a mace like the mast of a ship, and drove at Sa'adan the Ghul,
saying, "Woe to thee, O Sa'adan!" When the giant heard this, he
waxed furious beyond measure and raising his tree club, aimed at
the Infidel a blow, that hummed through the air. The Amalekite
met the stroke with his mace, but the tree beat down his guard
and descending with its own weight, together with the weight of
the mace upon his head, beat in his brain pan, and he fell like a
long-stemmed palm-tree. Thereupon Sa'adan cried to his slaves,
saying, "Take this fatted calf and roast him quickly." So they
hastened to skin the Infidel and roasted him and brought him to
the Ghul, who ate his flesh and crunched his bones.
[FN#364] Now
when the Kafirs saw how Sa'adan did with their fellow, their hair
and pile stood on end; their skins quaked, their colour changed,
their hearts died within them and they said to one another,
"Whoso goeth out against this Ghul, he eateth him and cracketh
his bones and causeth him to lack the zephyr-wind of the world."
Wherefore they held their hands, quailing for fear of the Ghul
and his sons and turned to fly, making for the town; but Gharib
cried out to his troops, saying, "Up and after the runaways!" So
the Persians and the Arabs crave after the King of Babel and his
host and caused sword to smite them, till they slew of them
twenty thousand or more. Then the fugitives crowded together in
the city gate and they killed of them much people; and they could
not avail to shut the gate. So the Arabs and the Persians entered
with them, fighting, and Sa'adan, snatching a mace from one of
the slain, wielded it in the enemy's face and gained the city
race-course. Thence he fought his way through the foe and broke
into the King's palace, where he met with Jamak and so smote him
with the mace, that he toppled senseless to the ground. Then he
fell upon those who were in the palace and pounded them into
pieces, till all that were left cried out, "Quarter! Quarter!"
and Sa'adan said to them, "Pinion your King."--And Shahrazad saw
the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say,
