"Variants and Analogues of XI and XII" - читать интересную книгу автора (Burtons Version)

The catastrophe of this story forms the subject of the Lady's 37th tale in the text of the Turkish "Forty Vezэrs," translated by Mr. E. J. W. Gibb. аThis is how it goes:

In the palace of the world there was a king, and that king had three vezэrs, but there was rivalry between them. аTwo of them day and night incited the king against the third, saying, "He is a traitor." аBut the king believed them not. аAt length they promised two pages much gold, and instructed them thus: "When the king has lain down, ere he yet fall asleep, do ye feign to think him asleep, and while talking with each other, say at a fitting time, 'I have heard from such a one that yon vezэr says this and that concerning the king, and that he hates him; many people say that vezэr is an enemy to our king.'" аSo they did this, and when the king heard this, he said in his heart, "What those vezэrs said is then true; when the very pages have heard it somewhat it must indeed have some foundation. аTill now, I believed not those vezэrs, but it is then true." аAnd the king executed that vezэr. аThe other vezэrs were glad and gave the pages the gold they had promised. аSo they took it and went to a private place, and while they were dividing it one of them said, "I spake first; I want more." аThe other said, "If I had not said he was an enemy to our king, the king would not have killed him; I shall take more." аAnd while they were quarrelling with one another the king passed by there, and he listened attentively to their words, and when he learned of the matter, he said, "Dost thou see, they have by a trick made us kill that hapless vezэr." аAnd he was repentant.





аSTORY OF KING SULAYMAN SHAH AND HIS NIECE.--Vol. XI. p. 97.



The Persian original has been very considerably amplified by the Arabian translator. аIn the "Bakhtyсr Nсma" there is not a word about the two brothers and their fair cousin, the attempted murder of the infant, and the adventures of the fugitive young prince. аThis story has also been taken from the "T·tэ Nсma" of Nakhshab·, Night the 50th of the Indian Office MS. 2573, where, under the title of "Story of the Daughter of the Kaysar of Roum, and her trouble by reason of her son," it is told somewhat as follows:

In former times there was a great king, whose army was numerous and whose treasury was full to overflowing; but, having no enemy to contend with, he neglected to pay his soldiers, in consequence of which they were in a state of destitution and discontent. аAt length one day the soldiers went to the prime minister and made their condition known to him. аThe vazэr promised that he would speedily devise a plan by which they should have employment and money. аNext morning he presented himself before the king, and said that it was widely reported the Kaysar of Rou, had a daughter unsurpassed for beauty--one who was fit only for such a great monarch as his Majesty; and suggested that it would be advantageous if an alliance were formed between two such great potentates. аThe notion pleased the king well, and he forthwith despatched to Roum an ambassador with rich gifts, and requested the Kaysar to grant him his daughter in marriage. аBut the Kaysar waxed wroth at this, and refused to give his daughter to the king. аWhen the ambassador returned thus unsuccessful, the king, enraged at being made of no account, resolved to make war upon the Kaysar; so, opening the doors of his treasury, he distributed much money among his troops, and then, "with a woe-bringing host, and a blood-drinking army, he trampled Roum and the folk of Roum in the dust." аAnd when the Kaysar was become powerless, he sent his daughter to the king, who married her according to the law of Islam.

Now that princess had a son by a former husband, and the Kaysar had said to her before she departed, "Beware that thou mention not thy son, for my love for his society is great, and I cannot part with him."а[FN#487] аBut the princess was sick at heart for the absence of her son, and she was ever pondering how she should speak to the king about him, and in what manner she might contrive to bring him to her. аIt happened one day the king gave her a string of pearls and a casket of jewels. аShe said, "With my father is a slave who is well skilled in the science of jewels." аThe king replied, "If I should ask that slave of thy father, would he give him to me?" а"Nay," said she, "for he holds him in the place of a son. аBut if the king desire him, I will send a merchant to Roum, and I myself will give him a token, and with pleasant wiles and fair speeches will bring him hither." аThen the king sent for a clever merchant who knew Arabic eloquently and the language of Roum, and gave him goods for trading and sent him to Roum with the object of procuring the slave. аBut the daughter of the Kaysar said privily to the merchant, "That slave is my son; I have, for a good reason, said to the king that he is a slave; so thou must bring him as a slave, and let it be thy duty to take care of him." аIn due course the merchant brought the youth to the king's service; and when the king saw his fair face, and discovered in him many pleasing and varied accomplishments, he treated him with distinction and favour, and conferred on the merchant a robe of honour and gifts. аHis mother saw him from afar, and was pleased with receiving a secret salutation from him.

