The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night Novel Chapters
List of most recent chapters published for the The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night novel. A total of 542 chapters have been translated and the release date of the last chapter is Apr 02, 2024
Latest Release: Chapter 1 : The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night.Volume 1.by Richard F. Burton.Foreword.This
The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night.Volume 1.by Richard F. Burton.Foreword.This work, labourious as it may appear, has been to me a labour of love, an unfailing source of solace and satisfaction. During my long years of official banishment to the
- 242 She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the merchants bid one against other till they made the price of the girl nine hundred and fifty dinars. Then the broker went up to her Persian master and said to him, "The biddings for this thy sl
- 241 Seest not how four-fold things conjoin in one * Rose, myrtle, scents and blooms of golden hue.[FN#432]Yea, here this day the four chief joys unite * Drink and dinars, beloved and lover true: So win thy worldly joy, for joys go past * And naught but storie
- 240 Then the gardener gave a bunch to another and he recited these two couplets, "Take, O my lord, to thee the Rose * Recalling scent by mush be shed.Like virginette by lover eyed * Who with her sleeves[FN#415]enveileth head."Then he gave a bunch to
- 239 "Welcome[FN#392] the Fig! To us it comes * Ordered in handsome plates they bring: Likest a Surfah[FN#393]-cloth we draw * To shape of bag without a ring."And how well saith a third, "Give me the Fig sweet-flavoured, beauty-clad, * Whose inn
- 238 As he made an end of his recitation, he found himself walking adown in Zayn al-Mawasif's street and smelt the sweet savour of the pastiles wherewithal she had incensed the house; wherefore his vitals fluttered and his heart was like to leave his brea
- 237 I was a Kazi whom my Fate deigned aid with choicest aid * By writ and reed and raised me to wealth and high degree; Till I was shot by sharpest shaft that knows nor leach nor cure *By Damsel's glance who came to spill my blood and murther me.To me ca
- 236 How pleasant were the days of yore all gone: * Would we had somewhat of those days of yore!"When the missive reached Zayn al-Mawasif, she read it and again gave it to her handmaid Hubub, saying to her, "Keep it secret!"However, the husband
- 235 An draw thou nigh with doughty will * To do thy doing l.u.s.tily, Thou'll find it fain to face thy bout * And strong and fierce in valiancy.It bendeth backwards every brave * Shorn of his battle-bravery.At times imberbe, but full of s.p.u.n.k * To ba
- 234 So haste to enjoy us and luck to thee! * Lest my folk come between us speed, love, all speed!Hurry uswards thou, nor delay, and while * My mate is far, on Love's fruit come feed."Then she folded the paper and gave it to Hubub the handmaid, who c
- 233 And 'ware her Scorpions[FN#314] that o'er thee creep * And guard thy tongue lest thou vex her sprite."Then the cup went round and when he emptied it he looked inside and saw written, "And 'ware her Scorpions when pressing them, *
- 232 "What use is there in thee, O my ape?" "Every day I give thee good-morrow, so Allah may not open to thee the door of daily bread." "Thou failest not of this, O one-eye[FN#269] of ill-omen!May Allah never bless thee! Needs must I p
- 231 "The coming unto thee is blest: * Therein new joys for aye attend: Its blisses are continuous * Its blessings never end."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.When it was the Eight Hundred and Fortieth Nig
- 230 When it was the Eight Hundred and Thirty-third Night She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the ape of Abu al-Sa'adat said to Khalifah, "Take thy net and cast it into the river; and whatever cometh up, bring it to me, and I wil
- 229 Ceased not the spy to haunt our sides, till seen * Our love estranged and then estranged was he: In truth I trusted to fair thoughts of thine * Though spake the wicked spy maliciously.We'll keep the secret 'twixt us twain and bold * Although the
