1134
“HOW can I tell thee her praise! what loveliness! what
delicacy! I swear she is the sun; ‘tis untrue that the sun is
sun! Who can endure her rays, who can delineate her! If
she consume me, lo! I am ready, no preparation is needed
for this.”
1135
WHEN she had ended these words, P’hatman rent her face
with her hands; Avt’handil, too, wept, he shed hot tears;
they forgot each other, for her sake they became as mad;
the spring of tears flowing down from above melted the
slight new-fallen snow of the cheek.
1136
THEY wept. The knight said: “Break not off! Conclude!”
P’hatman said: “I received her; I made my heart faithful
to her. I kissed her every part, and thereby I wearied her.
I seated her on my couch, I caressed her, I loved her.
1137
“T SAID to her: ‘Tell me, 0 sun, who thou art or of what
race a child! Whither were those Ethiops taking thee, lady
of the Pleiads of heaven ?’ To all these words she made no
answer. I saw a hundred springs of tears dropping from her
eyes.
1138
“WHEN I pressed her with questions, with much discourse,
she wept with gentle voice, sobbing from the heart; a stream
flowed through the jetty trough other lashes from the
narcissi, upon the crystal and ruby. Gazing at her I burned,
I became dead-hearted.
1139
“SHE said to me: ‘To me thou art a mother, better than
a mother. Of what profit can my story be to thee ? It is but
the tale of chatterer. A lone wanderer am I, overtaken by
an unhappy fate. If thou ask me aught, may the might of
the All-Seeing blame thee!’
1140
“I SAID to myself, ‘It is not fitting untimely to summon
and carry off the sun; the captor will become mad and
wholly lose his wits. A request should be timely, the making
of every entreaty. How know I now that it is not a time to
converse with this sun!’
1141
“I LED away that sun-faced one already praised, I cannot
call her upraised. By the longing I have for her, and by her
sun, I hardly could hide the ray of that sun! I enveloped
her in many fold of heavy brocade, not thin stuff.” The tear
hails down, the rose is frost-bitten, from the lashes blows
a snowy blast.
1142
“I LED into my home that sun-faced one, an aloe-tree in
form. For her I furnished a house, therein I put her very
secretly, I told no human being, I kept her privily, with
precaution; I caused a Negro to serve her; I used to enter,
I saw her alone.
1143
“HOW, alas! can I tell thee of her strange behaviour! Day
and night weeping unceasing and flowing of tears! I
entreated her: ‘Hush!’ For but one moment would she
submit. Now without her how do I live; alas! woe is me!
1144
“WHEN I went in, pools of tears stood before her; in the
inky abyss of her eyes were strewn jetty lances, from the
inky lakes into the bowls full of jet there was a stream, and
between the coral and cornelian glittered the twin pearls of
teeth.
1145
“BY reason of the ceaseless flow of tears I could not find
time for inquiry. If I asked even, ‘Who art thou ? What
brought thee into this plight ?’ like a fountain, a rivulet of
blood gushed forth from the aloe-tree. No human being
could endure more, unless made of stone.
1146
“NO coverlet she wanted, nor mattress to lie upon, she was
ever in her veil and one short cloak, her arm she placed as
a headrest and reposed thereon. With a thousand entreaties
T could scarce persuade her to eat a little.
1147
“BY-the-by, I will tell thee of the wonder of the veil and
cloak: I have seen all kinds of rare and costly things, but
I know not of what sort of stuff hers were made, for it had
the softness of woven material and the firmness of forged metal.
1148
“THUS that lovely one tarried long in my house. I could
not trust my husband; I feared he would inform. I said to
myself: ‘If I tell him, I know the rascal will betray my
secret at court.’ Thus I thought at my frequent goings in
and comings out.
1149
“I SAID to myself: ‘If I tell him not, what am I to do, what
can I do for her ? I know not in the least what she wants,
nor what any could do to help her. If my husband finds
out, he will slay me, nothing can save me; how can I hide
that sun-like light!
1150
‘”I, ALAS! what can I do alone! The burning of my fire
increases. Come, I will trust him, I will not wrong Usen:
I will make him swear not to betray me; if he give me full
assurance, he cannot doom his soul, he will not be an oath-breaker!’
1151
“ALONE I went to my husband; I frolicked and fondled
him. Then I said to him: ‘I will tell thee something, but
first swear to me thou wilt tell no human being, give me a
binding oath.’ He swore a fearful oath: ‘May 1 beat my
head on the rocks!
1152
“‘WHAT thou tellest me I will reveal to no soul, even unto
death, neither to old nor young, friend nor foe!’ Then I told
all to that kindhearted man, Usen: ‘Come, I will lead thee
to a certain place here; come, 1 will show thee the sun’s
peer.’
1153
“HE rose to accompany me, we departed, we entered the
palace gates. Usen marvelled; he even quaked when he saw
the sunbeams. He said: ‘What hast thou shown me, what
have I seen, what is she, of what stuff? If she be verily an
earthly being, may God’s eyes look upon me with wrath!’
1154
“1 SAID : ‘Nor know I aught of her being a creature of
flesh; I have no knowledge more than I have told thee. Let
me and thee ask who she is, and who is at fault that such
madness afflicts her; perchance she will tell us somewhat,
we will pray her to do us this great kindness.’
1155
“WE went in, we both had a care to show her respect. We
said: ‘0 sun, for thy sake a furnace of flame burns us. Tell
us what is the cure for the waning moon, what hath
ensaffroned thee who art ruby-like in hue?’
1156
“WHETHER she heard or hearkened not to what we said
we know not; the rose was glued together, it showed not the
pearl; the serpents of her locks were twined in disorder;
when she turned her face away, the sun was eclipsed by the
dragon, it dawned not upon us.
1157
“BY our converse we could not induce her to answer. The
tiger-panther sits sullen-faced, we could not comprehend
her wrath; again we annoyed her, she wept tears flowing
like a fountain, and, ‘I know not! Let me alone!’ quoth she;
this only with her tongue she said to us.
1158
“WE sat down and wept with her and poured forth tears.
What we had spoken to her made us sorry; how could we
venture to say aught else ? We could scarce persuade her
to be quiet, we calmed her, we soothed her; we offered her some fruit, but we could not make her eat at all.
