第44章

When her sister saw her fold her children to her bosom，saying；''Tis I who have done thus with myself and my children and have ruined my own house！'she saluted her not，but said to her，'O whore，whence haddest thou these children？ Say，hast thou married unbeknown to thy sire or hast thou committed fornication？[157]An thou have played the piece，it behoveth thou be exemplarily punished；and if thou have married sans our knowledge，why didst thou abandon thy husband and separate thy sons from thy sire and bring them hither？'--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Nineteenth Night； She continued，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that quoth Nur al-Huda，the Queen，to her sister Manar al-Sana，the Princess，'An thou have married sans our knowledge，why didst thou abandon thy husband and separate thy sons from their sire and bring them to our land？ Thou hast hidden thy children from us.Thinkest thou we know not of this？ Allah Almighty，He who is cognisant of the concealed，hath made known to us thy case and revealed thy condition and bared thy nakedness.'Then she bade her guards seize her and pinion her elbows and shackle her with shackles of iron.So they did as she commanded and she beat her with a grievous beating，so that her skin was torn，and hanged her up by the hair；after which she cast her in prison and wrote the King her father a writ acquainting him with her case and saying，'There hath appeared in our land a man，a mortal，by name Hasan，and our sister Manar al-Sana avoucheth that she is lawfully married to him and bare him two sons，whom she hath hidden from us and thee；nor did she discover aught of herself till there came to us this man and informed us that he wedded her and she tarried with him a long while；after which she took her children and departed，without his knowledge，bidding as she went his mother tell her son，whenas longing began to rack to come to her in the Islands of Wak.So we laid hands on the man and sent the old woman Shawahi to fetch her and her offspring，enjoining her to bring us the children in advance of her.And she did so；whilst Manar al-Sana equipped herself and set out to visit me.

When the boys were brought to me and ere the mother came，I sent for Hasan the mortal who claimeth her to wife，and he on entering and at first sight knew them and they knew him；whereby was I certified that the children were indeed his children and that she was his wife and I learned that the man's story was true and he was not to blame，but that the reproach and the infamy rested with my sister.Now I feared the rending of our honour-veil before the folk of our Isles；so when this wanton，this traitress，came in to me，I was incensed against her and cast her into prison and bastinado'd her grievously and hanged her up by the hair.Behold，I have acquainted thee with her case and it is thine to command，and whatso thou orderest us that we will do.

Thou knowest that in this affair is dishonour and disgrace to our name and to thine，and haply the islanders will hear of it，and we shall become amongst them a byword；wherefore it befitteth thou return us an answer with all speed.'Then she delivered the letter to a courier and he carried it to the King，who，when he read it，was wroth with exceeding wrath with his daughter Manar al-Sana and wrote to Nur al-Huda，saying，'I commit her case to thee and give thee command over her life；so，if the matter be as thou sayest，kill her without consulting me.'When the Queen had received and read her father's letter，she sent for Manar al-Sana and they set before her the prisoner drowned in her blood and pinioned with her hair，shackled with heavy iron shackles and clad in hair-cloth；and they made her stand in the presence abject and abashed.When she saw herself in this condition of passing humiliation and exceeding abjection，she called to mind her former high estate and wept with sore weeping and recited these two couplets；'O Lord my foes are fain to slay me in despight * Nor deem I anywise to find escape by flight：

I have recourse to Thee t'annul what they have done；* Thou art th'asylum，Lord，of fearful suppliant wight.'

Then wept she grievously，till she fell down in a swoon，and presently coming to herself，repeated these two couplets，[158]

'Troubles familiar with my heart are grown and I with them，*

Erst shunning；for the generous are sociable still.

Not one mere kind alone of woe doth lieger with me lie；* Praised be God！ There are with me thousands of kinds of ill.'

And also these；'Oft times Mischance shall straiten noble breast * With grief；whence issue is for Him to shape：

But when the meshes straitest，tightest，seem * They loose；though deemed I ne'er to find escape.'

--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Twentieth Night； She pursued，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that when Queen Nur al-Huda ordered into the presence her sister Princess Manar al-Sana，they set her between her hands and she，pinioned as she was recited the verses aforesaid.Then the Queen[159]

sent for a ladder of wood and made the eunuchs lay her on her back，with her arms spread out and bind her with cords thereto；

after which she bared her head and wound her hair about the ladder-rungs and indeed all pity for her was rooted out from her heart.When Manar al-Sana saw herself in this state of abjection and humiliation，she cried out and wept；but none succoured her.