第11章

Lief would I kill him and console my heart of him；and，by delivering the young Moslem from his mischief and restoring him to his country and kith and kin and friends，fain would I lay up merit for the world to come，by taking my wreak of him.[45]

This will be an almsdeed from you and ye will reap the reward thereof from Almighty Allah.''We hear and we obey Allah and thee，O our brother，O Hasan，'replied they and binding chin-veils，armed themselves and slung on their swords： after which they brought Hasan a steed of the best and equipped him in panoply and weaponed him with goodly weapons.Then they all sallied out and found the Magian who had slaughtered and skinned a camel，ill-using the young Moslem，and saying to him，'Sit thee in this hide.' So Hasan came behind him，without his knowledge；and cried out at him till he was dazed and amazed.Then he came up to him，saying，'Hold thy hand，O accursed！ O enemy of Allah and foe of the Moslems！ O dog！ O traitor！ O thou that flame dost obey！ O thou that walkest in the wicked ones' ways，worshipping the fire and the light and swearing by the shade and the heat！'

Herewith the Magian turned and seeing Hasan，thought to wheedle him and said to him，'O my son，how diddest thou escape and who brought thee down to earth？'Hasan replied，'He delivered me，who hath appointed the taking of thy life to be at my hand，and I will torture thee even as thou torturedst me the whole way long.

O miscreant，O atheist，[46] thou hast fallen into the twist and the way thou hast missed；and neither mother shall avail thee nor brother，nor friend nor solemn covenant shall assist thee；

for thou saidst，O accursed，Whoso betrayeth bread and salt，may Allah do vengeance upon him！ And thou hast broken the bond of bread and salt；wherefore the Almighty hath thrown thee into my grasp，and far is thy chance of escape from me.' Rejoined Bahram，'By Allah，O my son，O Hasan，thou art dearer to me than my sprite and the light of mine eyes！'But Hasan stepped up to him and hastily smote him between the shoulders，that the sword issued gleaming from his throat-tendons and Allah hurried his soul to the fire，and abiding-place dire.Then Hasan took the Magian's bag and opened it，then having taken out the kettle-drum he struck it with the strap，whereupon up came the dromedaries like lightning.So he unbound the youth from his bonds and setting him on one of the camels，loaded him another with victual and water，[47] saying，'Wend whither thou wilt.' So he departed，after Almighty Allah had thus delivered him from his strait at the hands of Hasan.When the damsels saw their brother slay the Magian they joyed in him with exceeding joy and gat round him，marvelling at his valour and prowess，[48] and thanked him for his deed and gave him joy of his safety，saying；'O Hasan thou hast done a deed，whereby thou hast healed the burning of him that thirsteth for vengeance and pleased the King of Omnipotence！' Then they returned to the palace，and he abode with them，eating and drinking and laughing and making merry；and indeed his sojourn with them was joyous to him and he forgot his mother；[49] but while he led with them this goodly life one day，behold，there arose from the further side of the desert a great cloud of dust that darkened the welkin and made towards them.When the Princess saw this，they said to him，'Rise，O Hasan，run to thy chamber and conceal thyself；or an thou wilt；go down into the garden and hide thyself among the trees and vines；but fear not，for no harm shall befal thee.'So he arose and entering his chamber，locked the door upon himself，and lay lurking in the palace.Presently the dust opened out and showed beneath it a great conquering host，as it were a surging sea；coming from the King，the father of the damsels.Now when the troops reached the castle，the Princesses received them with all honour and hospitably entertained them three days；after which they questioned them of their case and tidings and they replied saying，'We come from the King in quest of you.' They asked；'And what would the King with us？'；and the officers answered；'One of the Kings maketh a marriage festival，and your father would have you be present thereat and take your pleasure therewith.'The damsels enquired，'And how long shall we be absent from our place？'；and they rejoined，'The time to come and go，and to sojourn may be two months.'So the Princesses arose and going in to the palace sought Hasan，acquainted him with the case and said to him，'Verily this place is thy place and our house is thy house；so be of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool and clear and feel nor grief nor fear，for none can come at thee here；but keep a good heart and a glad mind，till we return to thee.The keys of our chambers we leave with thee；but，O our brother，we beseech thee，by the bond of brotherhood，in very deed not to open such a door，for thou hast no need thereto.'

Then they farewelled him and fared forth with the troops，leaving Hasan alone in the palace.It was not long before his breast grew straitened and his patience shortened： solitude and sadness were heavy on him and he sorrowed for his severance from them with passing chagrin.The palace for all its vastness，waxed small to him and finding himself sad and solitary，he bethought him of the damsels and their pleasant converse and recited these couplets；'The wide plain is narrowed before these eyes * And the landscape troubles this heart of mine.

Since my friends went forth，by the loss of them * Joy fled and these eyelids rail floods of brine：

Sleep shunned these eyeballs for parting woe * And my mind is worn with sore pain and pine：

Would I wot an Time shall rejoin our lots * And the joys of love with night-talk combine.'

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