- 228 "My friends, despight this distance and this cruelty, * I pine for you, incline to you where'er you be.My glance for ever turns toward your hearth and home * And mourns my heart the bygone days you woned with me, How many a night foregathered we
- 227 And ye made me a vow ye would not hang back * But your guile when you chained me waxt manifest.I loved you in childhood unknowing Love; * Then slay me not who am sore opprest.Fear ye not from Allah when slaying a friend * Who gazeth on stars when folk sle
- 226 She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Ha.s.sun 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
- 225 Your faces radiant-fair though afar from me they s.h.i.+ne, * Are mirrored in our eyes whatsoever the distance be; My heart must ever dwell on the memories of your tribe; * And the turtle-dove reneweth all as oft as moaneth she: Ho thou dove, who pa.s.ses
- 224 Love of thee makes me taste of death in bitterest pungency."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.When it was the Seven Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night, She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, th
- 223 And thus they continued doing, day by day until the end of the month. When he saw the new moon, he rejoiced and began to watch for the birds, and while he was thus, behold, up they came, like lightning. As soon as he espied them, he hid himself where he c
- 222 The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night.VOL 8.When it was the Seven Hundred and Seventy-seventh Night, She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the old Queen heard the handmaid's words she was wroth with sore wrath because of
- 221 This occurs in the old French romance of Amys and Amyloun which is taken into the tale of the Ravens in the Seven Wise Masters where Ludovic personates his friend Alexander in marrying the King of Egypt's daughter and sleeps every night with a bare b
- 220 [FN#387] This line has occurred in Night dccxliv. supra p.280.[FN#388] Arab. "Mu'attik al-Rikab" i.e. who frees those in bondage from the yoke.[FN#389] In the Mac. Edit. and in Trebutien (ii. 143) the King is here called Schimakh son of Sch
- 219 [FN#340] Un adolescent aime toutes les femmes. Man is by nature polygamic whereas woman as a rule is monogamic and polyandrous only when tired of her lover. For the man, as has been truly said, loves the woman, but the love of the woman is for the love of
- 218 amends it to "a cl.u.s.ter of henna-flowers." The Solomonic (?) description is very correct; the shrub affects vineyards, and about Bombay forms fine hedges which can be smelt from a distance.[FN#295] Hardly the equivalent of the Arab. "Kat
- 217 [FN#254] Every traveller describes the manners and customs of dogs in Eastern cities where they furiously attack all canine intruders. I have noticed the subject in writing of Al-Medinah where the beasts are confined to the suburbs. (Pilgrimage ii.52-54.)
- 216 [FN#217] The Mac. and Bul. Edits. give two silly couplets of moral advice:-- Strike with thy stubborn steel, and never fear *Aught save the G.o.dhead of Allmighty Might; And shun ill practices and never show *Through life but generous gifts to human sight
- 215 [FN#174] There are two of this name. The Upper al-Akik contains the whole site of Al-Medinah; the Lower is on the Meccan road about four miles S.W. of the city. The Prophet called it "blessed" because ordered by an angel to pray therein. The poe
- 214 [FN#130] e.g. a branch or bough.[FN#131] Arab. "Rayah kaimah," which Lane translates a "beast standing"![FN#132] Tying up the near foreleg just above the knee; and even with this a camel can hop over sundry miles of ground in the cours
- 213 [FN#91] Arab. Burdah and Habarah. The former often translated mantle is a thick woollen stuff, brown or gray, woven oblong and used like a plaid by day and by night. Mohammed's Burdah woven in his Harem and given to the poet, Ka'ab, was 7 1/2 ft
- 212 [FN#47] Arab. "Zarraf" (whence our word) from "Zarf"=walking hastily: the old "cameleopard" which originated the nursery idea of its origin. It is one of the most timid of the antelope tribe and unfit for riding.[FN#48] Arab.
