The Arabian Nights Entertainments, vol 1 | Page 9

the next day. After her, he brought a citizen's daughter; and, in a word, there was every day a maid married, and a wife murdered.
The rumour of this unparalleled barbarity occasioned a general consternation in the city, where there was nothing but crying and lamentation. Here a father in tears, and inconsolable for the loss of his daughter; and there tender mothers, dreading lest theirs should have the same fate, making the air to resound beforehand with their groans; so that, instead of the commendations and blessings which the sultan had hitherto received from his subjects, their mouths were now filled with imprecations against him.
The grand vizier, who, as has been already said, was the executioner of this horrid injustice against his will, had two daughters, the eldest called Scheherazade, and the youngest Dinarzade: the latter was a lady of very great merit; but the elder had courage, wit, and penetration, infinitely above her sex; she had read abundance, and had such a prodigious memory that she never forgot any thing. She had successfully applied herself to philosophy, physic, history, and the liberal arts, and for verse exceeded, the best poets of her times; besides this, she was a perfect beauty, and all her fine qualifications were crowned by solid virtue.
The vizier passionately loved a daughter so worthy of his tender affection; and one day, as they were discoursing together, she says to him, Father, I have one favour to beg of you, and must humbly pray you to grant it me. I will not refuse it, answered he, provided it be just and reasonable. For the justice of it, says she, there can be no question, and you may judge of it by the motive which obliges me to demand it of you. I have a design to stop the course of that barbarity which the sultan exercises upon the families of this city. I would dispel those unjust fears which so many mothers have of losing their daughters in such a fatal manner. Your design, daughter, replies the vizier, is very commendable; but the disease you would remedy seems to be incurable; how do you pretend to effect it? Father, says Scheherazade, since by your means the sultan makes every day a new marriage, I conjure you, by the tender affection you bear to me, to procure me the honour of his bed. The vizier could not hear this without horror. O heavens! replies he, in a passion, have you lost your senses, daughter, that you make such a dangerous request to me? You know the sultan has sworn by his soul that he will never lie above one night with the same woman, and to order her to be killed the next morning; and would you that I should propose you to him? Pray consider well to what your indiscreet zeal will expose you. Yes, dear father, replies the virtuous daughter, I know the risk I run; but that does not frighten me. If I perish, my death will be glorious; and if I succeed, I shall do my country an important piece of service. No, no, says the vizier, whatever you can represent to engage me to let you throw yourself into that horrible danger, do not you think that ever I will agree to it. When the sultan shall order me to strike my poignard into your heart, alas! I must obey him; and what a dismal employment is that for a father? Ah! if you do not fear death, yet at least be afraid of occasioning me the mortal grief of seeing my hand stained with your blood. Once more, father, says Scheherazade, grant me the favour I beg. Your stubbornness, replies the vizier, will make me angry; why will you run headlong to your ruin? They that do not foresee the end of a dangerous enterprise can never bring it to a happy issue. I am afraid the same thing will happen to you that happened to the ass, which was well, and could not keep itself so. What misfortune befel the ass? replies Scheherazade. I will tell you, says the vizier, if you will hear me.

Fable.

The Ox, the Ass, and the Labourer.

A very rich merchant had several country-houses, where he had abundance of cattle of all sorts. He went with his wife and family to one of those estates, in order to improve it himself. He had the gift of understanding the language of beasts, but with this condition, that he should interpret it to nobody on pain of death; and this hindered him from communicating to others what he had learned by means of this gift.
He had in the same stall an ox and an ass; and one day as he sat near them, and diverted himself to see his children