1159
“USEN said: ‘She has wiped away a multitude of woes
from me. Those cheeks are fit for the sun; how can they be
kissed by man! Most right is he who sees not her if his
sufferings be increased a hundred-and-twenty-fold. If I
prefer my children may God slay them!’
1160
“A LONG time we gazed at her, then we went forth with
sighs and moans; to be with her seemed to us joy, parting
grieved us greatly. When we had leisure from affairs of
trade we used to see her. Our hearts were inextricably
prisoned in her net.
1161
“AFTER some time had passed, and nights and days were
sped, Usen said to me: ‘I have not seen our king since the
day before yesterday; if thou advisest me, I will go and see
him, I will go and pay my court and present gifts.” I replied
‘Certainly, by God, since such is your desire.’
1162
“USEN set out pearls and gems on a tray. I entreated him,
saying: ‘At court thou wilt meet the drunken court folk.
Kill me! if thou be not wary of the story of that maid.’
Again he swore to me: ‘I will not tell it, may swords strike
my head!’
1163
“USEN went; he found the king sitting feasting. Usen is
the king’s boon companion, and the king is his well-wisher.
The king called him forward; he accepted the gifts he had< br>brought. Now behold the tipsy merchant, how hasty, rash
and ill-bred he is!
1164
“WHEN the king had drunk before Usen many
double-goblets, still they quaffed and again filled more
tankards and beakers; he forgot those oaths; what to him
were Korans and Meccas! Truly is it said: ‘A rose befits not
a crow, nor do horns suit an ass!’
1165
“THE great king said to the witless, drunken Usen: ‘I
marvel much whence thou gettest these gems to give us,
where thou findest huge pearls and peerless rubies. By my
head! I cannot return thee one-tenth for thy gifts!’
1166
“USEN saluted, and said: ‘0 mighty sovereign, shedder
of beams from above, 0 nourisher of creatures, 0 sun!
Whatever else I have, whose is it, be it gold or treasure ?
What brought I forth from my mother’s womb? By you it
has been granted to me.
1167
” ‘BY your head! I make bold to say that gratitude for
gifts beseems you not. I have somewhat else, a daughter-in-
law for you, a bride to unite to your son; for this
undoubtedly you will thank me when you see the sun’s
like; then will you oftener say: “Happiness is ours!”‘
1168
“WHY should I lengthen speech? He brake his oath, the
power of religion; he told of the finding of the maid
portrayed by gazers as a sun. This pleased the king greatly;
it gave gaiety to his heart. He ordered her conveyance to
court and the fulfilment of Usen’s utterance.
1169
“PLEASANTLY 1 was sitting here at home; hitherto I
had not sighed. At the door appeared the chief of the king’s
slaves, he brought with him sixty slaves, as is the custom
of kings; they came in, I was much astonished, I said:
‘This is some high affair of state.’
1170
“THEY greeted me: ‘P’hatman,’ said he, ‘it is the
command of the equal of the sun: that maid like two suns
whom Usen presented to-day, now bring her to me, I shall
take her with me; we have not far to go.’ When I heard
this, the heavens overwhelmed me, with wrath hill struck
hill.
1171
“THEREUPON in amazement I inquired: ‘What maid do
you want, which?’ They said to me: ‘Usen presented one
with a face flashing with lightning.’ There was nought to
be done; the day of the taking away of my soul was fixed.
I trembled, I could not rise, neither could I remain sitting.
1172
“I WENT in; I saw that lovely one weeping and flooded in
tears. I said: ‘0 sun, seest thou fully how black Fate hath
played me false! Heaven is turned towards me in wrath,
I am despoiled, I am wholly uprooted; I am denounced, the
king asketh for thee, therefore am I heartbroken.’
1173
“SHE said to me: ‘Sister, marvel not, however hard this
may be! Luckless Fate hath ever been a doer of ill upon me;
if some good had befallen me thou mightest have wondered.
what marvel is evil ? All kinds of woe are not new to me,
old are they.’
1174
“HER eyes poured forth frequent tears like pearls. She
rose as fearless as if she were a tiger or a hero; joy no longer
seemed joy nor did woe seem woe to her. She begged me to
cover her form and face with a veil.
1175
“I SENT into the treasure-house on which no price was set;
I took out gems and pearls as much as I could, every single
separate one was worth a city. I went back; I girded them
round the waist other for whose sake my heart was dying.
1176
“I SAID: ‘0 my dear one! Perchance this sort of thing
may somewhere be of use to thee!’ I gave that face, the
sun’s peer, into the hands of the slaves. The king was
warned, he met her; the kettledrum was beaten, there was
hubbub. She went forward with bent head, calm, saying
nought.
1177
“ONLOOKERS flocked upon her, there was trampling and
uproar; the officers could not hold them back, there was no
quiet there. When the king saw her, cypress-like, coming
towards him, he said in amazement: ‘0 sun, how art thou
brought hither ?’
1178
“SUN-like, she made those who gazed on her to blink. The
king deigned to say: ‘ I have seen, she hath turned me into
one who has seen nought. Who but God could imagine her?
Right is he who is in love with her if he, alas! roam mad in
deserts!’
1179
“HE seated her at his side, he talked to her with sweet
discourse; quoth he: ‘Tell me who art thou, whose art thou,
of what race art thou come ?’ With her sun-like face she
gave no answer; with bowed head, of gentle mien, sorrowful
she sits.
1180
“WHATEVER he said, she hearkened not to the king.
Elsewhere was her heart; of somewhat else she thought.
The roses were glued together; she opened not the pearl.
She made them that looked on her wonder, what else could
they think.
1181
“THE king said: ‘What can we think of? With what can
we comfort our heart ? There can be no opinion save these
two: Either she is in love with someone, she is thinking of
her beloved, save him she has no leisure for any, to none
can she speak.
1182
‘”Or she is some sage, lofty and high-seeing; joy seems not
joy to her, nor sorrow when it is heaped on sorrow, as a
table she looks on misfortune and happiness alike; she is
elsewhere, elsewhere she soars, her mind is like a dove’s.