- 211 Fie, O whirling world! on thy faith and fie!Hearing of this insult Mohammed exclaimed, "Allah shall tear his kingdom!" a prophecy which was of course fulfilled, or we should not have heard of it. These lines are horribly mutilated in the Dabista
- 210 So they made for us, little by little, till they drew near us in the dinghy[FN#444] and were certified that we were indeed human beings, when they saluted us and we returned their salam and gave them the glad tidings of the slaying of the accursed, wheref
- 209 "Love, at the first, is a spurt of spray[FN#387] * Which Doom disposes and Fates display; Till, when deep diveth youth in pa.s.sion-sea * Unbearable sorrows his soul waylay."And also these two couplets, "Had I known of Love in what fas.h.i.
- 208 She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the King's wife said to the King, "Verily, this is no bird but a man like thyself: he is King Badr Basim son of King Shariman and his mother is Julnar the Sea born," quoth the
- 207 After him there came forth of the sea an ancient dame with hair speckled gray and five maidens, as they were moons, bearing a likeness to the damsel hight Julnar. The King looked upon them as they all walked upon the face of the water, till they drew near
- 206 When it was the Seven Hundred and Thirty-second Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Prince had made an end of his verses, the Princess strained him to her bosom and kissed him on the mouth and between the eyes; whereupon
- 205 Then she gave the missive to the old woman, saying, "O my nurse, do thou admonish this puppy lest I be forced to cut off his head and sin on his account." Replied the old woman, "By Allah, O my lady, I will not leave him a side to turn on!&
- 204 There was once in the city of s.h.i.+raz a mighty King called Sayf al-A'azam Shah, who had grown old, without being blessed with a son. So he summoned the physicists and physicians and said to them, "I am now in years and ye know my case and the
- 203 I added, 'The caravan is about to start for Cairo and I wish to return to my people.' So he gave me a she-mule and an hundred dinars and said to me, 'I desire to send somewhat by thee, O Shaykh! Dost thou know the people of Cairo?' �
- 202 When it was the Seven Hundredth Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the handmaid went down and said to the porter, "Suffer yonder Religious enter to my lady so haply she may get a blessing of her, and we too may be bless
- 201 Now I was straitened in breast because none of my brethren came to me nor could I go to them, by reason of the mud and mire; so I said to my servant, "Bring me wherewithal I may divert myself." Accordingly he brought me meat and drink, but I had
- 200 THE BADAWI AND HIS WIFE.[FN#141]Caliph Mu'awiyah was sitting one day in his palace[FN#142] at Damascus, in a room whose windows were open on all four sides, that the breeze might enter from every quarter. Now it was a day of excessive heat, with no b
- 199 'My soul and my folk I engage for the youth * Musk-scented I see in my bed every night!'Quoth I, 'An she be fair as her verse hath grace, the thing is complete in every case.' Then I came down from my bench[FN#115]and was about to go a
- 198 Meanwhile Ikrimah returned to his own house and found that his wife had missed him and asked for him, and when they told her of his riding forth, she mis...o...b..ed of him, and said to him, "Verily the Wali of Al-Jazirah rideth not abroad after such
- 197 When it was the Six Hundred and Seventy-ninth Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Murad Shah son of Fakhr Taj thus bespake his mother, she rejoiced in his speech. Now he used to go a-riding with two hundred Marids till he gre
- 196 When Ra'ad Shah saw how evilly Ajib fared with his brother, he called for his charger and donning his harness and habergeon, mounted and dashed out a field. As soon as he drew near King Gharib, he cried out at him, saying, "O basest of Arabs and
- 195 The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night.VOL 7.When it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-seventh Night, Shahrazad continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sa'adan having broken into the palace of King Jamak and pounded to pieces those t
- 194 [FN#341] I have described (Pilgrimage i. 370) the grisly spot which a Badawi will dignify by the name of Wady al-Ward=Vale of Roses.[FN#342] Koran xiii. 3, "Of every fruit two different kinds "i.e. large and small, black and white, sweet and sou
- 193 Khaliyah is properly a hive of bees with a honey-comb in the hollow of a tree-trunk, opposed to Kawwarah, hive made of clay or earth (Al-Hariri; a.s.s. of Tiflis). There are many other terms, for Arabs are curious about honey. Pilgrimage iii. 110.[FN#300]
- 192 [FN#255] The usual formula when telling an improbable tale. But here it is hardly called for: the same story is told (on weak authority) of the Alewife, the Three Graziers and Attorney-General Nay (temp. James II. 1577-1634) when five years old (Journ. As
