She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Princess, daughter to the King of the Stone-city, thus continued:—Verily, O Abdullah my father had monies and hoards, such as eye never saw and of which ear never heard. He used to debel Kings and do to death champions and braves in battle and in the field of fight, so that the Conquerors feared him and the Chosroës[[516]] humbled themselves to him. For all this, he was a miscreant in creed ascribing to Allah partnership and adoring idols, instead of the Lord of worship; and all his troops were of images fain in lieu of the All-knowing Sovereign. One day of the days as he sat on the throne of his Kingship, compassed about with the Grandees of his realm, suddenly there came in to him a Personage, whose face illumined the whole Divan with its light. My father looked at him and saw him clad in a garb of green,[[517]] tall of stature and with hands that reached beneath his knees. He was of reverend aspect and awesome and the light[[518]] shone from his face. Said he to my sire, “O rebel, O idolater, how long wilt thou take pride in worshipping idols and abandoning the service of the All-knowing King? Say:—I testify that there is no god but the God and that Mohammed is His servant and His messenger. And embrace Al-Islam, thou and thy tribe; and put away from you the worship of idols, for they neither suffice man’s need nor intercede. None is worshipful save Allah alone, who raised up the heavens without columns and spread out the earths like carpets in mercy to His creatures.”[[519]] Quoth my father, “Who art thou, O man who rejectest the worship of idols, that thou sayst thus? Fearest thou not that the idols will be wroth with thee?” He replied, “The idols are stones; their anger cannot prejudice me nor their favour profit me. So do thou set in my presence thine idol which thou adorest and bid all thy folk bring each his image: and when they are all present, do ye pray them to be wroth with me and I will pray my Lord to be wroth with them, and ye shall descry the difference between the anger of the creature and that of the Creator. For your idols, ye fashioned them yourselves and the Satans clad themselves therewith as with clothing, and they it is who spake to you from within the bellies of the images,[[520]] for your idols are made and the maker is my God to whom naught is impossible. An the True appear to you, do ye follow it, and if the False appear to you do ye leave it.” Cried they, “Give us a proof of thy god, that we may see it;” and quoth he, “Give me proof of your gods.” So the King bade every one who worshipped his Lord in image-form to bring it, and all the armies brought their idols to the Divan. Thus fared it with them; but as for me, I was sitting behind a curtain, whence I could look upon my father’s Divan, and I had an idol of emerald whose bigness was as the bigness of a son of Adam. My father demanded it, so I sent it to the Divan, where they set it down beside that of my sire, which was of jacinth, whilst the Wazir’s idol was of diamond.[[521]] As for those of the Grandees and Notables, some were of balass-ruby and some of carnelian, others of coral or Comorin aloes-wood and yet others of ebony or silver or gold; and each had his own idol, after the measure of his competence; whilst the idols of the common soldiers and of the people were some of granite, some of wood, some of pottery and some of mud; and all were of various hues yellow and red; green, black and white. Then said the Personage to my sire, “Pray your idol and these idols to be wroth with me.” So they aligned the idols in a Divan,[[522]] setting my father’s idol on a chair of gold at the upper end, with mine by its side, and ranking the others each according to the condition of him who owned it and worshipped it. Then my father arose and prostrating himself to his own idol, said to it, “O my god, thou art the Bountiful Lord, nor is there among the idols a greater than thyself. Thou knowest that this person cometh to me, attacking thy divinity and making mock of thee; yea, he avoucheth that he hath a god stronger than thou and ordereth us leave adoring thee and adore his god. So be thou wrath with him, O my god!” And he went on to supplicate the idol; but the idol returned him no reply neither bespoke him with aught of speech; whereupon quoth he, “O my god, this is not of thy wont, for thou usedst to answer me, when I addressed thee. How cometh it that I see thee silent and speaking not? Art thou unheeding or asleep?