The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I. Commonly Called the...

Know, O my lord, that my father was a great merchant, and he was blest with no child but me. I had a cousin (the daughter of a paternal uncle) with whom I was brought up in my father's house; for her father had died, and before his death he had made an agreement with my father that they should marry me to her: so, when I had attained to manhood, and she to womanhood, they did not exclude her from me, nor me from her. My father then spoke to my mother, and said to her, This year we will perform the marriage-contract of 'Azeez and 'Azeezeh.15 And having agreed with my mother to do this, he began to make ready the provisions for the entertainments.

All this was done while I and my cousin were living together without the slightest restraint, and ignorant of the circumstance; and she was more intelligent and more knowing than I. And when my father had made the preparations for the festivity, and nothing remained but the performance of the contract, and my union to my cousin, my father proposed that they should perform the contract after the Friday-prayers: so he repaired to his friends, the merchants and others, and acquainted them with his intention; and my mother went and invited her female friends and relations. And when the Friday came, they washed the saloon which was appropriated to the guests, and cleansed its marble pavement, and spread the carpets in our house, and furnished it with everything that was requisite, after they had decorated its walls with stuffs interwoven with gold; the people having agreed to pay their compliments to our family after the Friday-prayers. My father then went and caused sweetmeats and dishes of sugar to be prepared; and there remained nothing but the performance of the contract. My mother had sent me to the bath, and sent after me a new suit of clothes of the richest description; and on my coming out from the bath, I put on this handsome suit, which was perfumed; and when I put it on, a delicious odour was diffused from it, and left a fragrance in the way.

I desired now to repair to the mosque; but, remembering one of my friends, I returned to search for him, that he might be present at the ceremony of the contract, saying within myself, I will busy me with this affair until the time of prayer draws near. I then entered a by-street which I had never entered before. I was perspiring from the effect of the bath and the new clothes which I wore, and the moisture dropped from me while my perfumes diffused their odour; so I seated myself at the upper end of the street to take rest upon a maṣṭabah, and spread beneath me an embroidered handkerchief that I had with me. The heat became oppressive to me, and my forehead perspired, and the drops ran down my face, and I could not wipe the moisture from it with my handkerchief because it was spread beneath me: I was therefore about to take the skirt of my farajeeyeh to wipe with it my cheek, when suddenly a white handkerchief fell upon me from above. This handkerchief was more delicate to the feel than the zephyr, and the sight of it was more pleasant than restoration to the diseased; and I took it in my hand, and, raising my head to see whence it had fallen, my eye met the eye of the female who owned these gazelles; and lo, she was looking out from a lattice in a window of brass.

My eye never beheld a person more lovely, and altogether her charms were such as the tongue cannot describe; and when she saw me looking at her, she put her finger in her mouth, and then united her middle finger and her fore finger, and placed them upon her bosom; after which, she drew in her head from the window, and shut the lattice and withdrew. A fire had been darted into my heart, and the flame increased; the sight drew from me a thousand sighs, and I was perplexed; for I heard not anything from her, and understood not what she meant by her signs. I looked again towards the window; but found it closed: and I waited until sunset; but heard no sound, nor saw any person; so, despairing of seeing her again, I rose from my place, and took the handkerchief with me. I opened it, and the odour of musk was diffused from it, and I was so exhilarated by the scent that I seemed as if I were in paradise. I then spread it before me; whereupon there fell from it a piece of delicate paper, and, opening this, I found it richly perfumed with exquisite scents, and inscribed with these verses:—

I sent a letter to complain to him of the pain of my passion, in a delicate handwriting (for handwritings are various);So my beloved said, Wherefore is thy writing thus delicate and minute, so as scarce to be discernible?I answered, Because I am wasted and attenuated: so, therefore, should the writing of lovers be.

When I saw these verses upon the handkerchief, a flame of fire shot into my heart, and my desire and perplexity increased; and I took the handkerchief and the paper, and went with them to the house, not knowing any means of obtaining what I desired, and incapable of discovering how to proceed properly in my love. I arrived not at the house until a considerable portion of the night had elapsed, and beheld my cousin sitting weeping; but when she saw me, she wiped away her tears, and approached me, and took off from me my outer clothes, and asked me the cause of my absence. She told me that all the people, the emeers and grandees, and merchants and others, had assembled in our house, and the Ḳáḍee and the witnesses had come, and they ate the repast, and remained a considerable while sitting in expectation of my presence for the purpose of performing the marriage-contract, and when they despaired of my coming, they dispersed and went their ways.—Thy father, said she, was violently enraged on account of this, and swore that he would not perform our marriage-contract until next year; for he hath expended upon this festivity a large sum of money. What, she added, hath happened unto thee this day, that thou hast delayed thy return until now, and that this hath happened on account of thine absence?

