CONCLUSION OF THE STORY OF THE LADIES OF BAGHDÁD, &c.
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Lane, Edward William, Poole, Edward Stanley, and Harvey, William
The Kaleefeh was astonished at this story, and ordered it to be recorded in a book, as an authentic history, and deposited the book in his library. And he said to the first lady, Knowest thou where the Jinneeyeh98 who enchanted thy sisters is to be found? She answered, O Prince of the Faithful, she gave me a lock of her hair, and said, When thou desirest my presence, burn a few of these hairs, and I will be with thee quickly, though I should be beyond Mount Ḳáf.—Bring then the hair, said the Khaleefeh. The lady, therefore, produced it; and the Khaleefeh, taking it, burned a portion of it, and, when the odour had diffused itself, the palace shook, and they heard a sound of thunder, and lo, the Jinneeyeh appeared before them. She was a Muslimeh, and therefore greeted the Khaleefeh by saying, Peace be on thee, O Khaleefeh of God!—to which he replied, On you be peace, and the mercy of God, and his blessings!99—She then said, Know that this lady hath conferred on me a benefit for which I am unable to requite her; for she rescued me from death, by killing my enemy; and I, having seen what her sisters had done to her, determined to take vengeance upon them; therefore I transformed them by enchantment into two bitches; and, indeed, I had wished rather to kill them, fearing lest they should trouble her; but now, if thou desire their restoration, O Prince of the Faithful, I will restore them, as a favour to thee and to her; for I am one of the true believers.—Do so, said the Khaleefeh; and then we will enter upon the consideration of the affair of the lady who hath been beaten, and
examine her case, and if her veracity be established, I will take vengeance for her upon him who hath oppressed her. The Jinneeyeh replied, O Prince of the Faithful, I will guide thee to the discovery of him who acted thus to this lady, and oppressed her, and took her property: he is thy nearest relation. She then took a cup of water, and, having pronounced a spell over it, sprinkled the faces of the two bitches, saying, Be restored to your original human forms!—whereupon they became again two young ladies.—Extolled be the perfection of their Creator!100 Having done this, the Jinneeyeh said, O Prince of the Faithful, he who beat the lady is thy son El-Emeen, who had heard of her beauty and loveliness:—and she proceeded to relate what had happened. The Khaleefeh was astonished, and exclaimed, Praise be to God for the restoration of these two bitches which hath been effected through my means!—and immediately he summoned before him his son El-Emeen, and inquired of him the history of the lady; and he related to him the truth. He then sent for Ḳáḍees and witnesses, and the first lady and her two sisters who had been transformed into bitches he married to the three mendicants who had related that they were the sons of Kings; and these he made chamberlains of his court, appointing them all that they required, and allotting them apartments in the palace of Baghdád. The lady who had been beaten he restored to his son El-Emeen, giving her a large property, and ordering that the house should be rebuilt in a more handsome style.
Lastly, the lady-cateress he took as his own wife; he admitted her at once to his own apartment, and, on the following day, he appointed her a separate lodging for herself, with female slaves to wait upon her: he also allotted to her a regular income; and afterwards built for her a palace.