- 191 [FN#211] This witty tale, ending somewhat grossly here, has over-wandered the world. First we find it in the Katha (S. S.) where Upakosha, the merry wife of Vararuchi, disrobes her suitors, a family priest, a commander of the guard and the prince's t
- 190 [FN#167] Taken from the life of the Egyptian Mameluke Sultan (No.viii, regn. A.H, 825= A.D. 1421) who would not suffer his subjects to prostrate themselves or kiss the ground before him.See D'Herbelot for details.[FN#168] This nauseous Joe Miller has
- 189 [FN#123] The Arabs have no word for million; so Messer Marco Miglione could not have learned it from them. On the other hand the Hindus have more quadrillions than modern Europe.[FN#124] This formula, according to Moslems, would begin with the beginning &
- 188 [FN#79] These underground rivers (which Dr. Livingstone derided) are familiar to every geographer from Spenser's "Mole" to the Poika of Adelberg and the Timavo near Trieste. Hence "Peter Wilkins" borrowed his cavern which let him
- 187 Animal. xvi. 17), by Strabo (Lib. xv.), by Pliny (ix. 10) and Diodorus Siculus (iv. 1) who had heard of a tribe of Chelonophagi. aelian makes them 16 cubits long near Taprobane and serving as house-roofs; and others turn the sh.e.l.l into boats and coracl
- 186 End of Vol 6.Arabian Nights, Volume 6 Footnotes [FN#1] Lane (vol. iii. 1) calls our old friend "Es-Sindibad of the Sea," and Benfey derives the name from the Sanskrit "Siddhapati"=lord of sages. The etymology (in Heb. Sandabar and in G
- 185 "I am he who is known on the day of fight, * And the Jinn of earth at my shade take fright: And a sword have I when my right hand wields, * Death hastens from left on mankind to alight; I have eke a lance and who look thereon * See a crescent head of
- 184 She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Maghribi said to Judar, "Go on to the fourth door and knock and it shall be opened to thee, when there will come forth to thee a lion huge of bulk which will rush upon thee, opening his m
- 183 quoth the cobbler, and quoth the Shaykh, "He has but to say to thee, 'The Sultan's enemies are put to the rout; his foes are waxed weak and his children and helpers are multiplied. Art thou content or no?' If thou say, 'I am conte
- 182 The Two Pigeons.[FN#219]A pair of pigeons once stored up wheat and barley in their nest during the winter, and when the summer came, the grain shrivelled and became less; so the male pigeon said to his wife, "Thou hast eaten of this grain." Repl
- 181 When it was the Five Hundred and Ninety-first Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the King heard this story he turned from slaying his son; but, on the sixth day, the favourite came in to him hending a naked knife in hand, an
- 180 A man once gave his wife a dirham to buy rice; so she took it and went to the rice-seller, who gave her the rice and began to jest with her and ogle her, for she was dowered with beauty and loveliness, saying, "Rice is not good but with sugar which i
- 179 The King and his Wazir's Wife.[FN#160]There was once a King of the Kings, a potent man and a proud, who was devoted to the love of women and one day being in the privacy of his palace, he espied a beautiful woman on the terraceroof of her house and c
- 178 When it was the Five Hundred and Seventy-third Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Emir Musa pa.s.sed on to the third tablet, whereon was written, "O son of Adam, the things of this world thou lovest and prizest and the h
- 177 She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Caliph Abd al-Malik bin Marwan sat conversing with his Grandees concerning our lord Solomon, and these noted what Allah had bestowed upon him of lords.h.i.+p and dominion, quoth the Commander
- 176 The Sixth Voyage of Sindbad the Seaman.Know, O my brothers and friends and companions all, that I abode some time, after my return from my fifth voyage, in great solace and satisfaction and mirth and merriment, joyance and enjoyment; and I forgot what I h
- 175 The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night.VOL 6.Sindbad The Seaman[FN#1] and Sindbad The Landsman.There lived in the city of Baghdad, during the reign of the Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Ras.h.i.+d, a man named Sindbad the Hammal,[FN#2] one in po
- 174 [FN#539] The Arabs call "s.h.i.+kk" (split man) and the Persians "Nimchahrah" (half-face) a kind of demon like a man divided longitudinally: this gruesome creature runs with amazing speed and is very cruel and dangerous. For the celebr
- 173 [FN#496] The doggrel is phenomenal.[FN#497] He went in wonder and softened heart to see the miracle of saintly affection.[FN#498] In Sufistical parlance, the creature is the lover and the Creator the Beloved: worldly existence is Disunion, parting, severa
- 172 "Kochlani" is evidently "Kohlani," the Kohl-eyed, because the skin round the orbits is dark as if powdered. This is the true blue blood; and the bluest of all is "Kohlani al-Ajuz" (of the old woman) a name thus accounted for.