1183
“‘GOD grant my son come home victorious. I will have for
his homecoming this sun ready for him; perchance he will
make her say something, and we also shall know what is
revealed; till then, let the moon rest with waning ray far
sundered from the sun.’
1184
“OF the king’s son I will tell thee: a good, fearless youth,
peerless in valour and beauty, fair in face and form; at that
time he was gone forth to war, there had he tarried long;
for him his father prepared her, the star-like one.
1185
“THEY brought her and apparelled her form in maidenly
garb; on it was seen many a ray of glittering gems, on her
head they set a crown of a whole ruby, there the rose w as
beautified by the colour of the transparent crystal.
1186
“THE king commanded: ‘Deck the chamber of the princess
royal.’ They set up a couch of gold, of red of the Occident.
The great king himself, the lord of the whole palace, arose
and set thereon that sun, the joy of the heart of beholders.
1187
“HE commanded nine eunuchs to stand guard at the door.
The king sat down to a feast befitting their race; to Usen he
gave immeasurable gifts as a return for that peer of the sun;
they made trumpet and kettledrum to sound for the
increasing of the noise.
1188
“THEY prolonged the feasting; the drinking went on
exceeding long. The sun-faced maiden says to Fate: ‘What
a murderous Fate have I! Whence am I come hither, to
whom shall I belong, for whose sake am I mad ? What shall
I do ? What shall I undertake ? What will avail me ? A very
hard life have I!’
1189
“AGAIN she says: ‘I will not wither the rose-like beauty.
I will attempt somewhat; perchance God will protect me
from my foe. What reasonable man slays himself before
death comes? When he is in trouble, then it needs that the
intelligent should have his wits !’
1190
“SHE called the eunuchs, and said: ‘Hearken, come to
reason! You are deceived, mistaken as to my royalty; your
lord is in error in desiring me for a daughter-in-law. In vain,
alas! sounds he for me the trumpet, the kettledrum and
clarion.
1191
. ‘”I AM not suited to be your queen; elsewhither leads my
path. God keep man far from me, be he sun-faced, cypress-
formed ! You beg of me something different; my business is
of another kind. With you my life beseems me not.
1192
“‘WITHOUT fail I shall slay myself, I shall strike a knife
into my heart; your lord will kill you, you will have no time
of tarrying in the world. This then is better: I will give you
the weighty treasure wherewith my waist is girded, let me
steal away, let me go free, lest you regret.’
1193
“SHE undid the pearls and gems that girdled her; she
doffed, too, the crown, transparent, of a whole ruby; she
gave them, she said: ‘Take them, with burning heart I
implore you; let me go, and you will have paid a great debt
to your God!’
1194
. “THE slaves were greedy for her costly treasure, they
forgot the fear of the king as of a bellman, they resolved to
let her of the peerless face escape. See what gold doth. that
crook from a devilish root!
1195
“GOLD never gives joy to them that love it; till the day
of death greed makes them gnash their teeth. Gold comes
in and goes out, they murmur at the course of the planets
when it is lacking; moreover it binds the soul here, and
hinders it from soaring up.
1196
“WHEN the eunuchs had ended the matter as she wished,
one took off his garment and gave it to her; they passed
through other doors because the great hall was full of
drunken men. The moon remained full, unswallowed by the
serpent.
1197
“THE slaves, too, disappeared; they stole forth with her.
The maiden knocked at my door, and asked for me,
P’hatman. I went, I knew her, I embraced her, was I not
surprised! She would not come in with me at all, saying:
‘Why dost thou invite me F I regretted it.
1198
“SHE said to me: ‘I have bought myself with what thou
gavest me. May God in return reward thee with heavenly
favour! No longer canst thou hide me, let me go, send me
off swiftly on horseback ere the king get wit and send men
to gallop in pursuit.’
1199
“SWIFTLY I entered the stable, I loosed the best steed,
I saddled it, set her upon it; cheerful was she, not sighing.
She was like the sun, the best of heaven’s lights, when it
mounts the lion. My labour was lost; I could not harvest
what I had sown.
1200
“THE day drew down to evening, the rumour spread, her
pursuers came; inside the city was a state of siege, they
raised a hue and cry; they questioned me, I said: ‘If you
find her there in the house where I am, may I be guilty
towards the kings and answerable for their blood.’
1201
“THEY sought, nought could they discover, they returned
abashed. From that time the king and all his familiars
mourn. Behold the palace folk; they are clad in raiment
dyed violet colour. The sun went away from us; since then
we lack light.
1202
“NOW I shall narrate to thee anon the whereabouts of that
moon, but first of all I will tell thee why that man
threatened me. I, alas! was his she-goat; he was my he-goat.
Timidity slurs a man, and wantonness a woman.
1203
“I AM not content with my husband, for he is lean and
ill-favoured; this man, the Chachnagir,1 was a gentleman
high at court; we loved each other, though I shall wear no
mourning weeds for him; would that one might give me
a cup of his blood to sip!
‘ Chachnagir-official taster of food and wine at the king’s court.
1204
“LIKE a woman, like a fool, I told him this story of the
coming of that sun to me, and of her stealing away like
a fox; he threatened me with exposure, not like a friend,
like a foe. Now when I think of him as a corpse, ah! how
relieved am I!
1205
“WHENEVER we quarrelled alone he menaced me. When
I called thee I did not think he was at home; he had arrived,
he told me of his coming. Thou also wert coming; I was
afraid, so I begged thee: ‘Do not come !’ I sent a slave to
meet thee.
1206
“YOU turned not back, you came, you brought beams of
light to me; you both met, you were assembled to fight
over me, so I feared, I could think of no way. He, alas!
desired my death in his heart, and not only with his
tongue.
1207
“IF thou hadst not slain him, and if he had gone forthwith
to court, in his wrath he would have denounced me, for
his heart was burned as with fire; the angry king would
have cleared away my house at one swoop, he would, 0
God! have made me eat my children, then he would have
stoned me with stone.
1208
“GOD reward thee in return-what thanks can I render thee!
thee who hast delivered me safe from that serpent’s gaze!
Now henceforth I can be happy in my star and Fate! No
longer do T fear death! Ha! ha! What has befallen me!”