[[523]] Awake; succour me and speak to me!” And he shook it with his hand; but it spake not neither stirred from its stead. Thereupon quoth the Personage, “What aileth thine idol that it speaketh not?”; and quoth the King, “Methinks he is absent-minded or asleep.” Exclaimed the other, “O enemy of Allah, how canst thou worship a god that speaketh not nor availeth unto aught and not worship my God, who to prayers deigns assent and who is ever present and never absent, neither unheeding nor sleeping, whom conjecture may not ween, who seeth and is not seen and who over all things terrene is omnipotent? Thy god is powerless and cannot guard itself from harm; and indeed a stoned Satan had clothed himself therewith as with a coat that he might debauch thee and delude thee. But now hath its devil departed; so do thou worship Allah and testify that there is no god but He and that none is worshipful nor worship-worth but Himself; neither is there any good but His good. As for this thy god, it cannot ward off hurt from it; so how shall it ward off harm from thee? See with thine own eyes its impotence.” So saying, he went up to the idol and dealt it a cuff on the neck, that it fell to the ground; whereupon the King waxed wroth and cried to the bystanders, “This froward atheist hath smitten my god. Slay him!” So they would have arisen to smite him, but none of them could stir from his place. Then he propounded to them Al-Islam; but they refused to become Moslems and he said, “I will show you the wroth of my Lord.” Quoth they, “Let us see it!” So he spread out his hands and said, “O my God and my Lord, Thou art my stay and my hope; answer Thou my prayer against these lewd folk, who eat of Thy good and worship other gods. O Thou the Truth, O Thou of All-might, O Creator of Day and Night, I beseech Thee to turn these people into stones, for Thou art the Puissant nor is aught impossible to Thee, and Thou over all things are omnipotent!” And Allah transformed the people of this city into stones; but, as for me, when I saw the manifest proof of His deity, I submitted myself to Him and was saved from that which befel the rest. Then the Personage drew near me and said “Felicity[[524]] was fore-ordained of Allah to thee and in this a purpose had He.” And he went on to instruct me and I took unto him the oath and covenant.[[525]] I was then seven years of age and am now thirty years old. Then said I to him, “O my lord, all that is in the city and all its citizens are become stones by thine effectual prayer, and I am saved, for that I embraced Al-Islam at thy hands. Wherefore thou art become my Shaykh; so do thou tell me thy name and succour me with thy security and provide me with provision whereon I may subsist.” Quoth he, “My name is Abu al-’Abbás al-Khizr”; and he planted me a pomegranate-tree, which forthright grew up and foliaged, flowered and fruited, and bare one pomegranate; whereupon quoth he, “Eat of that wherewith Allah the Almighty provideth thee and worship Him with the worship which is His due.” Then he taught me the tenets of Al-Islam and the canons of prayer and the way of worship, together with the recital of the Koran, and I have now worshipped Allah in this place three-and-twenty years. Each day the tree yieldeth me a pomegranate which I eat and it sustaineth me from tide to tide; and every Friday, Al-Khizr (on whom be peace!) cometh to me and ’tis he who acquainted me with thy name and gave me the glad tidings of thy soon coming hither, saying to me, “When he shall come to thee, entreat him with honour and obey his bidding and gainsay him not; but be thou to him wife and he shall be to thee man, and wend with him whitherso he will.” So, when I saw thee, I knew thee and such is the story of this city and of its people, and the Peace!” Then she showed me the pomegranate-tree, whereon was one granado, which she took and eating one-half thereof herself, gave me the other to eat, and never did I taste aught sweeter or more savoury or more satisfying than that pomegranate. After this, I said to her, “Art thou content, even as the Shaykh Al-Khizr charged thee, to be my wife and take me to mate; and art thou ready to go with me to my own country and abide with me in the city of Bassorah?” She replied, “Yes, Inshallah: an it please Almighty Allah. I hearken to thy word and obey thy hest without gainsaying.” Then I made a binding covenant with her and she carried me into her father’s treasury, whence we took what we could carry and going forth that city, walked on till we came to my brothers, whom I found searching for me. They asked, “Where hast thou been? Indeed thou hast tarried long from us, and our hearts were troubled for thee.” And the captain of the ship said to me, “O merchant Abdullah, the wind hath been fair for us this great while, and thou hast hindered us from setting sail.” And I answered, “There is no harm in that: ofttimes slow[[526]] is sure and my absence hath wrought us naught but advantage, for indeed, there hath betided me therein the attainment of our hopes and God-gifted is he who said:—

I weet not, whenas to a land I fare ✿ In quest of good, what I shall there obtain;

Or gain I fare with sole desire to seek; ✿ Or loss that seeketh me when seek I gain.