- 171 [FN#413] Dictionaries render the word by "dragon, c.o.c.katrice."The Badawin apply it to a variety of serpents mostly large and all considered venomous.[FN#414] Arab. "Zarr wa 'urwah," 1it.=handle. The b.u.t.ton-hole, I have said,
- 170 [FN#370] Koran xvii. 110, a pa.s.sage revealed because the Infidels, hearing Mohammed calling upon The Compa.s.sionate, imagined that Al-Rahman was other deity but Allah. The "names"have two grand divisions, Asma Jalali, the fiery or terrible at
- 169 [FN#324] I need hardly note that Mohammed borrowed his pilgrimage-practices from the pagan Arabs who, centuries before his day, danced around the Meccan Ka'abah. Nor can he be blamed for having perpetuated a Gentile rite, if indeed it be true that th
- 168 [FN#281] Lane (ii. 636) omits this tale, "as it would not only require a volume of commentary but be extremely tiresome to most readers." Quite true; but it is valuable to Oriental Students who are beginning their studies, as an excellent compen
- 167 [FN#234] The secondary meaning is "Fa'il" = the active sodomite and "Mafa'ul" = the pa.s.sive, a catamite: the former is not an insulting word, the latter is a most injurious expression."Novimus et qui te!"[FN#235]
- 166 [FN#191] These easy deaths for love are a lieu common: See sundry of them in the Decameron (iv. 7, etc.); and, in the Heptameron (Nouv. Ixx.), the widow who lay down and died of love and sorrow that her pa.s.sion had become known. For the fainting of love
- 165 [FN#147] Arab. "Arab al-Araba," as before noticed (vol. i. 12) the pure and genuine blood as opposed to the "Musta'aribah," the "Muta'arribah," the "Mosarabians" and other Araboids; the first springing fro
- 164 [FN#102] As has been said, "Sahib" (preceding the name not following it as in India) is a Wazirial t.i.tle in mediaeval Islam.[FN#103] This parapet was rendered obligatory by Moses (Deut.xxii. 8) on account of the danger of leaving a flat roof w
- 163 [FN#56] Arab. "lif" (not "fibres which grow at the top of the trunk," Lane ii. 577); but the fibre of the fronds worked like the cocoa-nut fibre which forms the now well-known Indian "coir."This "lif" is also called
- 162 [FN#15] Arab. "s.h.i.+rk"=wors.h.i.+pping more than one G.o.d. A theological term here most appropriately used.[FN#16] The Bul. Edit. as usual abridges (vol. i. 534). The Prince lands on the palace-roof where he leaves his horse, and finding no
- 161 She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King Kafid set off homewards in the sorriest of plights, whilst Janshah and his wife abode in all solace and delight of life, making the most of its joyance and happiness. All this recounted the
- 160 She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that, "Janshah and the lady Shamsah abode three months with Shaykh Nasr, feasting and toying and making merry. And at the end of that time she said to Janshah, 'I wish to go with thee to thy mothe
- 159 The Story of Janshah.[FN#536]'Know, O my brother, that my sire was a King called Teghmus, who reigned over the land of Kabul and the Banu Shahlan, ten thousand warlike chiefs, each ruling over an hundred walled cities and a hundred citadels; and he w
- 158 When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Serpent-queen had heard his story she said, "Nothing save good shall betide thee: but I would have thee, O Hasib, abide with me some t
- 157 At this, he was wroth and, repairing to the King, reported the conduct of his two trusty wights. The King summoned the twain forthwith, as he loved them for their fidelity and piety; and, sending for the woman, that he might hear from her own lips what sh
