[256]. Arab. “Zaghab” = the chick’s down; the warts on the cucumber which sometimes develop into projections.
[257]. The Persian saying is, A kiss without moustachio is bread without salt.
ALI THE CAIRENE AND THE HAUNTED HOUSE IN BAGHDAD.
There lived once, in the city of Cairo, a merchant who had great store of monies and bullion, gems and jewels, and lands and houses beyond count, and his name was Hasan the Jeweller, the Baghdad man. Furthermore Allah had blessed him with a son of perfect beauty and brilliancy; rosy-cheeked, fair of face and well-figured, whom he named Ali of Cairo and had taught the Koran and science and elocution and the other branches of polite education, till he became proficient in all manner of knowledge. He was under his father’s hand in trade but, after a while, Hasan fell sick and his sickness grew upon him, till he made sure of death; so he called his son to him,——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-fifth Night,
She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Jeweller, the Baghdadi, fell sick and made sure of death, he called to him his son, named Ali of Cairo, and said, “O my son, verily this world passeth away; but the next world endureth for aye. Every soul shall taste of death;[[258]] and now, O my son, my decease is at hand and I desire to charge thee with a charge, which if thou observe, thou shalt abide in safety and prosperity, till thou meet Almighty Allah; but if thou follow it not, there shall befal thee much weariness and thou wilt repent of having transgressed mine injunctions.” Replied Ali, “O my father, how shall I do other than hearken to thy words and act according to thy charge, seeing that I am bounden by the law of the Faith to obey thee and give ear to thy command?” Rejoined his father, “O my son, I leave thee lands and houses and goods and wealth past count; so that wert thou each day to spend thereof five hundred dinars, thou wouldst miss naught of it. But, O my son, look that thou live in the fear of Allah and follow His Chosen One, Mustafa, (whom may He bless and preserve!) in whatso he is reported to have bidden and forbidden in his traditional law.[[259]] Be thou constant in alms-deeds and the practice of beneficence and in consorting with men of worth and piety and learning; and look that thou have a care for the poor and needy and shun avarice and meanness and the conversation of the wicked or those of suspicious character. Look thou kindly upon thy servants and family, and also upon thy wife, for she is of the daughters of the great and is big with child by thee; haply Allah will vouchsafe thee virtuous issue by her.” And he ceased not to exhort him thus, weeping and saying, “O my son, I beseech Allah the Bountiful, the Lord of the glorious Empyrean[[260]] to deliver thee from all straits that may encompass thee and grant thee His ready relief!” Thereupon his son wept with sore weeping and said, “O my father, I am melted by thy words, for these are as the words of one that saith farewell.” Replied the merchant, “Yes, O my son, I am aware of my condition: forget thou not my charge.” Then he fell to repeating the two professions of the Faith and to reciting verses of the Koran, until the appointed hour arrived, when he said, “Draw near unto me, O my son.” So Ali drew near and he kissed him; then he sighed and his soul departed his body and he went to the mercy of Almighty Allah.[[261]] Therewith great grief fell upon Ali; the clamour of keening arose in his house and his father’s friends flocked to him. Then he betook himself to preparing the body for burial and made him a splendid funeral. They bore his bier to the place of prayer and prayed over him, then to the cemetery, where they buried him and recited over him what suited of the sublime Koran; after which they returned to the house and condoled with the dead man’s son and wended each his own way. Moreover, Ali prayed the Friday prayer for his father and had perlections of the Koran every day for the normal forty, during which time he abode in the house and went not forth, save to the place of prayer; and every Friday he visited his father’s tomb. So he ceased not from his praying and reciting for some time, until his fellows of the sons of the merchants came in to him one day and saluting him, said, “How long this thy mourning and neglecting thy business and the company of thy friends? Verily, this is a fashion which will bring thee weariness, and thy body will suffer for it exceedingly.” Now when they came in to him, Iblis the Accursed was with them, prompting them; and they went on to recommend him to accompany them to the bazar, whilst Iblis tempted him to consent to them, till he yielded,——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the sons of the merchants went in to