The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, vol 14 | Page 8

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it the Princes for their entertainment: he also directed they be supplied
with a banquet and the eunuchs did his bidding. But when it was
eventide and supper was served up, the trio sat down to it purposing to
eat; the eldest, however, having hent in hand a bannock of bread
exclaimed, "By Allah, verily this cake was baked by a woman in blood,
to wit, one with the menses." The cadet tasting a bit of kid exclaimed,
"This kid was suckled by a bitch"; and the youngest exclaimed,
"Assuredly this Sultan must be a son of shame, a bastard." All this was
said by the youths what while the Sultan had hidden himself in order to
hear and to profit by the Princes' words. So he waxed wroth entered
hastily crying, "What be these speeches ye have spoken?" They replied,
"Concerning all thou hast heard enquire within and thou wilt find it
wholly true." The Sultan then entered his women's apartments and after
inquisition found that the woman who had kneaded the bread was sick
with her monthly courses. He then went forth and summoned the
head-shepherd and asked him concerning the kid he had butchered. He
replied, "By Allah, O my lord, the nanny-goat that bare the kid died and
we found none other in milk to suckle him; but I had a bitch that had
just pupped and her have I made nourish him." The Sultan lastly hent
his sword in hand and proceeded to the apartments of the
Sultánah-mother and cried, "By Allah, unless thou avert my
shame[FN#12] we will cut thee down with this scymitar! Say me
whose son am I?" She replied, "By Allah, O my child, indeed falsehood
is an excuse, but fact and truth are more saving and superior. Verily
thou art the son of a cook!"--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn
of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth
her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night, an the King suffer
me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was
The Three Hundred and Thirty-second Night,
Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other
than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of
this our latter night!" She replied, "With love and good will!" It hath
reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of

the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy
celebrating, that the Sultan's mother said to him, "Verily thou art a
cook's son. Thy sire could not beget boy-children and I bare him only a
single daughter. But it so fortuned that the kitchener's wife lay in of a
boy (to wit, thyself); so we gave my girl-babe to the cook and took thee
as the son of the Sultan, dreading for the realm after thy sire's death."
The King went forth from his mother in astonishment at the penetration
of the three youths and, when he had taken seat in his Palace, he
summoned the trio and as soon as they appeared he asked them;
"Which of you was it that said, 'She who kneaded the bread was in
blood'?" Quoth the eldest, "That was I;" and quoth the King, "What led
thee to suspect that she was menstruous?" He replied, "O my lord,
when I took the bannock and broke off a bittock, the flour fell out in
lumps.[FN#13] Now had the kneader been well, her strength of hand
would have remained and the bread would have been wrought by all
the veins; but, when the blood came, her powers were minished for
women's force is in their hands; and as soon as the monthly period
cometh upon them their strength is lost. Their bodies contain three
hundred and sixty veins all lying hard by one another and the blood of
the catamenia floweth from them all; hence their force becometh
feebleness. And this was my proof of the woman which was
menstruous." Quoth the Sultan, "'Tis well. We accept as certain thy
saying upon this evidence, for it is agreeable to man's understanding
nor can any challenge it; this being from the power of insight into the
condition of womankind. And we are assured of its soothfastness, for
'tis evident to us without concealment. But which is he who said of the
kid's meat that the beast was suckled by a bitch? What proof had he of
this? How did he learn it and whence did his intelligence discover it to
him?" Now when the deceased Sultan's second son heard