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

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 Sult��nah-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 these words, he made answer. "I, O King of the Age, am he who said that say!" The King replied, "'Tis well;" and the Prince resumed, "O my lord, that which showed me the matter of the meat which was to us brought is as follows. I found the fat of the kid all hard by the bone, and I knew that the beast had sucked bitch's milk; for the flesh of dogs lieth outside and their fat is on their bones, whereas in sheep and goats the fat lieth upon the meat. Such, then, was my proof wherein there is nor doubt nor hesitation; and when thou shalt have made question and inquiry thou wilt find this to be fact." Quoth