There was a man of the city of Baghdad, who was un-
married, and he was a porter; and one day, as he sat in
the market, reclining against his crate, there accosted him
a female wrapped in an izar of the manufacture of El-Mosil,^
composed of gold-embroidered silk, with a border of gold
lace at each end, who raised her face-veil, and displayed
beneath it a pair of black eyes, with lids bordered by long
lashes, exhibiting a tender expression, and features of perfect
beauty; and she said, with a sweet voice, Bring thy crate,
and follow me.
The porter had scarcely heard her words when he took
up his crate, and he followed her until she stopped at the
door of a house, and knocked ; whereupon there came down
to her a Christian, and she gave him a piece of gold, and
received for it a quantity of olives, and two large vessels of
wine, which she placed in the crate, saying to the porter.
Take it up, and follow me. The porter exclaimed. This is,
indeed, a fortunate day ! — and he took up the crate, and
followed her. She next stopped at the shop of a fruiterer,
and bought of him Syrian apples, and 'Othmani quinces, and
peaches of 'Oman, and jasmine of Aleppo, and water-lilies
of Damascus, and cucumbers of the Nile, and Egv^ptian
limes, and Sultani citrons, and sweet-scented myrtle, and
sprigs of the henna-tree, and chamomile, and anemones, and
violets, and pomegranate-flowers, and eglantine : all these
she put into the porter's crate, and said to him. Take it up.
So he took it up, and followed her until she stopped at the
shop of a butcher, to whom she said, Cut off ten pounds of
meat; — and he cut it off for her, and she \\Tappcd it in a
leaf of a banana-tree, and put it in the crate, and said again,
Take it up, O porter: — and he did so, and followed her.
She next stopped at the shop of a seller of dry fruits, and
took some of every kind of these, and desired the porter to
take up his burden. Having obeyed, he followed her until
she stopped at the shop of a confectioner, where she bought
a dish, and filled it with sweets of every kind that he had,
which she put into the crate ; whereupon the porter ventured
to say, If thou hadst informed me beforehand. I had brought
with me a mule to carry all these things. The lady smiled
at his remark, and next stopped at the shop of a perfumer,
of whom she bought ten kinds of scented waters ; rose-
water, and orange-flower-water, and willow-flower-water, &c. ;
together with some sugar, and a sprinkling-bottle of rose-
water infused with musk, and some frankincense, and aloes-
wood, and ambergris, and musk, and wax candles; and,
placing all these in the crate, she said. Take up thy crate,
and follow me. He, therefore, took it up, and followed her
until she came to a handsome house, before which was a
spacious court. It was a lofty structure, with a door of t\vx>
leaves, composed of ebony, overlaid with plates of red gold.
The young lady stopped at this door, and knocked
gently; whereupon both its leaves were opened, and the
porter, looking to see who opened it, found it to be a damsel
of tall stature, high-bosomed, fair and beautiful, and of
elegant form, w-ith a forehead like the bright new moon,
eyes like those of gazelles, eyebrows like the new moon of
Ramadan, cheeks resembling anemones, and a mouth like
the seal of Suleyman : her countenance was like the full
moon in its splendour, and the forms of her bosom resembled
two pomegranates of equal size. When the porter beheld
her, she captived his reason, the crate nearly fell from his
head, and he exclaimed, Never in my life have I seen a
more fortunate day than this ! The lady-portress, standing
within the door, said to the cateress and the porter, Ye are
welcome : — and they entered, and proceeded to a spacious
saloon, decorated with various colours, and beautifully con-
structed, with carved wood-work, and fountains, and benches
of different kinds, and closets with curtains hanging before
them ; there was also in it, at the upper end, a couch of
alabaster inlaid with large pearls and jewels, with mos-
quito-curtain of red satin suspended over it, and within this
was a young lady with eyes possessing the enchantment of
Babil," and a figure like the letter Alif, with a face that put
to shame the shining sun: she was like one of the brilliant
planets, or rather, one of the most high-born of the maidens
of Arabia. This third lady, rising from the couch, advanced
with a slow and elegant gait to the middle of the saloon,
where her sisters were standing, and said to them. Why
stand ye still? Lift down the burden from the head of
this poor porter: — whereupon the cateress placed herself
before him, and the portress behind him, and, the third
lady assisting them, they lifted it down from his head.
They then took out the contents of the crate, and, having
put everything in its place, gave to the porter two pieces of
gold, saying to him Depart, O porter.