1209
AVTHANDIL said: “Fear not! Even in the book it is thus
written: ‘Of all foes the most hateful is the friend-foe; if a
man be wise, he will not heartily confide.’ Fear no more
from him, now is he corpse-like.
1210
“TELL me the same story-since thou spedst the maiden,
all the tidings thou hast learned or heard of her.” Again
P’hatman spoke weeping; again the tear flowed from her
eyes. Quoth she: “The ray which sun-like illumined the
fields was brought to nought.”
The Story of the Capture of Nestan-Daredjan
by the Kadjis, Told by P’hatman to Avt’handil
1211
WOE, O passing world, in falsehood thou art like Satan,
none can know aught of thine, where thy treachery is. That
face apparent as a sun-where hast thou it hidden ? Whither
hast thou taken it? Therefore I see that in the end all seems
vain, wherever anything may be.
1212
P’HATMAN said: “The sun was departed from me, the
light of all the world, life and existence, the gain of my
hands; from that time unceasingly the burning of hot fires
afflicted me, I could not dry the spring of tears flowing forth
from mine eyes.
1213
“HOUSE and child became hateful to me, I sat with
cheerless heart; waking I thought of her, when I fell asleep
I thought other in my drowsiness. The oath-breaker Usen
seems to me of the infidels in faith; the accursed one cannot
approach me, to be near me with his cursed face.
1214
“ONE day at eventide, just at sunset, I passed the guards,
the door of the asylum caught mine eye; I was in a reverie,
sadness at the thought of her was slaying me; I said:
‘Cursed is the vow of every man!’
1215
“FROM somewhere there came a wandering slave with
three companions, the slave clad as a slave, the others in
coarse travelling garb; they brought food and drink which
they had bought in the city for a drachma. They drank,
they ate, they chattered, thus they sat merry.
1216
“I HEARKENED to them, I watched them. They said:
‘Pleasantly we rejoiced, but though here we arc joined as
comrades, yet are we strangers, none of us knows who
another is or whence we arc come; we must at least tell one
another our stories with our tongues.’
1217
“THOSE others told their tales as is the wont of wayfarers.
The slave said: ‘0 brothers, providence is a celestial thing;
I harvest for you pearls, you sowed but millet; my story
is better than your stories:
1218
“I AM the slave of the exalted king, the ruler of the
Kadjis. It chanced that he was struck by a sickness which
prevailed over him; the helper of the widow, the comforter
of the orphan, was dead to us; now his sister, better than
a parent, rears his children.
1219
“‘DULARDUKHT is a woman, but a rock, like a cliff, her
slave is wounded by none, but he wounds others. She had
little nephews: Rosan and Rodia; now she is seated as
sovereign of Kadjet’hi, “the Mighty” is she called.
1220
“WE heard news of the death overseas of her sister. The
viziers were distressed, they refrained from assembling
a privy council: “How can we venture to report the
extinction of a face which was the light of the lands? ” –
Roshak is a slave, the chief of many thousand slaves.
1221
“ROSHAK said: “Even if I be killed for mine absence,
I shall not be at the mourning! I go into the plain, I will
reave, I will fill myself with booty; I shall come home
enriched, I shall be back in good time. When the sovereign
goes forth to bewail her sister, I too will accompany her.”
1222
“HE said to us, his underlings: “I will go, come with me!”
He took of us a hundred slaves, all chosen by him. By day
in the sunlight we reaved, by night also we watched; many
a caravan we broke up, we unloaded the treasure for
ourselves
1223
“ONE very dark night we were wandering over the plains;
there appeared to us certain great lights in the midst of the
field; we said: “Is it the sun strayed down from heaven to
earth!” Perplexed, we gave our minds to torturing thought
1224
“SOME said: “It is the dawn!” Others said: “It is the
moon!” We, drawn up in fighting array, moved towards
it-I saw it from very near-we made a wide circuit round it,
we came and surrounded it. From that light came a voice
speaking to us.
1225
‘”IT said to us: “Who are you, O cavaliers? Tell me your
names! From Gulansharo I go, a messenger to Kadjet’hi
have a care of me.” When we heard this we approached,
we formed a circle round about. A certain sun-faced rider
appeared before our eyes.
1226
“‘WE gazed at the brilliant face flashing out lightning, its
glittering spread itself over the surroundings like the sun;
rarely she spoke to us with some gentle discourse, then from
her teeth the ray lighted up her jetty lashes.
1227
“‘AGAIN we addressed that sun with sweet-discoursing
tongue; she was not a slave, she spoke falsely, this we
perceived. Roshak discovered that it was a damsel; he rode
by her side; we did not let her go, we made bold to keep her
in our hands.
1228
“AGAIN we asked: “Tell us the true story of that sun-like
light of thine. Whose art thou, who art thou, whence
comest thou, enlightener of darkness ?”” She told us nought;
she shed a stream of hot tears. How pitiable is the full moon
swallowed by the serpent!
1229
“NEITHER plain tale nor secret, she told us nought,
neither who she was, nor by whom she had been
treacherously treated; angrily she spoke with us, sullen,
on the defensive, like an asp attacking onlookers with her
eye.
1230
“ROSHAK ordered us: “Ask not, it seems nought is to be
said now; her business is a strange one and difficult to be toid.
The good fortune of our sovereign is to be desired by
creatures, for God giveth her whatever is mosi marvellous.
1231
“THIS damsel has been destined to us by God that we
might bring her; we will take her as a gift, Dulardukht will
render us very great thanks; if we conceal it, we shall be
found out, and our sovereign is proud: first, it is an offence
to her, then it is a great disgrace.”
1232
“WE agreed, we prolonged not the discussion. We
returned, we made for Kadjet’hi, leading her with us; we
ventured not to speak directly to her, nor did we annoy her.
She weeps; with embittered heart she laves her cheeks in
flowing tears.
1233
“‘I SAID to Roshak: “Give me leave; soon again shall I
attend you. At present I have some business in the city of
Gulansharo.” He granted me leave. Hereabout I have some
stuff to be carried oil, I will take it with me, I will go and
overtake them.’
1234
“THIS story of the slave greatly pleased those men.
I heard it; the stream from the pool of tears dried up in me.
