第32章

companion to the tavern[111] and behold，Ahmad took out the jewelled lanthorn he had stolen from the Caliph and，setting it before him，pledged the wine cup to its light，till he became drunken.So Aslan said to him，'O Captain，give me this lanthorn；' but he replied，'I cannot give it to thee.' Asked Aslan，'Why not？'； and Ahmad answered，'Because lives have been lost for it.' 'Whose life？' enquired Aslan； and Ahmad rejoined，'There came hither a man who was made Chief of the Sixty； he was named Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat and he lost his life through this lanthorn.' Quoth Aslan，'And what was that story，and what brought about his death？' Quoth Ahmad Kamakim，'Thou hadst an elder brother by name Hahzalam Bazazah，and when he reached the age of sixteen and was ripe for marriage，thy father would have bought him a slave-girl named Jessamine.' And he went on to tell him the whole story from first to last of Habzalam Bazazah's illness and what befell Ala al-Din in his innocence.When Aslan heard this，he said in thought，'Haply this slave-girl was my mother Jessamine，and my father was none other than Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat.' So the boy went out from him sorrowful，and met Calamity Ahmad，who at sight of him exclaimed，'Glory be to Him unto whom none is like！' Asked Hasan the Pestilence，'Whereat dost thou marvel，O my chief？' and Ahmad the Calamity replied，'At the make of yonder boy Aslan，for he is the likest of human creatures to Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat.' Then he called the lad and said to him，'O Aslan what is thy mother's name？'； to which he replied，'She is called the damsel Jessamine；' and the other said，'Harkye，Aslan，be of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool and clear； for thy father was none other than Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat： but，O my son，go thou in to thy mother and question her of thy father.' He said，'Hearkening and obedience，' and，going in to his mother put the question； whereupon quoth she，'Thy sire is the Emir Khalid！' 'Not so，' rejoined he，'my father was none other than Ala al-Din Abu al Shamat.' At this the mother wept and said，'Who acquainted thee with this，O my son？' And he answered 'Ahmad al-Danaf，Captain of the Guard.' So she told him the whole story，saying，'O my son，the True hath prevailed and the False hath failed：[112] know that Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat was indeed thy sire，but it was none save the Emir Khalid who reared thee and adopted thee as his son.And now，O my child，when thou seest Ahmad al-Danaf the captain，do thou say to him，'I conjure thee，by Allah，O my chief，take my blood-revenge on the murderer of my father Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat！'' So he went out from his mother，--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-sixth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that Aslan went out from his mother and，betaking himself to Calamity Ahmad，kissed his hand.Quoth the captain，'What aileth thee，O Aslan？'

and quoth he，'I know now for certain that my father was Ali al-Din Abu al-Shamat and I would have thee take my blood-revenge on his murderer.' He asked，'And who was thy father's murderer？'

whereto Aslan answered，'Ahmad Kamakim the arch-thief.' 'Who told thee this？' enquired he，and Aslan rejoined，'I saw in his hand the jewelled lanthorn which was lost with the rest of the Caliph's gear，and I said to him，'Give me this lanthorn！' but he refused，saying，'Lives have been lost on account of this'； and told me it was he who had broken into the palace and stolen the articles and deposited them in my father's house.' Then said Ahmad al-Danaf，'When thou seest the Emir Khalid don his harness of war，say to him，'Equip me like thyself and take me with thee.' Then do thou go forth and perform some feat of prowess before the Commander of the Faithful，and he will say to thee，'Ask a boon of me，O Aslan！' And do thou make answer，'I ask of thee this boon，that thou take my blood-revenge on my father's murderer.' If he say，'Thy father is yet alive and is the Emir Khalid，the Chief of the Police'； answer thou，'My father was Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat，and the Emir Khalid hath a claim upon me only as the foster-father who adopted me.' Then tell him all that passed between thee and Ahmad Kamakim and say，'O Prince of True Believers，order him to be searched and I will bring the lanthorn forth from his bosom.'' Thereupon said Aslan to him，'I hear and obey；' and，returning to the Emir Khalid，found him making ready to repair to the Caliph's court and said to him，'I would fain have thee arm and harness me like thyself and take me with thee to the Divan.' So he equipped him and carried him thither.Then the Caliph sallied forth of Baghdad with his troops and they pitched tents and pavilions without the city； whereupon the host divided into two parties and forming ranks fell to playing Polo，one striking the ball with the mall，and another striking it back to him.Now there was among the troops a spy，who had been hired to slay the Caliph； so he took the ball and smiting it with the bat drove it straight at the Caliph's face，when behold，Aslan fended it off and catching it drove it back at him who smote it，so that it struck him between the shoulders and he fell to the ground.The Caliph exclaimed，'Allah bless thee，O Aslan！' and they all dismounted and sat on chairs.Then the Caliph bade them bring the smiter of the ball before him and said，'Who tempted thee to do this thing and art thou friend or foe？' Quoth he，'I am thy foe and it was my purpose to kill thee.' Asked the Caliph 'And wherefore？ Art not a Moslem？' Replied the spy； 'No' I am a Rejecter.''[113] So the Caliph bade them put him to death and said to Aslan，'Ask a boon of me.' Quoth he，'I ask of thee this boon，that thou take my blood-revenge on my father's murderer.'

He said，'Thy father is alive and there he stands on his two feet.' 'And who is he？' asked Aslan，and the Caliph answered，'He is the Emir Khalid，Chief of Police.'