The porter, however, stood looking at the ladies, and
admiring their beauty and their agreeable dispositions; for
he had never seen any more handsome ; and when he
observed that they had not a man among thein, and gazed
upon the wine, and fruits, and sweet-scented flowers, which
were there, he was full of astonishment, and hesitated to go
out; upon which one of the ladies said to him. Why dost
thou not go? dost thou deem thy hire too little? Then
turning to one of her sisters, she said to her. Give him
another piece of gold. — By Allah, O my mistress, exclaimed
the porter, my hire is but two half-dirhems, and I thought
not what ye have given me too little; but my heart and
mind were occupied with reflections upon you and your
state, ye being alone, with no man among you, not one to
amuse you with his company; for ye know that the men-
areh^ standeth not firmly but on four walls: now ye have
not a fourth, and the pleasure of women is not com-
plete without men : ye are three only, and have need of a
fourth, who should be a man, a person of sense, discreet,
' Babil, or Babel, is regarded by the Muslims as the fountain-head of the
science of magic, wliich was, and, as most think, still is, taught there to •
mankind by two fallen angels, named Harut and Marut (Kur an, ii. 96), '
who are there suspended by the feet in a great pit closed by a mass of rock.
acute, and a concealer of secrets. — We are maidens, they
replied; and fear to impart our secret to him who will not
keep it ; for we have read, in a certain history, this verse : —
Guard thy secret from another : intrust it not : for he who intrusteth
a secret hath lost it.
— By your existence, said the porter, I am a man of sense,
and trustworthy : I have read various books, and perused
histories : I make known what is fair, and conceal what is
foul, and act in accordance with the saying of the poet : — ¦
None keepeth a secret but a faithful person : with the best of man-
kind it remaineth concealed.
A secret is with me as in a house with a lock, whose key is lost,
and whose door is sealed.
When the ladies heard the verses which he quoted, and the
words with which he addressed them, they said to him. Thou
knowest that we have expended here a considerable sum of
money : hast thou then wherewith to requite us ? We will
not suffer thee to remain with us unless thou contribute a
sum of money; for thou desirest to sit with us, and to be
our cup-companion, and to gaze upon our beautiful faces. —
If friendship is without money, said the mistress of the house,
it is not equivalent to the weight of a grain : — and the por-
tress added, If thou hast nothing, depart with nothing: —
but the cateress said, O sister, let us suffer him; for, verily,
he hath not been deficient in his services for us this day:
another had not been so patient with us : whatever, therefore,
falls to his share of the expense, I will defray for him. — At
this the porter rejoiced, and exclaimed. By Allah, I obtained
my first and only pay this day from none but thee : — and
the other ladies said to him, Sit down : thou art welcome.
The cateress then arose, and, having tightened her girdle,
arranged the bottles, and strained the wine, and prepared
the table by the pool of the fountain. She made ready all
that they required, brought the wine, and sat down with her
sisters; the porter also sitting with them, thinking he was in
a di"cam. And when they had seated themselves, the cater-
ess took a jar of wine, and filled the first cup, and drank it:
she then filled another, and handed it to one of her sisters;
and in like manner she did to her other sister; after which
she filled again, and handed the cup to the porter, who,
having taken it from her hand, repeated this verse: —
I will drink the wine, and enjoy health; for, verily, this beverage
is a remedy for disease.
The wine continued to circulate among them, and the porter,
taking his part in the revels, dancing and singing with them,
and enjoying the fragrant odours, began to hug and kiss
them, while one slapped him, and another pulled him, and
the third beat him with sweet-scented flowers, till, at length,
the wine made sport with their reason; and they threw off
all restraint, indulging their merriment with as much freedom
as if no man had been present.
Thus they continued until the approach of night, when
they said to the porter, Depart, and shew us the breadth of
thy shoulders ; — but he replied, Verily the departure of my
soul from my body were more easy to me than my departure
from your company; therefore suffer us to join the night to
the day, and then each of us shall return to his own, or her
own, affairs. The cateress, also, again interceded for him,
saying, By my life I conjure you that ye suffer him to pass
the night with us, that we may laugh at his drolleries, for he
is a witty rogue. So they said to him. Thou shalt pass the
night with us on this condition, that thou submit to our
authority, and ask not an explanation of anything that thou
shalt ^see. He replied, Good. — Rise then, said they, and
read what is inscribed upon the door. Accordingly, he
went to the door, and found the following inscription upon
it in letters of gold, Speak not of that which doth not con-
cern thee, lest thou hear that which will not please thee: —
and he said, Bear witness to my promise that I will not
speak of that which doth not concern me.