I answered her, Such and such things have happened to me:—and mentioned to her the handkerchief, acquainting her with the affair from first to last: and she took the paper and the handkerchief, and read what was upon them, and her tears ran down upon her cheeks; and she asked me, What did she say to thee, and of what did she make signs to thee? I answered, She uttered not a word; but put her finger in her mouth, and then united it with the middle finger, and placed both fingers upon her bosom, and pointed to the ground: then she drew in her head, and closed the lattice, and I saw her not afterwards. She carried off my heart with her, and I sat until sunset in expectation of her looking out from the lattice a second time; but she did it not; and when I despaired of seeing her again, I rose from the place.

This is my story; and I beg of thee to aid me in the trouble in which I am involved.—Upon this, she raised her head towards me, and said, O son of my uncle, if thou requiredst mine eye, I would pull it out for thee from my eyelids; and I must assist thee in the accomplishment of thy desire, and assist her in like manner; for she is overwhelmed by love for thee, as thou art by love for her.—And what, said I, is the interpretation of the signs which she made?—Her putting her finger in her mouth, she answered, indicateth that thou art in her estimation as her soul to her body,17 and that she longeth for thy union with her; and as to the handkerchief, it is a signal of the lover's salutation to the beloved; and the paper denoteth that her soul is captivated by thee; and as to her putting her two fingers upon her bosom, the meaning of it is as though she said to thee, After two days come hither, that my affliction may be dissipated by thy countenance.18 And know, O son of my uncle, she continued, that she loveth thee and confideth in thee. This is my interpretation of her signs; and if I had liberty to go in and out at pleasure, I would effect thy union with her in the shortest time, and protect you both with my skirt.—When I heard these words from her, said the young man, I thanked her for what she had said, and I said within myself, I will wait two days. I then remained two days in the house, neither going out nor coming in, nor eating nor drinking.

I put my head in the lap of my cousin; and she cheered me by her conversation, and said to me, Be resolute and of good heart, and dress thyself, and repair to her at the time appointed. And she arose, and changed my clothes, and perfumed me with incense.

I then braced up my nerves, and fortified my heart, and went forth, and proceeded until I entered the by-street, and after I had sat a while upon the maṣṭabah, lo, the lattice opened. I looked towards the damsel, and when I saw her I fell down in a swoon: then recovering, I summoned resolution, and took heart, and looked at her a second time; but again I became insensible; and when I recovered, I saw with her a mirror and a red handkerchief. Observing me now, she tucked up her sleeves from her fore arms, and, opening her five fingers, struck her bosom with them (with the palm and the five fingers): next she raised her hands, and held forth the mirror from the lattice, and took the red handkerchief, and retired with it; after which she returned, and let it down from the lattice towards the street three times, letting it down and raising it, and then wringing it and twisting it with her hand, and bending down her head: she then drew it in through the lattice, and closed the lattice, and departed, without speaking to me one word, but leaving me in perplexity, not knowing to what she alluded. I remained sitting there until the hour of nightfall, and went home near midnight.

I found my cousin with her hand placed to her cheek, and her eyelids pouring forth tears; and upon this, my anxieties and griefs increased, and I fell down in a corner of the chamber; but she sprang towards me, and lifted me up, and, having taken off from me my outer clothes, wiped my face with her sleeve, and asked me what had happened to me. I related to her, therefore, all that had happened on the part of the damsel: and she said to me, O son of my uncle, as to her sign with her hand and five fingers, its interpretation is, Come hither after five days:—and as to her sign with the mirror, and her putting forth her head from the lattice [and her actions with the red handkerchief],19 the meaning is, Seat thyself at the shop of the dyer until my messenger shall come to thee.—When I heard her words, fire burned in my heart, and I replied, By Allah, O daughter of my uncle, thou sayest truly in this interpretation; for I saw in the by-street a Jewish dyer. I then wept, and my cousin said, Be resolute, and firm of heart; for others than thou are troubled with love for a period of years, and contend with the fierceness of passion, while thou hast but a week to endure: wherefore then should this impatience overcome thee? And she proceeded to cheer me with her conversation, and brought me food; and I took a morsel, and would have eaten it; but I could not.

