第32章

Know，O my son；that here is a mighty host，[119] equipped with arms and steeds and warlike gear，who long to enter the Wak Islands and lack power thereto.But，O my son，for the sake of the Shaykh Abu al-Ruwaysh，son of Bilkis，[120] the daughter of Mu'in，I may not send thee back to him unfulfilled of thine affair.Presently there will come to us ships from the Islands of Wak and the first that shall arrive I will send thee on board of her and give thee in charge to the sailors，so they may take care of thee and carry thee to the Islands.If any question thee of thy case and condition，answer him saying，'I am kinsman to King Hassun，Lord of the Land of Camphor；' and when the ship shall make fast to the shore of the Islands of Wak and the master shall bid thee land；do thou land.Now as soon as thou comest ashore，thou wilt see a multitude of wooden settles all about the beach，of which do thou choose thee one and crouch under it and stir not.And when dark night sets in，thou wilt see an army of women appear and flock about the goods landed from the ship，and one of them will sit down on the settle，under which thou hast hidden thyself；whereupon do thou put forth thy hand to her and take hold of her and implore her protection.And know thou，O my son，that an she accord thee protection，thou wilt win thy wish and regain thy wife and children；but，if she refuse to protect thee，make thy mourning for thyself and give up all hope of life，and make sure of death for indeed thou art a dead man.Understand，O my son；that thou adventurest thy life and this is all I can do for thee；and--the peace！'--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Fourth Night； She said；It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that King Hassun spake these words to Hasan and charged him as we have related，ending with，'This is all I can do for thee and know that except the Lord of Heaven had aided thee，thou hadst not come hither！'The youth wept till he swooned away，and when he recovered，he recited these two couplets；'A term decreed my lot I'spy；* And，when its days shall end，I die.

Though lions fought with me in lair * If Time be mine I'd beat them，I！'

Then having ended his verse he kissed the ground before the Sovran and said to him，'O mighty King，how many days remain till the coming of the ships？'Replied the other，'In a month's time they will come and will tarry here，selling their cargueson；other two months，after which they will return to their own country；so hope not to set out save after three whole months.'

Then the King bade him return to the house of hospitality and bade supply him with all that he needed of meat and drink and raiment fit for Kings.Hasan abode in the guest-house a month；at the end of which the vessels arrived and the King and the merchants went forth to them，taking Hasan with them.Amongst them he saw a ship with much people therein，like the shingles for number；none knew their tale save He who created them.She was anchored in mid-harbour and had cocks which transported her lading to the shore.So Hasan abode till the crew had landed all the goods and sold and bought and to the time of departure there wanted but three days；whereupon the King sent for him and equipped him with all he required and gave him great gifts：

after which he summoned the captain of the great ship and said to him，'Take this youth with thee in the vessel，so none may know of him save thou，and carry him to the Islands of Wak and leave him there；and bring him not back.' And the Rais said，'To hear is to obey： with love and gladness！'Then quoth the King to Hasan，'Look thou tell none of those who are with thee in the ship thine errand nor discover to them aught of thy case；else thou art a lost man；'and quoth he，'Hearing and obedience！'With this he farewelled the King，after he had wished him long life and victory over his enviers and his enemies；wherefore the King thanked him and wished him safety and the winning of his wish.

Then he committed him to the captain，who laid him in a chest which he embarked in a dinghy，and bore him aboard，whilst the folk were busy in breaking bulk and no man doubted but the chest contained somewhat of merchandise.After this，the vessels set sail and fared on without ceasing ten days，and on the eleventh day they made the land.So the Rais set Hasan ashore and，as he walked up the beach，he saw wooden settles[121] without number，none knew their count save Allah，even as the King had told him.He went on，till he came to one that had no fellow and hid under it till nightfall，when there came up a mighty many of women，as they were locusts over-swarming the land and they marched afoot and armed cap-…-pie in hauberks and strait-knit coats of mail hending drawn swords in their hands，who，seeing the merchandise landed from the ships，busied themselves therewith.Presently they sat down to rest themselves，and one of them seated herself on the settle under which Hasan had crouched：