I guessed, I recognized every sign of her who is my life;
this gave me a little comfort, like a drachma’s weight.
1235
“I LAID hold of that slave and set him close before me.
I asked him: ‘Tell me what thou wert saying; I, too, wish
to hear.’ He told me again the same as I had heard thence.
This story enlivened me; me, struggling in soul, it preserved
alive.
1236
“I HAD two black slaves full of sorcery, by their art they
go and come invisible; I brought them out, I despatched
them to Kadjet’hi. I said; ‘Tarry not; give me tidings of her
by your deeds.’
1237
“IN three days they came and told me, swiftly had they
trod the road: ‘The queen, who was ready to go over the
sea, has taken her. None can fix his eyes to gaze upon her,
as upon the sun. The queen has betrothed her as wife to the
little boy Rosan.
1238
“WE shall wed her to Rosan,” this is the decree of Queen
Dulardukht, “at present I have not leisure for the wedding,
now is my heart consumed with fire; when I return home
I will make a daughter-in-law of her who is praised as
heaven’s sun.” She has set her in the castle; one eunuch
attends her.
1239
‘”DULARDUKHT took with her all those skilled in
sorcery, for perilous is the road, her foes are ready for the
fray; she has left at home all her bravest knights. She will
tarry; but little time has already passed.
1240
“THE city of the Kadjis has hitherto been unassailable by
foes; within the city is a strong rock, high and long; inside
that rock is hollowed out a passage for climbing up. Alone
there is that star, the consumer of those who come in touch
with her.
1241
“AT the gate of the passage are continually on guard
kni ghts not ill-favoured, there stand ten thousand heroes
all of ihe chosen knights, at each of the three city gates
three thousand.’ O heart, the world hath condemned thee;
I know not, alas! whal binds thee.”
1242
WHEN Avt’handil, the sun-faced but woeful, heard the»e tidings he was pleased, he showed nothing else. The lovely creature rendered thanks to God: “Somebody’s sister has told me joyful news!”
1243
HE said to P’hatman: “Beloved, thou art worthy to be
loved by me, thou hast let me hear a welcome story, not
with louring looks; but let me hear more fully about
Kadjet’hi; every Kadj is fleshless, how can it become
human ?
1244
“PITY for that maiden kindles me and burns me with
flame; but I marvel what the fleshless Kadjis can do with
a woman!” P’hatman said: “Hearken to me! Truly I see
thee here perplexed. They are not Kadjis, but men who put
their trust in steep rocks,” quoth she.
1245
“THEIR name is called Kadji because they are banded
together, men skilled in sorcery, exceeding cunning in the
art, harmers of all men, themselves unable to be harmed by
any; they that go out to join battle with them come back
blinded and shamed.
1246
“THEY do something wondrous, they blind the eyes of
their foes, they raise fearful winds, they make the ship to
founder midst the seas, they run as on dry land, for they
clean dry up the water; if they wish they make the day
dark, if they wish they enlighten the darkness.
1247
“FOR this reason all those that dwell round about call
them Kadjis, though they, too, are men fleshly like us.’
Avt’handil thanked her: “Thou hast extinguished my hot
flames; the tidings just told me have pleased me greatly.”
1248
AVTHANDIL, shedding tears, magnifies God with his
heart; he said: “0 God, I thank Thee, for Thou art the
Comforter of my woes, who wast and art, Unspeakable,
Unheard by ears: Your mercy is suddenly spread forth
over us!”
1249
FOR the knowledge of this story he magnified God with
tears. P’hatman thought of herself; therefore she was again
burned up. The knight kept his secret, he lent himself to
love; P’hatman embraced his neck, she kissed his sun-like
face.
1250
That night P’hatman enjoyed lying with Avt’handil; the
knight unwillingly embraces her neck with his crystal neck:
remembrance of T’hinat’hin slays him, he quakes with
secret fear, his maddened heart raced away to the wild
beasts and ran with them.
1251
AVT’HANDIL secretly rains tears, they flow to mingle with
the sea; in an inky eddy floats a jetty ship. He says:
“Behold me, 0 lovers, me who have a rose for mine own!
Away from her, I, the nightingale, like a carrion-crow, sit on the
dungheap!”
1252
THE tears which flowed there from him would have melted
a stone, the thicket of jet dammed them up, there is a pool
on the rose-field. P’hatman rejoiced in him as if she were
a nightingale; if a crow find a rose it thinks itself a
nightingale.
1253
DAY dawned; the sun whose rays were soiled by the world
went forth to bathe. The woman gave him many coats,
cloaks, turbans, many kinds of perfumes, fair clean shirts.
“Whatsoever thou desirest,” said she, “put on: be not shy
of me!”
1254
AVT’HANDIL said : “This day will I declare mine affair.”
The wearing of merchant garb had hitherto been his resolve.
That day wholly in knightly raiment he apparelled his brave
form; he increased his beauty, the lion resembled the sun.
1255
P’HATMAN prepared a meal, to which she invited
Avt’handil. The knight came in adorned, gaily, not with
louring looks. P’hatman looked, she was astonished that he
was not in merchant garb; she smiled at him: “Thus is it
better for the pleasure of them that are mad for thee.”
1256
P’HATMAN exceedingly admired his beauty. He made no
answer, he smiled to himself: “It seems she does not
recognize me!” How did he consider P’hatman foolish! He
looked on her as on an equal, for he had no choice.
1257
WHEN they had eaten they separated, the knight went
home; having drunk wine, he lay down merry, pleasantly he
fell asleep. At eventide he awoke; he shed his rays across the
fields. He invited P’hatman: “Come, see me, I am alone,
quite alone!”
1258
P’HATMAN went, Avt’handil heard her voice making
moan; she said: “Undoubtedly I am slain by him whose
form is like an aloe-tree.” He set her at his side; he gave her
a pillow from his carpet. The shade from the caves of the
eyelashes overshadows the rose-garden.
1259
AVT’HANDIL said: “0 Fhatman, I know thee; thou wilt
tremble at these tidings like one bitten by a serpent; but
hitherto thou hast not heard the truth concerning me; my
slayers are black lashes, trees of jet.