The cateress then arose, and prepared for them a repast;
and, after they had eaten a little, they lighted the candles
and burned some aloes-wood. This done, they sat down
again to the table ; and, while they were eating and drink-
ing, they heard a knocking at the door; whereupon, without
causing any interruption to their meal, one of them went to
the door, and, on her return, said. Our pleasure this nio'ht is
now complete, for I have found, at the door, three foreigners*
with shaven chins, and each of them is bHnd of the left
eye : it is an extraordinary coincidence. They are strangers
newly arrived, and each of them has a ridiculous appearance:
if they come in, therefore, we shall be amused with laughing
at them. — The lady ceased not with these words, but con-
tinued to persuade her sisters until they consented, and said,
Let them enter ; but make it a condition with them that
they speak not of that which doth not concern them, lest
they hear that which will not please them. Upon this she
rejoiced, and having gone again to the door, brought in the
three men blind of one eye and with shaven chins, and they
had thin and twisted mustaches. Being mendicants, they
saluted and drew back ; but the ladies rose to them, and
seated them; and when these three men looked at the
porter, they saw that he was intoxicated; and, observing
him narrowly, they thought that he was one of their own
class, and said. He is a mendicant like ourselves, and will
amuse us by his conversation : — but the porter, hearing what
they said, arose, and rolled his eyes, and exclaimed to them.
Sit quiet, and abstain from impertinent remarks. Have ye
not read the inscription upon the door? — The ladies, laugh-
ing, said to each other, Between the mendicants and the
porter we shall find matter for amusement. They then
placed before the former some food, and they ate, and then
sat to drink. The portress handed to them the wine, and,
as the cup was circulating among them, the porter said to
them, Brothers, have ye any tale or strange anecdote where-
with to amuse us? The mendicants, heated by the wine,
asked for musical instruments ; and the portress brought
them a tambourine of the manufacture of El-Mosil, with a
lute of El-Irak, and a Persian harp ; whereupon they all
arose ; and one took the tambourine ; another, the lute ; and
the third, the harp: and they played upon these instru-
ments, the ladies accompanying them with loud songs; and
while they were thus diverting themselves, a person knocked
at the door. The portress, therefore, went to see who was
there ; and the cause of the knocking was this.
The Khalifeh Harun Er-Rashid had gone forth this
night to see and hear what news he could collect, accom-
panied by Ja'far his Wezir, and Mesrur his executioner.
It was his custom to disguise himself in the attire of a
merchant; and this night, as he went through the city, he
happened to pass, with his attendants, by the house of these
ladies, and hearing the sounds of the musical instruments,
he said to Ja'far, I have a desire to enter this house, and
to see who is giving this concert. — They are a party who
have become intoxicated, replied Ja'far, and I fear thpt we
may experience some ill usage from them; — but the Khalifeh
said. We must enter, and I would that you devise some
stratagem by which we may obtain admission to the inmates.
Ja'far therefore answered, I hear and obey: — and he ad-
vanced, and knocked at the door; and when the portress
came and opened the door, he said to her. My mistress, we
are merchants from Tabariyeh,^ and have been in Baghdad
ten days; we have brought with us merchandise, and taken
lodgings in a Khan ; and a merchant invited us to an enter-
tainment this night : accordingly, we went to his house, and
he placed food before us, and we ate, and sat a while drink-
ing together, after which he gave us leave to depart; and
going out in the dark, and being strangers, we missed our
way to the Khan : we trust, therefore in your generosity
that you will admit us to pass the night in your house ; by
doing which you will obtain a reward in heaven. — The
portress, looking at them, and observing that they were in
the garb of merchants, and that they bore an appearance of
respectability, returned, and consulted her two companions ;
and they said to her. Admit them: — so she returned, and
opened to them the door. They said to her, Shall we enter
with thy permission? She answered. Come in. The Kha-
lifeh, therefore, entered, with Ja'far and Mesrur; and when
the ladies saw them, they rose to them, and served them, say-
ing. Welcome are our guests ; but we have a condition to im-
pose upon you, that ye speak not of that which doth not
concern you, lest ye hear that which will not please you.
They answered, Good: — and when they had sat down to
drink, the Khalifeh looked at the three mendicants, and
was surprised at observing that each of them was blind of
the left eye; and he gazed upon the ladies, and was per-
plexed and amazed at their fairness and beauty. And when
the others proceeded to drink and converse, the ladies
brought wine to the Khalifeh; but he said, I am a pilgrim;
- — and drew back from them. Whereupon the portress
spread before him an embroidered cloth, and placed upon
it a China bottle, into which she poured some willow-flower-
water, adding to it a lump of ice, and sweetening it with
sugar, while the Khalifeh thanked her, and said within
himself. To-morrow I must reward her for this kind action.