Then said I to them, “See what hath fallen to me in this mine absence;” and displayed to them all that was with me of treasures and told them what I had beheld in the City of Stone, adding, “Had ye hearkened to me and gone with me, ye had gotten of these things great gain.”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

Now when it was the Nine Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night,

She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdullah bin Fazil said to his shipmates and to his two brothers, “Had ye gone with me, ye had gotten of these things great gain.” But they said, “By Allah, had we gone, we had not dared to go in to the King of the city!” Then I said to my brothers, “No harm shall befal you; for that which I have will suffice us all and this is our lot.[[527]]” So I divided my booty into four parts according to our number and gave one to each of my brothers and to the Captain, taking the fourth for myself, setting aside somewhat for the servants and sailors, who rejoiced and blessed me: and all were content with what I gave them, save my brothers who changed countenance and rolled their eyes. I perceived that lust of lucre had gotten hold of them both; so I said to them, “O my brothers, methinketh what I have given you doth not satisfy you; but we are brothers and there is no difference between us. My good and yours are one and the same thing, and if I die none will inherit of me but you.” And I went on to soothe them. Then I bore the Princess on board the galleon and lodged her in the cabin, where I sent her somewhat to eat and we sat talking, I and my brothers. Said they, “O our brother, what wilt thou do with that damsel of surpassing beauty?” And I replied, “I mean to contract marriage with her, as soon as I reach Bassorah and make a splendid wedding and go in to her there.” Exclaimed one of them, “O my brother, verily, this young lady excelleth in beauty and loveliness and the love of her is fallen on my heart; wherefore I desire that thou give her to me and I will espouse her.” And the other cried, “I too desire this: give her to me, that I may espouse her.” “O my brothers,” answered I, “indeed she took of me an oath and a covenant that I would marry her myself; so, if I give her to one of you, I shall be false to my oath and to the covenant between me and her, and haply she will be broken-hearted, for she came not with me but on condition that I marry her. So how can I wed her to other than myself? As for your both loving her, I love her more than you twain, for she is my treasure-trove, and as for my giving her to one of you, that is a thing which may not be. But, if we reach Bassorah in safety, I will look you out two girls of the best of the damsels of Bassorah and demand them for you in marriage and pay the dower of my own monies and make one wedding and we will all three go into our brides on the same night. But leave ye this damsel, for she is of my portion.” They held their peace, and I thought they were content with that which I had said. Then we fared onwards for Bassorah, and every day I sent her meat and drink; but she came not forth of the cabin, whilst I slept between my brothers on deck. We sailed thus forty days, till we sighted Bassorah city and rejoiced that we were come near it. Now I trusted in my brothers and was at my ease with them, for none knoweth the hidden future save Allah the Most High; so I lay down to sleep that night; but, as I abode drowned in slumber, I suddenly found myself caught up by these my brothers, one seizing me by the legs and the other by the arms, for they had taken counsel together to drown me in the sea for the sake of the damsel. When I saw myself in their hands, I said to them, “O my brothers, why do ye this with me?” And they replied, “Ill-bred that thou art, wilt thou barter our affection for a girl?: we will cast thee into the sea, because of this.” So saying, they threw me overboard. (Here Abdullah turned to the dogs and said to them, “Is this that I have said true O my brothers or not?”; and they bowed their heads and fell awhining, as if confirming his speech; whereat the Caliph wondered). Then Abdullah resumed;—O Commander of the Faithful, when they threw me into the sea, I sank to the bottom; but the water bore me up again to the surface, and before I could think, behold a great bird, the bigness of a man, swooped down upon me and snatching me up, flew up with me into upper air. I fainted and when I opened my eyes, I found myself in a strong-pillared place, a high-builded palace, adorned with magnificent paintings and pendants of gems of all shapes and hues. Therein were damsels standing with their hands