1260
“THOU thinkest me some merchant, master of a caravan;
I am the Spaspeti of the exalted King Rostevan, chief of
the great host befitting him; I have the mastery over many
treasures and arsenals.
1261
“I KNOW thee to be a good friend, faithful, trusty .-He has
one daughter, a sun the enlightener of lands; she it is who
consumes me and melts me; she sent me, I forsook my
master, her father.
1262
“THAT damsel thou hadst—to seek that same damsel, that
substitute for the sun, I have gone over the whole world;
I have seen him who roves for her sake, where he, pale
lion, lies wasting himself, his heart and strength.”
1263
AVT’HANDIL told all his own tale to P’hatman, the story
of the donning of the tiger hide by Tariel. He said: “Thou
art the balm of him thou has not yet seen, the resource of
him of frequent eyelash, ruffled like a raven’s wing.
1264
“COME, P’hatman, and aid me, let us try to be of use to
him, let us help them, perchance those stars shall receive
joy. All men who shall know it, all will begin to praise us.
Surely again will it befall the lovers to meet.
1265
“BRING me that same sorcerer slave, I will send him to
Kadjet’hi, we will make known to the maiden all the tidings
known to us, she also will inform us of the truth, we will do
what she chooses. God grant you may hear that the
kingdom of the Kadjis is vanquished by us.”
1266
P’TIATMAN said: “Glory to God, what things have
befallen me! This day I have heard tidings equal to
immortality!” She brought the sorcerer slave, black as a
raven, and said: “I send thee to Kadjet’hi; go, thou
hast a long journey.
1267
“NOW will appear advantage for me from thy sorcery,
speedily quench the furnace of the burning of my fires, tell
that sun the means for her cure.” He said: “To-morrow I
shall give you full news of what you wish.”
The Letter Written by P’hatman to Nestan-Daredjan
1268
P’HATMAN writes: “0 star, heavenly sun of the world,
consumer and griever of all them that are afar from thee,
elegant and eloquent in words, lovely, fair-tongued,
crystal and ruby both welded in one!
1269
THOUGH thou gavest me not to hear thy story, I have
learnt the truth, thereby hath my heart been comforted.
Console with news Tariel, who is become mad for thee!
May you both attain your desire, may he be a rose and thou
a violet!
1270
“HIS sworn brother is come in quest of thee, Avt’handil,
an Arab knight renowned in Arabia, Spaspeti of King
Rostevan, to be contemned of none. Write news of thyself,
thou proud one, wise in understanding!
1271
“FOR this purpose have we sent this slave to your
presence: We would know tidings of Kadjet’hi. Have the
Kadjis come home ? We wish to know in detail the number
of warriors there. Who are thy guards, and who is their
chief?
1272
“WHATEVER thou knowest concerning that place. write
to us, make il known. Then send some token for thy lover.
All the sorrow thou hast had hitherto, change it into jov!
May it please God that I unite the lovers so befitting each
other!
1273
“GO, O letter, hasten, if swift be thy knee! I envy thee,
thou goesi to see the crystal, jest and rubies. In Fate
thou art happier than I, O letter; the eyes other who
consumes me will look upon thee. If thou hearest of my
life after thee, shalt thou not pity me!”
1274
P’HATMAN gave the letter to that cunning sorcerer: “Give
this letter to the sun-like maiden!” The wizard donned a
certain green mantle over his form: in that very moment
he was lost to view, he flew over the roofs.
1275
HE went like an arrow shot by a swift-bowed archer.
When he reached Kadjet’hi it was just dusk twilight.
Invisible he passed the multitude of knights guarding the
gates. He gave to that sun the greeting of her who longed
for her.
1276
HE passed the closed gates of the castle as if they had
been open; the Negro entered, the black-faced, long-haired,
cloaked; that sun was affrighted, she thought it was
somewhat to harm her; the rose was changed to saffron
and the violets to sky blue.
1277
THE Kadj said: “Whom think’st thou me to be, and why
swoonest thou thus ? I am P’hatman’s slave despatched to
thy presence, this letter will justify me, I speak not falsely
to thee. Let the sun’s rays come forth, 0 rose, fade not so
soon.
1278
THE sun-faced marvelled at P’hatman’s wonderful news;
she split her almonds, the jets quivered with the rod of jet.
The slave gave her the letter with his own hand. She sighs,
she reads the letter, she wets it with her hot tears.
1279
SHE asked the slave: “Tell me, who is my seeker, or who
knows me to be alive, treading the earth ?” He said:
“I will venture to tell you only what I know. When thou
wentest forth, since then hath our sun been darkened.
1280
“HENCEFORTH P’hatman’s heart hath been torn by
lances; the tears she shed are such as to be united to the
seas. Once already I brought news of thee to her. I call
God to witness that for her since then the tear hath not
ceased.
1281
“NOW there came a certain knight, fair efface; in detail
she told him all, what trouble you are in; he with hero-like
arm is thy seeker; they sent me, they entreated me to
hasten with ceaseless haste.”
1282
THE maiden said: “What thou hast said, 0 man, seems to
me to be truth. How could P’hatman know from whom I
was carried away! Doubtless somewhere is he who burns me
with fire. I will write to her; thou also shalt tell how my
heart boils.”
The Letter Written by Nestan-Daredjan to P’hatman
1283
THE sun-faced writes; “0 dame, 0 mother, better than a
mother to me! See what the world hath done to me, its
thrall! Alas! there is added to those griefs of mine still
another! Now that I have seen thy missive it hath greatly
encouraged me.
1284
“THOU didst save me from two sorcerers; thou didst
alleviate my woes. Now I am thus held here by the whole
force of the Kadjis; a whole realm, many thousand heroes,
guard me alone. I’ll befell me, my counsels and resolves.
1285
“WHAT other tidings hence can I write to thee? The Queen
of the Kadjis is not come, nor will the Kadjis yet come; but
countless hosts guard me, and with what bravery! What!
the quest for me! It is not possible, believe me!
1286
“WHOEVER is come seeking me is wearied in vain; he
suffers, he is consumed, he is kindled for me, a flame like
fire burns him. But I envy him, he hath seen the sun, thus
is he not frozen. Without him, alas! what great pity my
life is!