The party continued their carousal, and, when the wine
took effect upon them, the mistress of the house arose, and
waited upon them; and afterwards, taking the hand of the
cateress, said. Arise, O my sister, that we ihay fulfil our
debt. She replied, Good. The portress then rose, and,
after she had cleared the middle of the saloon, placed the
mendicants at the further end, beyond the doors; after
which, the ladies called to the porter, saying. How slight
is thy friendship! thou art not a stranger, but one of the
family. So the porter arose, and girded himself, and said,
What would ye? — to which one of the ladies answered,
Stand where thou art: — and presently the cateress said to
him, Assist me: — and he saw two black bitches, with chains
attached to their necks, and drew them to the middle of
the saloon; whereupon the mistress of the house arose from
her place, and tucked up her sleeve above her wrist, and,
taking a whip, said to the porter, Bring to me one of them.
Accordingly, he dragged one forward by the chain. The
bitch whined, and shook her head at the lady; but the
latter fell to beating her upon the head, notwithstanding
her howling, until her arms were tired, when she threw the
whip from her hand, and pressed the bitch to her bosom,
and wiped away her tears, and kissed her head ; after which
she said to the porter, Take her back and bring the other;
— and he brought her, and she did to her as she had done to
the first. At the sight of this, the mind of the Khalifeh
was troubled, and his heart was contracted, and he winked
to Ja'far that he should ask her the reason; but he replied
by a sign, Speak not.
The mistress of the house then looked towards the
portress and said to her, Arise to perform what thou hast
to do. She repHed, Good: — and the mistress of the house
seated herself upon a couch of alabaster, overlaid with gold
and silver, and said to the portress and the cateress, Now
perform your parts. The portress then seated herself
upon a couch by her; and the cateress, having entered a
closet, brought out from it a bag of satin with green fringes,
and, placing herself before the lady of the house, shook it]
and took out from it a lute; and she tuned its strings, and
sang to it these verses : —
Restore to my eyelids the sleep which hath been ravished; and
inform me of my reason, whither it hath fled.
I discovered, when I took up my abode with love, that slumber
had become an enemy to my eyes.
They said, We saw thee to be one of the upright ; what, then, hath
seduced thee? I answered, Seek the cause from his glance.
Verily I excuse him for the shedding of my blood, admitting that
I urged him to the deed by vexation.
He cast his sun-like image upon the mirror of my mind, and its
reflection kindled a flame in my vitals.
When the portress had heard this song, she exclaimed,
Allah approve thee ! — and she rent her clothes, and fell
upon the floor in a swoon ; and when her bosom was thus
uncovered, the Khali f eh saw upon her the marks of beating,
as if from mikra'ahs'' and whips; at which he was greatly
surprised. The cateress immediately arose, sprinkled water
upon her face, and brought her another dress, which she put
on. The Khalifeh then said to Ja'far, Seest thou not this
woman, and the marks of beating upon her? I cannot keep
silence respecting this affair, nor be at rest, until I know the
truth of the history of this damsel, and that of these two
bitches. But Ja'far replied, O our lord, they have made a
covenant with us that we shall not speak excepting of that
which concerneth us, lest we hear that which will not please
us. — The cateress then took the lute again, and, placing it
against her bosom, touched the chords with the ends of her
fingers, and thus sang to it : —
If of love we complain, what shall we say? Or consuming through
desire, how can we escape?
'' Pabn sticks.
Or if we send a messenger to interpret for us, he cannot convey
the lover's complaint.
Or if we would be patient, short were our existence after the loss
of those we love.
Nought remaineth to us but grief and mourning, and tears stream-
ing down our cheeks.
O you who are absent from my sight, but constantly dwelling
within my heart !
Have you kept your faith to an impassioned lover, who, while
time endureth will never change ?
Or, in absence have you forgotten that lover who, on your account,
is wasting away ?
When the day of judgment shall bring us together, I will beg of
our Lord a protractive trial.
On hearing these verses of the cateress, the portress again
rent her clothes, and cried out, and fell upon the floor in a
swoon; and the cateress, as before, put on her another
dress, after she had sprinkled some water upon her face.
The mendicants, when they witnessed this scene, said.