crossed over their breasts and, behold in their midst was a lady seated on a throne of red gold, set with pearls and gems, and clad in apparel whereon no mortal might open his eyes, for the lustre of the jewels wherewith they were decked. About her waist she wore a girdle of jewels no money could pay their worth and on her head a three-fold tiara dazing thought and wit and dazzling heart and sight. Then the bird which had carried me thither shook and became a young lady bright as sun raying light. I fixed my eyes on her and behold, it was she whom I had seen in snake form on the mountain and had rescued from the dragon which had wound his tail around her. Then said to her the lady who sat upon the throne, “Why hast thou brought hither this mortal?”; and she replied, “O my mother, this is he who was the means of veiling my honour[[528]] among the maidens of the Jinn.” Then quoth she to me, “Knowest thou who I am?”; and quoth I, “No.” Said she, I am she who was on such a mountain, where the black dragon strave with me and would have forced my honour, but thou slewest him.” And I said, “I saw but a white snake with the dragon.” She rejoined, “’Tis I who was the white snake; but I am the daughter of the Red King, Sovran of the Jann and my name is Sa’ídah.[[529]] She who sitteth there is my mother and her name is Mubárakah, wife of the Red King. The black dragon who attacked me and would have done away my honour was Wazir to the Black King, Darfíl by name, and he was foul of favour. It chanced that he saw me and fell in love with me; so he sought me in marriage of my sire, who sent to him to say, “Who art thou, O scum of Wazirs, that thou shouldst wed with Kings’ daughters?” Whereupon he was wroth and sware an oath that he would assuredly do away my honour, to spite my father. Then he fell to tracking my steps and following me whithersoever I went, designing to ravish me; wherefore there befel between him and my parent mighty fierce wars and bloody jars, but my sire could not prevail against him, for that he was fierce as fraudful and as often as my father pressed hard upon him and seemed like to conquer he would escape from him, till my sire was at his wits’ end. Every day I was forced to take new form and hue; for, as often as I assumed a shape, he would assume its contrary, and to whatsoever land I fled he would snuff my fragrance and follow me thither, so that I suffered sore affliction of him. At last I took the form of a snake and betook myself to the mountain where thou sawest me; whereupon he changed himself to a dragon and pursued me, till I fell into his hands, when he strove with me and I struggled with him, till he wearied me and mounted me, meaning to have his lustful will of me: but thou camest and smotest him with the stone and slewest him. Then I returned to my own shape and showed myself to thee, saying:—I am indebted to thee for a service such as is not lost save with the son of adultery.[[530]] So, when I saw thy brothers do with thee this treachery and throw thee into the sea, I hastened to thee and saved thee from destruction, and now honour is due to thee from my mother and my father.” Then she said to the Queen, “O my mother, do thou honour him as deserveth he who saved my virtue.” So the Queen said to me, “Welcome, O mortal! Indeed thou hast done us a kindly deed which meriteth honour.” Presently she ordered me a treasure-suit,[[531]] worth a mint of money, and store of gems and precious stones, and said, “Take him and carry him in to the King.” Accordingly, they carried me in to the King in his Divan, where I found him seated on his throne, with his Marids and guards before him; and when I saw him my sight was blent for that which was upon him of jewels; but when he saw me, he rose to his feet and all his officers rose also, to do him worship. Then he saluted me and welcomed me and entreated me with the utmost honour, and gave me of that which was with him of good things; after which he said to some of his followers, “Take him and carry him back to my daughter, that she may restore him to the place whence she brought him.” So they carried me back to the Lady Sa’idah, who took me up and flew away with me and my treasures. On this wise fared it with me and the Princess; but as regards the Captain of the galleon, he was aroused by the splash of my fall, when my brothers cast me into the sea, and said, “What is that which hath fallen overboard?” Whereupon my brothers fell to weeping and beating of breasts and replied, “Alas, for our brother’s loss! He thought to do his need over the ship’s side[[532]] and fell into the water!” Then they laid their hands on my good, but there befel dispute between them because of the damsel, each saying, “None shall have her but I.” And they abode jangling and wrangling each with other and remembered not their brother nor his drowning and their mourning for him ceased. As they were thus, behold Sa’idah alighted with me in the midst of the galleon——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