One day the eking had gone to the chase, and the palace remained void of rivals; so the mother called in her son, kissed his fair face, and told him the tale of her great sorrow. аA chamberlain became aware of the secret and another suspicion fell upon him, and he said to himself, "The harem of the king is the sanctuary of security and the palace of protection. аIf I speak not of this, I shall be guilty of treachery and shall have wrought unfaithfulness." аWhen the king returned from the chase, the chamberlain related to him what he had seen, and the eking was angry and said, "This woman hath deceived me with words and deeds, and has brought hither her desire by craft and cunning. аThis conjecture must be true, else why did she play such a trick? аAnd why did she hatch such a plot? аAnd why did she send the merchant?" аThen the king, enraged, went into the harem, and the queen saw from his countenance that the occurrence of the night before had become known to him, and she said, "Be it not that I see the king angry?" аHe said, "How should I not be angry? аThou, by craft and trickery, and intrigue, and plotting, hast brought thy desire from Roum--what wantonness is this that thou hast done?" аAnd then he thought to slay her, but he forbore, because of his great love for her. аBut he ordered the chamberlain to carry the youth to some obscure place, and straightway sever his head from his body. аWhen the poor mother saw this, she well-nigh fell on her face, and her soul was near leaving her body. аBut she knew that sorry would not avail, and so she restrained herself.

And when the chamberlain took the youth into his own house, he said to him, "O youth, knowest thou not that the harem of the king is the sanctuary of security? аWhat great treachery is this that thou hast perpetrated?" аThe youth replied, "That queen is my mother, and I am her true son. аBecause of her natural delicacy, she said not to the king that she had a son by another husband. аAnd when yearning came over her, she contrived to bring me here from Roum; and while the king was engaged in the chase, maternal love stirred in her, and she called me to her and embraced me." аOn hearing this, the chamberlain said to himself, "What is passing in his mother's breast? аWhat have I not done I can yet do, and it were better that I preserve this youth some days, for such a rose may not be wounded through idle words, and such a bough may not be broken by a breath. аFor some day the truth of this matter will be disclosed, and it will become known to the king when repentance may be of no avail." аSo he went before the king and said, "That which was commanded have I fulfilled." аOn hearing this the king's wrath was to some extent removed but his trust in the Kaysar's daughter was departed; while she, poor creature, was grieved and dazed at the loss of her son.

Now in the palace-harem there was an old woman, who said to the queen, "How is it that I find thee sorrowful?" аAnd the queen told the whole story, concealing nothing. аThis old woman was a heroine in the field of craft, and she answered, "Keep thy mind at ease; I will devise a stratagem by which the heart of the king will be pleased with thee, and every grief he has will vanish from his heart." аThe queen said that, if she did so, she should be amply rewarded. аOne day the old woman, seeing the king alone, said to him, "Why is thy former aspect altered? аAnd why are there traces of care and anxiety visible on thy countenance?" аThe king then told her all. аThen said the old woman, "I have an amulet of the charms of Sulayman, in the Syriac language, and in the writing of the jinn (genii). аWhen the queen is asleep, do thou place it on her breast, and whatever it may be, she will tell the truth of it. аBut take care, fall not asleep, but listen well to what she says." аThe king wondered at this and said, "Give me that amulet, that the truth of this matter may be learned." аSo the old woman gave him the amulet, and then went to the queen and explained what she had done, and said, "Do thou feign to be asleep, and relate the whole of thy story faithfully."