- 156 And they ceased not to be in all solace and delight of life, till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of societies. And a tale is told by Sidi Ibrahim bin Al-Khawwas[FN#489](on whom be the mercy of Allah!) concerning himself and
- 155 It reached the ears of a certain pious man that there abode in such a town a blacksmith, who could put his hand into the fire and pull out the iron red-hot, without the flames doing him aught of hurt.[FN#482] So he set out for the town in question and ask
- 154 'How many boons conceals the Deity, * Eluding human sight in mystery: How many graces come on heels of stresses, * And fill the burning heart with jubilee: How many a sorrow in the morn appears, * And turns at night-tide into gladdest gree: If things
- 153 THE ANGEL OF DEATH WITH THE PROUD KING AND THE DEVOUT MAN.It is related, O auspicious King, that one of the olden monarchs was once minded to ride out in state with the Officers of his realm and the Grandees of his retinue and display to the folk the marv
- 152 Quoth the astronomer, "Thou hast said well, and I, by Allah, thought only to try thee." Rejoined she, "Know that the almanack-makers have certain signs and tokens, referring to the planets and constellations relative to the coming in of the
- 151 When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-third Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the doctor's arguments were cut off, he rose to his feet and said, "Bear witness against me, O Commander of the Faithful, that this da
- 150 and he replied, "At thy service, O my lord." Quoth the old King "Mine appointed hour is at hand: be thou careful of thy wife and her mother, and look thou fear Allah and honour thy parents; and bide in awe of the majesty of the Requiting Ki
- 149 "If we saw a lover who pains as he ought, *Wi' love we would grant him all favours he sought."She pleased him: so he bought her for seventy thousand dirhams and begat on her Obayd' Allah bin Mohammed, afterwards minister of Police.[FN#
- 148 His brow had dazed all eyes no sight allowing: And whoso sojourns in a growthless land, *How shall he move from land fair growths a-growing?'And quoth another, 'My blamers say of me, 'He is consoled,' And lie! *No consolation comes to
- 147 AL-AMIN SON OF AL-RAs.h.i.+D AND HIS UNCLE IBRAHIM BIN AL-MAHDI.Al-Amin,[FN#224] brother of al-Maamun, once entered the house of his uncle Ibrahim bin al-Mahdi, where he saw a slave girl playing upon the lute; and, she being one of the fairest of women, h
- 146 "I walk, for fear of interview, the weakling's walk *Who sees two lion whelps the fount draw nigh: My cloak acts sword, my heart's perplex'd with fright, *Lest jealous hostile eyes th' approach descry: Till sudden hapt I on a deli
- 145 THE LOVERS OF THE BANU TAYY.Kasim, son of Adi, was wont to relate that a man of the Banu Tamim spake as follows: "I went out one day in search of an estray and, coming to the waters of the Banu Tayy, saw two companies of people near one another, and
- 144 'One, I wish him in belt a thousand horns, *Exceeding in mighty height Manaf.'[FN#185]Then I began to abuse him and reproach him with the foulness of his action and his lack of honour; and he was silent, never uttering a word. But, when I had fi
- 143 THE KING AND THE VIRTUOUS WIFE.A certain King once went forth in disguise, to look into the affairs of his lieges. Presently, he came to a great village which he entered unattended and being athirst, stopped at the door of a house and asked for water. The