I abstained from drink and food, and renounced the delights of sleep, and my complexion became pallid, and my charms became changed; for I had never known love before that, nor tasted the fervency of that passion before; and I fell sick, and my cousin became sick on my account. She occupied herself in relating to me the sufferings of lovers, in order to enliven me, until I fell asleep; and I used to awake, and find her sleepless on my account, with her tears flowing upon her cheeks; and thus I remained until the five days had passed, when my cousin arose, and heated some water for me, and bathed me with it, and dressed me, and said to me, Repair to her, and may Allah accomplish thy wish, and grant thee what thou desirest of thy beloved.

So I went, and walked on until I came to the upper end of the by-street, and that day was Saturday; so I found the shop of the dyer shut: and I sat there till the call to afternoon-prayers; and the sun became yellow, and the call to evening-prayers was chanted; and night commenced, and I saw no trace of her, nor heard a voice, nor received any message: I therefore feared for myself, sitting alone; and I rose and walked away, like one intoxicated, until I entered the house.

There, on going in, I beheld my cousin 'Azeezeh with one of her hands holding a peg knocked into the wall, and her other hand upon her bosom; and she was groaning, and reciting verses; but when she had finished her recitation, she turned her eyes towards me, and beheld me; whereupon she wiped away her tears and mine with her sleeve, and, smiling in my face, said to me, O son of my uncle, Allah grant thee enjoyment of that which He hath given thee! Wherefore hast thou not visited thy beloved this night?—And when I heard her words, I kicked her with my foot upon her bosom, and she fell down upon the raised floor, and there was a peg there, and it wounded her forehead. On looking at her I saw that her forehead was cut open, and her blood was flowing; yet she was silent, and uttered not a single letter; but rose immediately, and burned some tinder of rags, and, having closed with it the wound, tied a bandage round her head, and wiped away the blood that had flowed upon the carpet; and it was as though this accident had not occurred. She then came to me, and, smiling in my face, said to me with a gentle voice, By Allah, O son of my uncle, I said not this to make a jest of thee or of her.

I was troubled just now by the aching of my head, and with wiping away the blood: but at the present moment the pain of my head is alleviated, and that of my forehead: tell me therefore what hath happened to thee this day.—So I related to her all that had befallen me through the conduct of that damsel on this day; and after I had done so I wept; but she said to me, Rejoice at the announcement of the success of thy desire, and the accomplishment of thy hope. Verily this is a sign of acceptance: for she absented herself from thee because she desireth to try thee, and to know whether thou art patient or not, and whether thou art sincere in thy love of her or not. To-morrow go to her, and station thyself at thy first place, and see what sign she will make to thee; for thy happiness is near, and thy sorrow is dissipated.—And she proceeded to console me; but I ceased not to increase in anxiety and grief. She then placed the food before me; but I kicked it with my foot, and the contents of each saucer were scattered about; and I said, Every one who is in love is insane, and inclineth not to food, nor findeth pleasure in sleep.—By Allah, O son of my uncle, exclaimed my cousin 'Azeezeh, these are indeed symptoms of love! And her tears flowed, and she gathered together the fragments of the saucers, and wiped up the food that was spilt, and sat chatting to me, while I prayed to God that He would hasten the morning.

And when the morning came, and diffused its light, I repaired to the damsel, and entered hastily the by-street, where I seated myself upon the maṣṭabah before mentioned; and lo, the window was opened, and she put forth her head from it, laughing. She then retired, and returned bringing a mirror, and a bag, and a pot filled with green plants, and having also in her hand a lamp: and the first thing that she did was this: she took the mirror in her hand, and put it into the bag: then she tied it up and threw it back into the chamber. After this, she let down her hair over her face, and put the lamp upon the top of the green plants for a moment, and then took all these things and departed with them, and closed the lattice. My heart was riven by her secret signs and her obscure intimations, for she addressed me not with a single word, and my passion grew more violent thereat, and my excitement and distraction increased.

I retraced my steps with weeping eye and sorrowful heart until I entered the house, where I saw my cousin sitting with her face to the wall: her heart was burning with anxiety and grief and jealousy; but her affection prevented her from acquainting me at all with the passion which she felt on witnessing my excessive love and distraction. I then looked at her again, and saw that she had, on her head, two bandages: one of them was on account of the accident that had happened to her forehead, and the other was upon her eye, on account of a pain that she suffered in consequence of the violence of her weeping. She was in a most miserable case, weeping, and reciting these verses:—