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And also these:
O thou that seek st to hasten on the feet Of parting s steeds,
the matchless swift of flight,
Forbear, for fortune s nature is deceit, And parting is the end
of love delight.
I paid no heed to her words, but kicked the alcove with all my
might, and immediately the place grew dark, it thundered and
lightened, the earth trembled and the world was wrapped in gloom.
When I saw this, the fumes of the wine left my head and I said to
the lady, What is the matter? The Afrit is upon us, answered
she Did I not warn thee of this! By Allah, thou hast ruined me!
But fly for thy life and return whence thou camest. So I
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ascended the stair, but, in the excess of my fear I forgot my
sandals and hatchet. When I had mounted two steps, I turned to
look, and behold, the ground clove in sunder and out came an
Afrit of hideous aspect, who said to the lady, What is this
commotion with which thou disturbest me? What misfortune has
befallen thee? Nothing has befallen me, answered she, except
that I was heavy at heart and drank a little wine to hearten
myself. Then I rose to do an occasion, but my head became heavy
and I fell against the alcove. Thou liest, O harlot! said he,
and looked right and left, till he caught sight of the axe and
the sandals and said, These are some man s gear. Who has been
with thee? Quoth she, I never set eyes on them till this
moment; they must have clung to thee as thou camest hither. But
he said, This talk is absurd and will not impose on me, O
strumpet! Then he stripped her naked and stretching her on the
ground, tied her hands and feet to four stakes and proceeded to
torture her to make her confess. I could not bear to hear her
weeping; so I ascended the stair, quaking for fear. When I
reached the top, I replaced the trap-door and covered it over
with earth; and I thought of the lady and her beauty and what had
befallen her through my folly and repented me sore of what I had
done. Then I bethought me of my father and his kingdom and how I
had become a woodcutter, and how, after my life had been awhile
serene, it had again become troubled, and I wept and repeated the
following verse:
What time the cruelties of Fate o erwhelm thee with distress,
Think that one day must bring thee ease, another day
duresse.
Then I went on till I reached the house of my friend, whom I
found awaiting me, as he were on coals of fire on my account.
When he saw me, he rejoiced and said, O my brother, where didst
thou pass the night? My heart has been full of anxiety on thine
account, fearing for thee from the wild beasts or other peril:
but praised be God for thy safety! I thanked him for his
solicitude, and retiring to my chamber, fell a-musing on what had
passed and reproached myself grievously for my meddlesomeness in
kicking the alcove. Presently the tailor came in to me and said,
O my son, there is without an old man, a foreigner, who seeks
thee. He has thine axe and sandals and came to the woodcutters
and said to them, I went out at the hour of the call to morning
prayer and happened on these and know not whose they are: direct
me to their owner. They knew thine axe and sent him to thee; and
he is now sitting in my shop. So do thou go out to him and thank
him and take thy gear. When I heard this, my colour changed and
I was sick for terror but before I could think, the floor clove
asunder and up came the stranger, and lo, it was the Afrit! Now
he had tortured the lady in the most barbarous manner, without
being able to make her confess: so he took the axe and sandals,
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saying, As sure as I am Jerjis of the lineage of Iblis, I will
bring back the owner of this axe and these sandals! So he went
to the woodcutters with the tale aforesaid, and they directed him
to me. He snatched me up without parley and flew high into the
air, but presently descended and plunged into the ground with me,
and I the while unconscious. Then he came up with me in the
underground palace, where I saw the lady stretched out naked,
with the blood running from her sides. At this sight, my eyes ran
over with tears; but the Afrit unbound her and veiling her, said
to her, O wanton, is not this thy lover? She looked at me and
said, I know not this man, nor have I ever seen him till now.
Quoth he, Wilt thou not confess after all this torture? And she
answered, I never saw him in my life, and God forbid that I
should lie against him and thou kill him. Then, said he, if
thou know him not, take this sword and cut off his head. She
took the sword and came and stood at my head; and I made signs to
her with my eyebrows whilst the tears ran down my cheeks. She
understood me and signed to me with her eyes as who should say,
Thou hast brought all this upon us. And I answered her, in the
same fashion, that it was a time for forgiveness; and the tongue
of the case spoke[FN31] the words of the poet:
My looks interpret for my tongue and tell of what I feel: And all
the love appears that I within my heart conceal.
When as we meet and down our cheeks our tears are running fast,
I m dumb, and yet my speaking eyes my thought of thee
reveal.
She signs to me; and I, I know the things her glances say: I with
my fingers sign, and she conceives the mute appeal.
Our eyebrows of themselves suffice unto our intercourse: We re
mute; but passion none the less speaks in the looks we
steal.
Then she threw down the sword and said, How shall I strike off
the head of one whom I know not and who has done me no hurt? My
religion will not allow of this. Quoth the Afrit, It is
grievous to thee to kill thy lover. Because he hath lain a night
with thee, thou endurest this torture and wilt not confess upon
him. It is only like that pities like. Then he turned to me and
said, O mortal, dost thou not know this woman? Who is she?
answered I. I never saw her till now. Then, said he take
this sword and strike off her head and I will believe that thou
knowest her not and will let thee go and do thee no hurt. Quoth
I, It is well; and taking the sword, went up to her briskly and
raised my hand. But she signed to me with her eyebrows, as who
should say, What hurt have I done thee? Is it thus thou
requitest me? I understood what she would say and replied in the
same manner, I will ransom thee with my life. And the tongue of
the case repeated the following verses:
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How many a lover with his eyelids speaks And doth his thought
unto his mistress tell
He flashes signals to her with his eyes, And she at once is ware
of what befell.
How swift the looks that pass betwixt the twain! How fair,
indeed, and how delectable!
One with his eyelids writes what he would say: The other with her
eyes the writ doth spell.
Then my eyes ran over with tears and I said, O mighty Afrit and
doughty hero! if a woman, lacking sense and religion, deem it
unlawful to strike off my head, how can I, who am a man, bring
myself to slay her whom I never saw in my life? Never will I
do it, though I drink the cup of death and ruin! And I threw
the sword from my hand. Quoth the Afrit, Ye show the good
understanding between you, but I will let you see the issue of
your doings. Then he took the sword and cut off the lady s hands
and feet at four strokes; whilst I looked on and made sure of
death; and she signed me a farewell with her eyes. Quoth he,
Thou cuckoldest me with thine eyes! And struck off her head
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