1287
“FORMERLY I told thee not my story, I hid it from thee
for that my tongue could not speak it; I spared myself
woes. I entreat thee, beg my beloved to have pity and not
come in search of me, write to him, send him a message.
1288
“WHAT afflicts me is enough, let him not slay me with a
woe equal to this: I should see him a corpse, I should die a
double death. None can help me, I know this for a truth;
this is no gossip. If he will not hearken to thee, stone me
with a heap of black stone!
1289
“THOU didst ask me to send a token, show this: I send
a cutting from the veils he gave me; these veils for his sake
are a fair sight to me, though in colour they are black, like
my Fate.”
The Letter Written by Nestan-Daredjan
to Her Beloved
1290
NOW she sobbing, weeping, writes to her beloved;
quenching with her tears the intense fires that consumed
him. She wrote a letter piercing the heart of the hearers.
She splits the rose; there appears the translucent crystal.
1291
“O MINE own! this letter is the work of my hands; for pen
I have my form, a pen steeped in gall; for paper I glue
thy heart even to my heart; 0 heart, sad heart, thou art
bound, loose not thyself, now be bound!
1292
“THOU seest, 0 mine own! of what deeds the world is a
doer. However much light shines, for me it is but darkness.
The wise know the world, therefore they despise it, to them
it is contemptible. My life without thee, woe is me! how
exceeding hard it is!
1293
“THOU seest, mine own! how Fate and cursed time hath
parted us; no longer do I glad see thee, my glad loved one;
what, indeed, can the heart rent by thee do without thee!
My thought manifests now to thee what was hidden.
1294
“BY thy sun! until now I thought not thou wert alive; as
for me, methought my life and all my resource had passed
away. Now when I hear news of thee, I magnify the
Creator and humble myself before God. All mine erstwhile
grief I weigh as joy.
1295
“THY life is sufficient for my heart to hope in, a heart
all wounded and so consumed ? Think of me, remember me
as one lost to thee; I sit nursing the love I planted.
1296
“NOW, 0 mine own, my story is not to be written to thee
by me; the tongue will tire, none that hear will believe!
P’hatman took me from sorcerers; may God protect her;
Now again the world hath done what befits it.
1297
“WORLD hath now added worse woe to my woe, mv ill
luck was not appeased by these manifold afflictions; and
again it delivered me into the hands of the Kadjis, hard
to combat; Fate hath done to us, mine own, all that hath
befallen us.
1298
“I AM sitting in a castle so lofty that eyes can scarce
see the ground; the road enters by a passage, over it stand
guards; day and night knights miss not their turn as
sentries, they will kill those that engage them, like fire wil
l they envelop them.
1299
“SURELY thou thinkest not that these are of the same
kind as other warriors ? Slay me not with woes worse than
the present! I shall see thee dead, I shall be burnt up like
tinder by steel. Since I am sundered from thee, renournce
me with a heart harder than rock itself.
1300
“BELOVED, sorrow not with such grief! Tell me, can
there be fur me another with the form of an aloe-tree! Life
without thee is nought for me, henceforth I should be full
of regret; either I would cast myself down from the rock
or slay myself with a knife.
1301
“BY thy sun! thy moon will fall to the lot of none save
thee! By thy sun! to none shall she fall though triple suns
shone forth! Here would I dash myself down; the great
rocks are very nigh to me. To thee would I commit my
soul; perchance wings would be given to me by Heaven.
1302
“ENTREAT God for me; it may he He will deliver me
from the travail of ihe world and from union with fire,
water, earth and air. Let Him give me wings and I shall fly
up, I shall attain my desire—day and night I shall gaze on
the sun’s rays flashing in splendour.
1303
“THE sun cannot be without thee, for thou art an atom of it; of a surety thou shalt adhere to it as its zodiac, and not as one rejected. There shall I seek thee; I shall liken thee to it, thou shalt enlighten my darkened heart. If my life was bitter, let my death be sweet!
1304
“DEATH is no longer grievous to me, since it is to thee
I commit my soul; but I have laid thy love in my heart,
and there it rests. When I think of parting from thee, for me
wound is added to wound. Weep not and mourn not for me,
O mine own, for love of me!
1305
“GO, betake thyself to India, be of some help to my
father, who is straitened by foes, helpless on all sides;
comfort the heart of him who suffers separation from me.
Think of me weeping for thy sake with undrying tears.
1306
“WHATEVER complaint I have made against my Fate is
sufficient complaint. Know this, that true justice goeth
from heart to heart; for thy sake will I die, the ravens will
call me! 1 shall suffice for thy weeping and suffering.
1307
“LO, mark the token from the veil that was thine; from
one end I have cut off a strip, O mine own; this is all that
is left to me in place of that great hope; in wrath the
wheel of the seven heavens hath turned upon us.”
1308
WHEN she had finished this letter written to her beloved,
she cut off a fringe from those veils; bareheaded, the
thick, long locks other hair became her well, the scent
blows from the aloe, breathing through ihe raven’s wings.
1309
THAT slave departed, journeying to Gulansharo; in one
instant he reached P’hatman’s, he travelled not many
days. When this matter so dear to him had been
accomplished, Avt’handil with hands upraised thanks God.
with full understanding, not as one bemused.
1310
HE said to P’hatman: “The thing desired is timely
finished for me; thy great zeal for my sake is still
unrecompensed. I go, I have no leisure to tarry longer,
last year’s time is come. Swiftly shall T lead into Kadjet’hi
him who will annihilate and destroy them.”
1311
THE lady said: “O lion, the fire now becomes hotter; my
heart will be sundered from its light, thereby will it be
darkened; hasten, grieve not for me, the madman will still
remain mad. Should the Kadjis arrive before you, going
thither will be made difficult for you.”
1312
THE knight called P’hridon’s slaves who attended him.
He said: “Corpses hitherto, now indeed are we enlivened;
we are renewed by the hearing of what we wished. I shall
show you our enemies wounded and thereby woe-stricken.
1313
“GO and tell P’hridon this unvarnished story. I cannot
see him, I am hurried, my road is one of haste. Let him
strengthen his great voice to make it still more bold. I will
give you all the precious tissues taken by me as booty.
