第47章

When it was the Eight Hundred and Twenty-second Night； She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the ancient Lady of Calamities cried，'When Queen Nur al-Huda doeth such misdeed to her sister，what will she do to a stranger like myself，against whom she is incensed？'Then said she，'I conjure thee，O devil，by the Most Compassionate，the Bountiful-great；the High of Estate，of Dominion Elate who man and Jinn did create，and by the writing upon the seal of Solomon David-son （on both be the Peace！） speak to me and answer me；'Quoth Hasan，'I am no devil；I am Hasan，the afflicted，the distraught.'Then he raised the cap from his head and appeared to the old woman，who knew him and taking him apart，said to him，'What is come to thy reason，that thou returnest hither？ Go hide thee；for，if this wicked woman have tormented thy wife with such torments，and she her sister，what will she do，an she light on thee？'Then she told him all that had befallen his spouse and that wherein she was of travail and torment and tribulation，and straitly described all the pains she endured adding，'And indeed the Queen repenteth her of having let thee go and hath sent one after thee；promising him an hundred-weight of gold and my rank in her service；and she hath sworn that，if he bring thee back，she will do thee and thy wife and children dead.'And she shed tears and discovered to Hasan what the Queen had done with herself，whereat he wept and said，'O my lady，how shall I do to escape from this land and deliver myself and my wife and children from this tyrannical Queen and how devise to return with them in safety to my own country？'Replied the old woman，'Woe to thee！ Save thyself.'Quoth he，'There is no help but I deliver her and my children from the Queen perforce and in her despite；'and quoth Shawahi，'How canst thou forcibly rescue them from her？ Go and hide thyself，O my son，till Allah Almighty empower thee.'Then Hasan showed her the rod and the cap，whereat she rejoiced with joy exceeding and cried，'Glory be to Him who quickeneth the bones，though they be rotten！ By Allah，O my son，thou and thy wife were but of lost folk；now，however，thou art saved，thou and thy wife and children！ For I know the rod and I know its maker，who was my Shaykh in the science of Gramarye.He was a mighty magician and spent an hundred and thirty and five years working at this rod and cap，till he brought them to perfection；when Death the Inevitable overtook him.And I have heard him say to his two boys，'O my sons，these two things are not of your lot，for there will come a stranger from a far country，who will take them from you by force，and ye shall not know how he taketh them.'Said they，'O our father，tell us how he will avail to take them.'But he answered，'I wot not.'And O my son，'added she，'how availedst thou to take them？'So he told her how he had taken them from the two boys，whereat she rejoiced and said，'O

my son，since thou hast gotten the whereby to free thy wife and children，give ear to what I shall say to thee.For me there is no woning with this wicked woman，after the foul fashion in which she durst use me；so I am minded to depart from her to the caves of the Magicians and there abide with them until I die.But do thou，O my son，don the cap and hend the rod in hand and enter the place where thy wife and children are.Unbind her bonds and smite the earth with the rod saying，'Be ye present，O servants of these names！'whereupon the servants of the rod will appear；

and if there present himself one of the Chiefs of the Tribes；command him whatso thou shalt wish and will.'So he farewelled her and went forth，donning the cap and hending the rod，and entered the place where his wife was.He found her well-nigh lifeless，bound to the ladder by her hair，tearful-eyed and woeful-hearted，in the sorriest of plights，knowing no way to deliver herself.Her children were playing under the ladder；whilst she looked at them and wept for them and herself，because of the barbarities and sore treatings and bitter penalties which had befallen her；and he heard her repeat these couplets[166]；'There remained not aught save a fluttering，breath and an eye whose owner is confounded.

And a desirous lover whose bowels are burned with fire notwithstanding which she is silent.

The exulting foe pitieth her at the sight of her.Alas for her whom the exulting foe pitieth！'

When Hasan saw her in this state of torment and misery and ignominy and infamy，he wept till he fainted；and when he recovered he saw his children playing and their mother aswoon for excess of pain；so he took the cap from his head and the children saw him and cried out，'O our father！'Then he covered his head again and the Princess came to herself，hearing their cry，but saw only her children weeping and shrieking，'O our father！'When she heard them name their sire and weep，her heart was broken and her vitals rent asunder and she said to them，'What maketh you in mind of your father at this time？'And she wept sore and cried out，from a bursten liver and an aching bosom，'Where are ye and where is your father？'Then she recalled the days of her union with Hasan and what had befallen her since her desertion of him and wept with sore weeping till her cheeks were seared and furrowed and her face was drowned in a briny flood.Her tears ran down and wetted the ground and she had not a hand loose to wipe them from her cheeks，whilst the flies fed their fill on her skin，and she found no helper but weeping and no solace but improvising verses.Then she repeated these couplets；'I call to mind the parting-day that rent our loves in twain；When，as I turned away，the tears in very streams did rain.

The cameleer urged on his beasts with them，what while I found Nor strength nor fortitude，nor did my heart with me remain.

Yea，back I turned，unknowing of the road nor might shake off The trance of grief and longing love that numbed my heart and brain；

And worst of all betided me，on my return，was one Who came to me，in lowly guise，to glory in my pain.