'I waved to and fro and he waved to and fro, * With a motion so
pleasant, now fast and now slow;
And at last he sunk down on my bosom of snow; * 'Your lover
friend?'"
"No friend, my fan;"[FN#444] said she. Q "How many words did Allah speak to Moses?" "It is related of the Apostle that he said, 'God spoke to Moses fifteen hundred and fifteen words.'" Q "Tell me of fourteen things that speak to the Lord of the Worlds?" "The seven heavens and the seven earths, when they say, 'We come obedient to Thy command.'"[FN#445]—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel made the answer, the philosopher continued, "Tell me of Adam and how he was first created?" and she said, "Allah created Adam of clay: the clay He made of foam and the foam of the sea, the sea of darkness, darkness of light, light of a fish, the fish of a rock, the rock of a ruby, the ruby of water, and the water He created by His Omnipotence according to His saying (exalted be His name!), 'His commandment when He willeth aught, is but to say, BE,—and IT IS.'"[FN#446] Q "What is meant by the poet in these verses,
'And eater lacking mouth and even maw; * Yet trees and beasts to
it are daily bread:
Well fed it thrives and shows a lively life, * But give it water
and you do it dead?'"
"This," quoth she, "is Fire." "And in these;" he asked,
"Two lovers barred from every joy and bliss, * Who through the
livelong night embracing lie:
They guard the folk from all calamities, * But with the rising
sun apart they fly?"
She answered, "The leaves of a door." Quoth he, "Tell me of the gates of Gehenna?" Quoth she, "They are seven in number and their names are comprised in these two couplets,
'Jahannam, next Lazα, and third Hatνm; * Then count Sa'νr and
Sakar eke, five-fold,
Sixth comes Jahνm and Hαwiyah the seventh; * Here are seven Hells
in four lines briefly told.'"
Quoth he "To what doth the poet refer when he saith,