1314
“GREAT is the debt laid upon me by you; I will show my
gratitude in another way when I join P’hridon again. For
the nonce, take away all that was reft from the pirates;
I can give you no more than this, I know that so I shall
seem to you niggardly.
1315
“I HAVE no home near; I have no power to dispense
gifts.” He gave them a ship full, beautiful things, a host in
number. He said: “Go, take them away, travel the road to
that same region. Give this letter from me, his sworn
brother, to P’hridon.”
Avt’handil’s Letter to P’hridon
1316
HE wrote: “Exalted P’hridon, supremely blest, king of
kings, lion-like in stout-heartcdness, O sun, recklessly
shedding rays, mighty, joyous, spiller of the blood of
foes—thy youngest brother from far, far away barks thee a
greeting.
1317
“I HAVE seen troubles, and I have, too, received recompense
for what pains I have suffered. Well hath fallen out the
matter planned by me: I have truly learned the story of that
face likened to a sun, the sustainer of that lion who was
buried under the earth.
1318
“THE sovereign of the Kadjis has that sun; she is captive
in Kadjet’hi. To go thither seems to me sport, though the
road is one of battle. From the narcissi a rain of crystal
falls; the rose is wet with rain. The Kadjis are not yet with
the maid, but countless is their host.
1319
“GLAD in heart I rejoice, for this my tear will not flow
in channels. Wherever thou and thy brother are the
difficult will be made easy; whatever you may desire you
will certainly do it, you shall not fail; not only no man can
stand againsL you, I Lrow that even a rock will soften
before you.
1320
“NOW pardon me, I cannot see thee, so I have passed afar
off; I have no leisure to linger on the road, for that moon is
captive. Soon shall we come merry; rejoice at the sight of
us! What more than this can I say to thee: help thy brother
in brotherly fashion.
1321
“THE attachment of these slaves is beyond reward;
pleasantly have they served me, and your heart, too, will
be pleased at this. Why should he be praised who hath
sojourned long with you? Every like gives birth to like;
this is a saying of the sages.”
1322
HE wrote this letter, he tied it up and rolled it; rose
and violel he gave it to P’hridon’s slaves; he communicate
he should do; the open door of coral showed its pearls to
them.
1323
AVT’HANDIL searched; he found a ship of that region
where Tariel was. That sun with the face of a full moon
prepared to set out; but to leave the woeful-hearted
P’hatman was a heaviness to him; those who parted from
him shed a rivulet of blood.
1324
P’HATMAN, Usen and the slaves weep with hot tears.
They said: “O sun, what hast thou done to us ? Thou
didst burn us with hot fires, why darkenest thou us with
the gloom of’ thine absence ? Bury us with the hands that
must bury us by thy departure.”
Avt’handil’s Departure from Gulansharo, and His Meeting With Tariel
1325
AVT’HANDIL has crossed the seas in a certain ship for
travellers. He rides glad-hearted all alone. To meet Tariel
with such tidings rejoices him. With hands uplifted, with
his heart he hopes in God.
1326
SUMMER was come, from the Earth came forth verdure,
the token of the rose bursting into bloom, the time of their
tryst, the change of course by the sun, its sitting on the
Cancer. He sighed when he saw the flower long time unseen
by him.
1327
The sky thundered and the cloud rained crystal dew; he
kissed the rose with his rose-like lips; he said: “I gaze on
you with tenderly-observant eye; I rejoice to have converse
with you in her stead.”
1328
WHEN he thought on his friend, the bitter tears flowed;
he travelled those weary ways towards Tariel, deserted and
pathless, unknown regions; lion and tiger of the reedy
thickets he slew wherever he saw them.
1329
THE caves came in sight, he was glad, he recognized them.
He said: “These be the rocks where my friend is, he for
whom my tears have flowed. I am indeed worthy to see him
face to face, to relate to him what I have heard. If he be
not come, what shall I do? Vain will have been my travail.
1330
“If he be come, doubtless he would not tarry within; he
would go somewhere into the plain, like a wild beast he
would roam in the fields; it is better for me to go round by
the rushes.”He bethought himself, he looked about; thus
he spoke and turned, he went toward the plains.
1331
HE canters along and sings with merry heart; he shouts to
him by name with cheerful voice. He went a little Farther,
there appeared the sun in full splendour, at the edge of the
rushes stands Tariel with sharp sword.
1332
TARIEL had slain a lion; its blood anoioted his sword.
He stood dismounted at the rushes; his hourse was
not with him. He heard Avt’handil’s shout, he was
astonished; he looked at him, recognized him, started, ran
towards him, bounded.
1333
TARIEL flung aside his sword and went towards his
adopted brother. The knight alighted from his horse; he
seemed more radient than the sun. They kissed each other;
their necks were as if riveted together. There was the sugary
sound of the rose frequently opening.
1334
TARIEL, weeping, uttered polished, exquisite words – the
tear of blood dyed the jetty thickets crimson, the fountain
of tears, many streams, waters the aloe: “Since I have seen
thee, what mailers it to me if eight pains oppress me?”
1335
TARIEL weeps and Avt’handil was speaking to him
laughing, he smiles, he opens his coral, the flash from his
teeth quivers; he said: “I have learned tidings which will
please thee; now the flower will be renewed, the rose
hitherto fading.”
1336
TARIEL said: “0 brother, what which rejoices me to-day
is enough, in seeing thee I have seen all my comfort,
whatever other balm God gives; hast thou not heard: How
can man find in the world that which is not of Heaven’s
doing!”
1337
WHEN Tariel was not convinced, Avt’handil was ill at
ease, he could no longer delay to tell the tale; he hastened,
he drew forth the veil of her on whose lips the rose blooms;
when Tariel saw, he recognized it, seized upon, started.
1338
HE recognized the letter and the fringe of the veil and
unfolded them, he pressed them to his face; he fell, a rose
pale in hue, his spirits fled, he drooped his lashes of jet.
Neither Quaissi1 nor even Salaman2 could bear sorrows
like his.
1339
AVT’HANDIL gazes at Tariel lying lifeless; he flew to
him, he set about helping him, the sweetly-speaking; he
could not be of avail to the consumed one, completely
burned up with fire; her tokens had laid hold of his life.
