第41章 KEMEREZZEMAN AND BUDOUR.(3)

The King loaded him with reproaches，saying，Out on thee，thou whoreson and nursling of abomination！Dost thou dare to answer me thus before my captains and officers？But hitherto none hath corrected thee.Knowest thou not that this thou hast done were disgraceful in the meanest of my subjects？And he commanded his guards to loose his bonds and imprison him in one of the turrets of the citadel.So they carried the prince into an old tower，wherein there was a dilapidated saloon，after having first swept it and cleansed its floor and set him a couch in its midst，on which they laid a mattress，a leathern rug and a cushion. Then they brought him a great lantern and a candle，for the place was dark，even by day，and posting an eunuch at the door，left him to himself.Kemerezzeman threw himself on the couch，broken-spirited and mournful-hearted，blaming himself and repenting of his unseemly behaviour to his father，when repentance availed him nothing，and saying，May God curse marriage and girls and women，the traitresses！Would I had hearkened to my father and married！It were better for me than this prison.'

Meanwhile，King Shehriman abode on his throne till sundown，when he took the Vizier apart and said to him，O Vizier，thine advice is the cause of all this that hath befallen between me and my son.What doth thou counsel me to do now？O King，'answered he，leave thy son in prison for the space of fifteen days；then send for him and command him to marry，and he will not again gainsay thee.'The King accepted the Viziers counsel and lay down to sleep，troubled at heart concerning Kemerezzeman，for he loved him very dearly，having no other child，and it was his wont not to sleep，save with his arm about his sons neck.So he passed the night in trouble and unease，tossing from side to side，as he were laid on coals of tamarisk-wood；for he was overcome with inquietude and sleep visited him not all that night；but his eyes ran over with tears and he repeated the following verses：

The night，whilst the slanderers sleep，is tedious unto me；

Suffice thee a heart that aches for partings agony！

I cry，whilst my night for care grows long and longer aye，'O light of the morning，say，is there no returning for thee？'

And these also：

When the Ple？ads I saw leave to shine in their stead And over the pole-star a lethargy shed And the maids of the Bier[22] in black raiment unveiled，I knew that the lamp of the morning was dead.

To return to Kemerezzeman.When the night came on，the eunuch set the lantern before him and lighting a candle，placed it in the candlestick；then brought him food.The prince ate a little and reproached himself for his ill-behaviour to his father，saying to himself，O my soul，knowst thou not that a son of Adam is the hostage of his tongue and that a mans tongue is what casts him into perils？Then his eyes ran over with tears and he bewailed that which he had done，from an anguished heart and an aching bosom，repenting him with an exceeding repentance of the wrong he had done his father repeating the following verses：

For the sheer stumble of his tongue the youth must death aby，Though for the stumble of his foot the grown man shall not die.

Thus doth the slipping of his mouth smite off his head，I ween，What while the slipping of his foot is healed，as time goes by.

When he had made an end of eating，he called the eunuch，who washed his hands.Then he made his ablutions and prayed the prayers of sundown and nightfall，after which he sat down on the couch，to read[23] the Koran.He read the chapters called The Cow，'The family of Imran，Ya-Sin，'The Compassionate，

Blessed be the King，'Unity and The two Amulets，'and concluded with blessing and supplication，seeking refuge with God from Satan the accursed.Then he put off his trousers and the rest of his clothes and lay down，in a shirt of fine waxed cloth and a coif of blue stuff of Merv，upon a mattress of satin，embroidered on both sides with gold and quilted with Irak silk，having under his head a pillow stuffed with ostrich-down.In this guise，he was like the full moon，when it rises on its fourteenth night.Then，drawing over himself a coverlet of silk，he fell asleep with the lantern burning at his feet and the candle at his head，and woke not for a third part of the night，being ignorant of that which lurked for him in the secret purpose of God and what He who knoweth the hidden things had appointed unto him.Now，as chance and destiny would have it，the tower in question was old and had been many years deserted；and there was therein a Roman well，inhabited by an Afriteh of the lineage of Iblis the Accursed，by name Maimouneh，daughter of Ed Dimiryat，a renowned King of the Jinn.In the middle of the night，Maimouneh came up out of the well and made for heaven，thinking to listen by stealth to the discourse of the angels；but，when she reached the mouth of the well，she saw a light shining in the tower，contrary to wont；whereat she was mightily amazed，having dwelt there many years and never seen the like，and said to herself，Needs must there be some cause for this.'So she made for the light and found that it came from the saloon，at whose door she found the eunuch sleeping.She entered and saw a man Iying asleep upon the couch，with the lantern burning at his feet and the candle at his head；at which she wondered and going softly up to him，folded her wings and drawing back the coverlid，discovered his face.The lustre of his visage outshone that of the candle，and the Afriteh abode awhile，astounded at his beauty and grace；for his face beamed with light，his cheeks were rose-red and his eyelids languorous；his brows were arched like bows and his whole person exhaled a scent of musk，even as saith of him the poet：

I kissed him and his cheeks forthwith grew red，and black and bright The pupils grew that are my souls seduction and delight.

O heart，if slanderers avouch that there exists his like For goodliness，say thou to them，'Produce him to my sight.'