When a watch of the night was past, the king laid the amulet upon his wife's breast, and she thus began: "By a former husband I had a son, and when my father gave me to this king, I was ashamed to say I had a tall son. аWhen my yearning passed all bounds, I brought him here by an artifice. аOne day that the king was gone to the chase I called him into the house, when, after the way of mothers, I took him in my arms and kissed him. аThis reached the king's ears; he unwittingly gave it another construction, and cut off the head of that innocent boy, and withdrew from me his own heart. аAlike is my son lost to me and the king angry." аWhen the king heard these words he kissed her and exclaimed, "O my life, what an error is this thou hast committed? аThou hast brought calumny upon thyself, and hast given such a son to the winds, and hast made me ashamed!" аStraightway he called the chamberlain, and said, "That boy whom thou hast killed is the son of my beloved and the darling of my beauty! Where is his grave, that we may make there a guest-house?" аThe chamberlain said, "That youth is yet alive. аWhen the king commanded his death, I was about to kill him, but he said, 'That queen is my mother. аThrough modesty before the king, she revealed not the secret that she has a tall son. аKill me not; it may be that some day the truth will become known, and repentance profiteth not, and regret is useless." аThe king commanded them to bring the youth; so they brought him forthwith. аAnd when the mother saw the face of her son, she thanked God and praised the Most High, and became one of the Muslims, and from the sect of unbelievers came into the faith of Islam. аAnd the king favoured the chamberlain in the highest degree, and they passed the rest of their lives in comfort and ease.





аFIRUZ AND HIS WIFE.--Vol. XI. p. 125.



This tale, as Sir R. F. Burton remarks, is a rechauffщ of that of the King and the Wazir's Wife in the "Malice of Women," or the Seven Wazэrs (vol. vi. 129); and at p. 308 we have yet another variant.а[FN#488] аit occurs in all the Eastern texts of the Book of Sindibсd, and it is commonly termed by students of that cycle of stories "The Lion's Track," from the parabolical manner in which the husband justifies his conduct before the king. аI have cited some versions in the Appendix to my edition of the Book of Sindibсd (p. 256 ff.), and to these may be added the following Venetian variant, from Crane's "Italian Popular Tales," as an example of how a story becomes garbled in passing orally from one generation unto another generation.

A king, averse from marriage, commanded his steward to remain single. аThe latter, however, one day saw a beautiful girl named Vigna and married her secretly. аAlthough he kept her closely confined in her chamber, the king became suspicious, and sent the steward on an embassy. аAfter his departure the king entered the apartment occupied by him, and saw his wife asleep. аHe did not disturb her, but in leaving the room accidentally dropped one of his gloves on the bed. аWhen the husband returned he found the glove, but kept a discreet silence, ceasing, however, all demonstration of affection, believing his wife had been unfaithful. аThe king, desirous to see again the beautiful woman, made a feast and ordered the steward to bring his wife. аHe denied that he had one, but brought her at last, and while every one else was talking gaily at the feast she was silent. аThe king observed it and asked the cause of her silence, and she answered with a pun on her own name, "Vineyard I was, and Vineyard I am. аI was loved and no longer am. I know not for what reason the Vineyard has lost its season." Her husband, who heard this, replied, "Vineyard thou wast, and Vineyard thou art: the Vineyard lost its season, for the lion's claw." аThe king, who understood what he meant, answered, "I entered the Vineyard; I touched the leaves; but I swear by my crown that I have not tasted the fruit." аThen the steward understood that his wife was innocent, and the two made peace, and always after lived happy and contented.
So far as I am aware, this tale of "The Lion's Track" is not popularly known in any European country besides Italy; and it is not found in any of the Western versions of the Book of Sindibсd, generally known under the title of the "History of the Seven Wise Masters," how, then, did it reach Venice, and become among the people "familiar in their mouths as household words?" аI answer, that the intimate commercial relations which long existed between the Venetian Republic and Egypt and Syria are amply sufficient to account for the currency of this and scores of other Eastern tales in Italy. аThis is not one of those fictions introduced into the south of Europe through the Ottomans, since Boccaccio has made use of the first part of it in his "Decameron," Day I. nov. 5; and it is curious to observe that the garbled Venetian popular version has preserved the chief characteristic of the Eastern story--the allegorical reference to the king as a lion and his assuring the husband that the lion had done no injury to his "Vineyard."





аKING SHAH BAKHT AND HIS WAZIR AL-RAHWAN.--Vol. XI. p. 127.