Ali the Cairene, son of Hasan the Jeweller, they recommended him to accompany them to the bazar, till he yielded, that the will of Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) might be fulfilled; and he left the house of mourning with them. Presently they said, “Mount thy she-mule and ride with us to such a garden, that we may solace us there and that thy grief and despondency may depart from thee.” So he mounted and taking his slave, went with them to the garden in question; and when they entered one of them went and making ready the morning-meal, brought it to them there. So they ate and were merry and sat in talk, till the end of the day, when they mounted and returned each to his own lodging, where they passed the night. As soon as the morrow dawned, they again visited Ali and said, “Come with us.” Asked he, “Whither?”; and they answered, “To such a garden; for it is finer than the first and more pleasurable.” So he went with them to the garden, and one of them, going away, made ready the morning-meal and brought it to them, together with strong heady wine; and after eating they brought out the wine, when quoth Ali, “What is this?” and quoth they, “This is what dispelleth sadness and brighteneth gladness.” And they ceased not to commend it to him, till they prevailed upon him and he drank with them. Then they sat, drinking and talking, till the end of the day, when each returned home. But as for Ali, the Cairene, he was giddy with wine and in this plight went in to his wife, who said to him, “What aileth thee that thou art so changed?” He said, “We were making merry to-day, when one of my companions brought us liquor; so my friends drank and I with them, and this giddiness came upon me.” And she replied, “O my lord, say me, hast thou forgotten thy father’s injunction and done that from which he forbade thee, in consorting with doubtful folk?” Answered he, “These be of the sons of the merchants; they are no suspicious folk, only lovers of mirth and good cheer.” And he continued to lead this life with his friends, day after day, going from place to place and feasting with them and drinking, till they said to him, “Our turns are ended, and now it is thy turn.” “Well come, and welcome and fair cheer!” cried he; so on the morrow, he made ready all that the case called for of meat and drink, two-fold what they had provided, and taking cooks and tent-pitchers and coffee-makers,[[262]] repaired with the others to Al-Rauzah[[263]] and the Nilometer, where they abode a whole month, eating and drinking and hearing music and making merry. At the end of the month, Ali found that he had spent a great sum of money; but Iblis the Accursed deluded him and said to him, “Though thou shouldst spend every day a like sum yet wouldst thou not miss aught of it.” So he took no account of money expenses and continued this way of life for three years, whilst his wife remonstrated with him and reminded him of his father’s charge; but he hearkened not to her words, till he had spent all the ready monies he had, when he fell to selling his jewels and spending their price, until they also were all gone. Then he sold his houses, fields, farms and gardens, one after other, till they likewise were all gone and he had nothing left but the tenement wherein he lived. So he tore out the marble and wood-work and sold it and spent of its price, till he had made an end of all this also, when he took thought with himself and, finding that he had nothing left to expend, sold the house itself and spent the purchase-money. After that, the man who had bought the house came to him and said “Seek out for thyself a lodging, as I have need of my house.” So he bethought himself and, finding that he had no want of a house, except for his wife, who had borne him a son and daughter (he had not a servant left), he hired a large room in one of the mean courts[[264]] and there took up his abode, after having lived in honour and luxury, with many eunuchs and much wealth; and he soon came to want one day’s bread. Quoth his wife, “Of this I warned thee and exhorted thee to obey thy father’s charge, and thou wouldst not hearken to me; but there is no Majesty and there is no Might, save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Whence shall the little ones eat? Arise then, go round to thy friends, the sons of the merchants: belike they will give thee somewhat on which we may live this day.” So he arose and went to his friends one by one; but they all hid their faces from him and gave him injurious words revolting to hear, but naught else; and he returned to his wife and said to her, “They have given me nothing.” Thereupon she went forth to beg of her neighbours the wherewithal to keep themselves alive——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,