Would that we had never entered this house, but rather had
passed the night upon the [rubbish-]mounds ; for our night
hath been rendered foul by an event that breaketh the back !
The Khalifeh, looking towards them, then said, Wherefore
is it so with you? They answered, Our hearts are troubled
by this occurrence. — Are ye not, he asked, of this house? —
No, they answered; nor did we imagine that this house
belonged to any but the man who is sitting with you: — upon
which the porter said. Verily, I have never seen this place
before this night; and I would that I had passed the night
upon the mounds rather than here. They then observ^ed,
one to another, We are seven men, and they are but three
women; we will, therefore, ask them of their history; and
if they answer us not willingly they shall do it in spite of
themselves: — and they all agreed to this, excepting Ja'far,
who said, This is not a right determination ; leave them to
themselves, for we are their guests, and they made a covenant
with us which we should fulfil: there remaineth but little of
the night, and each of us shall soon go his way. Then,
winking to the Khalifeh, he said, There remaineth but an
hour; and to-morrow we will bring them before thee, and
thou shalt ask them their story. But the Khalifeh refused
to do so, and .said, I have not patience to wait so long for
their history. — Words followed words, and at last they said,
Who shall put the question to them ? — and one answered,
The porter.
The ladies then said to them, O people, of what are ye
talking? — whereupon the porter approached the mistress of
the house, and said to her, O my mistress, I ask thee, and
conjure thee by Allah, to tell us the story of the two bitches,
and for what reason thou didst beat them, and then didst
weep, and kiss them, and that thou acquaint us with the
cause of thy sister's having been beaten w^ith mikra'ahs:
that is our question, and peace be on you. — Is this true that
he saith of you? inquired the lady, of the other men; and
they all answered, Yes, — excepting Ja'far, who was silent.
When the lady heard their answer, she said, Verily, O our
guests, ye have wronged us excessively; for we made a
covenant with you beforehand, that he who should speak of
that which concerned him not should hear that which would
not please him. Is it not enough that we have admitted you
into our house, and fed you with our provisions? But it is
not so much your fault as the fault of her who introduced
you to us. — She then tucked up her sleeve above her wrist,
and struck the floor three times, saying. Come ye quickly ! —
and immediately the door of a closet opened, and there
came forth from it seven black slaves, each having in his
hand a drawn sword. The lady said to them. Tie behind
them the hands of these men of many words, and bind each of
them to another : — and they did so, and said, O virtuous lady,
dost thou permit us to strike off their heads ? She answered,
Give them a short respite, until I shall have inquired of them
their histories, before ye behead them. — By Allah, O my
mistress, exclaimed the porter, kill me not for the offence
of others: for they have all transgressed and committed an
offence, excepting me. Verily our night had been pleasant
if we had been preserved from these mendicants, whose
presence is enough to convert a w'ell-peopled city into a
heap of ruins ! — He then repeated this couplet : —
How good is it to pardon one able to resist ! and how much more
so, one who is helpless !
For the sake of the friendship that subsisted between us, destroy
not one for the crime of another !
On hearing these words of the porter, the lady laughed after
her anger. Then approaching the men, she said. Acquaint
me with your histories, for there reniaineth of your Hves no
more than an hour. Were ye not persons of honourable and
high condition, or governors, I would hasten your recom-
pense.— The Klialifeh said to Ja'far, Woe to thee, O Ja'far!
make known to her who we are; otherwise she will kill us.
— It were what we deserve, replied he. — Jesting, said the
Khalifeh, is not befitting in a time for seriousness: each has
its proper occasion. — The lady then approached the mendi-
cants, and said to them. Are ye brothers? They answered.
No, indeed; we are only poor foreigners. She said then
to one of them, Wast thou born blind of one eye? — No,
verily, he answered; but a wonderful event happened to me
when my eye was destroyed, and the story of it, if engraved
on the understanding, would serve as a lesson to him who
would be admonished. She asked the second and the third
also; and they answered her as the first; adding. Each of
us is from a different country, and our history is wonderful
and extraordinary. The lady then looked towards them
and said, Each of you shall relate his story, and the cause
of his coming to our abode, and then stroke his head, and
go his way.
The first who advanced was the porter, who said, O my
mistress, I am a porter; and this cateress loaded me, and
brought me hither, and what hath happened to me here in
your company ye know. This is my story ; and peace be
on you. — Stroke thy head, then, said she, and go: — but he
replied, By Allah, I will not go until I shall have heard the
story of my companions. — The first mendicant then advanced,
and related as follows.
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