12 illustration(s) from this book
When King Shahriyár beheld this occurrence, reason fled from his head,
and he said to his brother Sháh-Zemán, Arise, and let us travel whither
we please, and renounce the regal state, until we see whether such a
calamity as this have befallen any other person like unto us; and if
not, our death will be preferable to our life. His brother agreed to his
proposal, and they went out from a private door of the palace, and
journeyed continually, days and nights, until they arrived at a tree in
the midst of a meadow, by a spring of water, on the shore of the sea.
They drank of this spring, and sat down to rest; and when the day had a
little advanced, the sea became troubled before them, and there arose
from it a black pillar, ascending towards the sky, and approaching the
meadow. Struck with fear at the sight, they climbed up into the tree,
which was lofty; and thence they gazed to see what this might be: and
behold, it was a Jinnee,[i_21] of gigantic stature, broad-fronted
and bulky, bearing on his head a chest.[i_22] He landed, and came
to the tree into which the two Kings had climbed, and, having seated
himself beneath it, opened the chest, and took out of it another box,
which he also opened; and there came forth from it a young woman, fair
and beautiful, like the shining sun. When the Jinnee cast his eyes upon
her, he said, O lady of noble race, whom I carried off on thy
wedding-night, I have a desire to sleep a little:--and he placed his
head upon her knee, and slept. The damsel then raised her head towards
the tree, and saw there the two Kings; upon which she removed the head
of the Jinnee from her knee, and, having placed it on the ground, stood
under the tree, and made signs to the two Kings, as though she would
say, Come down, and fear not this 'Efreet.[i_23] They answered her,
We conjure thee by Allah that thou excuse us in this matter. But she
said, I conjure you by the same that ye come down; and if ye do not, I
will rouse this 'Efreet, and he shall put you to a cruel death. So,
being afraid, they came down to her; and, after they had remained with
her as long as she required, she took from her pocket a purse, and drew
out from this a string, upon which were ninety-eight seal-rings;[i_24]
and she said to them, Know ye what are these? They answered, We know
not.--The owners of these rings, said she, have, all of them, been
admitted to converse with me, like as ye have, unknown to this foolish
'Efreet; therefore, give me your two rings,[i_25] ye brothers. So they
gave her their two rings from their fingers; and she then said to them,
This 'Efreet carried me off on my wedding-night, and put me in the box,
and placed the box in the chest, and affixed to the chest seven locks,
and deposited me, thus imprisoned, in the bottom of the roaring sea,
beneath the dashing waves; not knowing that, when one of our sex desires
to accomplish any object, nothing can prevent her. In accordance with
this, says one of the poets:--