Now when it was the Nine Hundred and Eighty-fifth Night,

She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdullah bin Fazil continued, “As they were thus, behold, Sa’idah alighted with me in the midst of the galleon and when my brothers saw me, they embraced me and rejoiced in me, saying, “O our brother, how hast thou fared in that which befel thee? Indeed our hearts have been occupied with thee.” Quoth Sa’idah, “Had ye any heart-yearnings for him or had ye loved him, ye had not cast him into the sea; but choose ye now what death ye will die.” Then she seized on them and would have slain them; but they cried out, saying, “In thy safeguard, O our brother!” Thereupon I interceded and said to her, “I claim of thine honour not to kill my brothers.” Quoth she, “There is no help but that I slay them, for they are traitors.” But I ceased not to speak her fair and conciliate her till she said, “To content thee, I will not kill them, but I will enchant them.” So saying, she brought out a cup and filling it with sea-water, pronounced over it words that might not be understood; then saying, “Quit this human shape for the shape of a dog;” she sprinkled them with the water, and immediately they were transmewed into dogs, as thou seest them, O Vicar of Allah.” Whereupon he turned to the dogs and said to them, “Have I spoken the truth, O my brothers?” And they bowed their heads, as they would say, “Thou hast spoken sooth.” At this he continued, “Then she said to those who were in the galleon:—Know ye that Abdullah bin Fazil here present is become my brother and I shall visit him once or twice every day: so, whoso of you crosseth him or gainsayeth his bidding or doth him hurt with hand or tongue, I will do with him even as I have done with these two traitors and bespell him to a dog, and he shall end his days in that form, nor shall he find deliverance.” And they all said to her, “O our lady, we are his slaves and his servants every one of us and will not disobey him in aught.” Moreover, she said to me, “When thou comest to Bassorah, examine all thy property and if there lack aught thereof, tell me and I will bring it to thee, in whose hands and in what place soever it may be, and will change him who took it into a dog. When thou hast magazined thy goods, clap a collar[[533]] of wood on the neck of each of these two traitors and tie them to the leg of a couch and shut them up by themselves. Moreover, every night, at midnight, do thou go down to them and beat each of them a bout till he swoon away; and if thou suffer a single night to pass without beating them, I will come to thee and drub thee a sound drubbing, after which I will drub them.” And I answered, “To hear is to obey.” Then said she, “Tie them up with ropes till thou come to Bassorah.” So I tied a rope about each dog’s neck and lashed them to the mast, and she went her way. On the morrow we entered Bassorah and the merchants came out to meet me and saluted me, and no one of them enquired of my brothers. But they looked at the dogs and said to me, “Ho, such and such,[[534]] what wilt thou do with these two dogs thou hast brought with thee?” Quoth I, “I reared them on this voyage and have brought them home with me.” And they laughed at them, knowing not that they were my brothers. When I reached my house, I put the twain in a closet and busied myself all that night with the unpacking and disposition of the bales of stuffs and jewels. Moreover, the merchants were with me being minded to offer me the salam; wherefore I was occupied with them and forgot to beat the dogs or chain them up. Then without doing them aught of hurt, I lay down to sleep, but suddenly and unexpectedly there came to me the Red King’s daughter Sa’idah and said to me, “Did I not bid thee clap chains on their necks and give each of them a bout of beating?” So saying, she seized me and pulling out a whip, flogged me till I fainted away, after which she went to the place where my brothers were and with the same scourge beat them both till they came nigh upon death. Then said she to me, “Beat each of them a like bout every night, and if thou let a night pass without doing this, I will beat thee;” and I replied, “O my lady, to-morrow I will put chains on their necks, and next night I will beat them nor will I leave them one night unbeaten.” And she charged me strictly to beat them and disappeared. When the morning morrowed it being no light matter for me to put fetters of iron on their necks, I went to a goldsmith and bade him make them collars and chains of gold. He did this and I put the collars on their necks and chained them up, as she bade me; and next night I beat them both in mine own despite. This befel in the Caliphate of Al-Mahdi,[[535]] third of the sons of Al-Abbas, and I commended myself to him by sending him presents, so he invested me with the government and made me viceroy of Bassorah. On this wise I abode some time and after a while I said to myself, “Haply her wrath is grown cool;” and left them a night unbeaten, whereupon she came to me and beat me a bout whose burning I shall never forget long as I live. So, from that time to this, I have never left them a single night unbeaten during the reign of Al-Mahdi; and when he deceased and thou camest to the succession, thou sentest to me, confirming me in the government of Bassorah. These twelve years past have I beaten them every night, in mine own despite, and after I have beaten them, I excuse myself to them and comfort them and give them to eat and drink; and they have remained shut up, nor did any of the creatures of Allah know of them, till thou sentest to me Abu Ishak the boon-companion, on account of the tribute, and he discovered my secret and returning to thee, acquainted thee therewith. Then thou sentest him back to fetch me and them; so I answered with ‘Hearkening and obedience,’ and brought them before thee, whereupon thou questionedst me and I told thee the truth of the case; and this is my history.” The Caliph marvelled at the case of the two dogs and said to Abdullah, “Hast thou at this present forgiven thy two brothers the wrong they did thee, yea or nay?” He replied, “O my lord, may Allah forgive them and acquit them of responsibility in this world and the next! Indeed, ’tis I who stand in need of their forgiveness, for that these twelve years past I have beaten them a grievous bout every night!” Rejoined the Caliph, “O Abdullah, Inshallah, I will endeavour for their release and that they may become men again, as they were before, and I will make peace between thee and them; so shall you live the rest of your lives as brothers loving one another; and like as thou hast forgiven them, so shall they forgive thee. But now take them and go down with them to thy lodging and this night beat them not, and to-morrow there shall be naught save weal.” Quoth Abdullah, “O my lord, as thy head liveth, if I leave them one night unbeaten, Sa’idah will come to me and beat me, and I have no body to brook beating.” Quoth the Caliph, “Fear not, for I will give thee a writing under my hand.[[536]] An she come to thee, do thou give her the paper and if, when she has read it, she spare thee, the favour will be hers; but, if she obey not my bidding, commit thy business to Allah and let her beat thee a bout and suppose that thou hast forgotten to beat them for one night and that she beateth thee because of that: and if it fall out thus and she thwart me, as sure as I am Commander of the Faithful, I will be even with her.” Then he wrote her a letter on a piece of paper, two fingers broad, and sealing it with his signet-ring, gave it to Abdullah, saying, “O Abdullah, if Sa’idah come, say to her:—The Caliph, King of mankind, hath commanded me to leave beating them and hath written me this letter for thee; and he saluteth thee with the salam. Then give her the warrant and fear no harm.” After which he exacted of him an oath and a solemn pledge that he would not beat them. So Abdullah took the dogs and carried them to his lodging, saying to himself, “I wonder what the Caliph will do with the daughter of the Sovran of the Jinn, if she cross him and trounce me to-night! But I will bear with a bout of beating for once and leave my brothers at rest this night, though for their sake I suffer torture.” Then he bethought himself awhile, and his reason said to him, “Did not the Caliph rely on some great support, he had never forbidden me from beating them.” So he entered his lodging and doffed the collars from the dogs’ necks, saying, “I put my trust in Allah,” and fell to comforting them and saying, “No harm shall befal you; for the Caliph, fifth[[537]] of the sons of Al-Abbas, hath pledged himself for your deliverance and I have forgiven you. An it please Allah the Most High, the time is come and ye shall be delivered this blessed night; so rejoice ye in the prospect of peace and gladness.” When they heard these words, they fell to whining with the whining of dogs,——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.