第36章

Rejoined I，'To hear is to obey，O my lady，but where is my husband？' Quoth she，'Upon his forehead is written what Allah hath decreed to him； as soon as the writing which is there writ is fulfilled to him，there is no help for it but he come hither，and we will beguile the time of our separation from him with songs and playing upon instruments of music，till it please Allah to unite us with him.' So I abode all these days with her till Allah brought us together in this church.' Then Husn Maryam turned to him and said，'O my lord，Ala al-Din，wilt thou be to me baron and I be to thee femme？' Quoth he，'O my lady，I am a Moslem and thou art a Nazarene； so how can I intermarry with thee？' Quoth she，'Allah forbid that I should be an infidel！ Nay，I am a Moslemah； for these eighteen years I have held fast the Faith of Al-Islam and I am pure of any creed other than that of the Islamite.' Then said he，'O my lady，I desire a return to my native land；' and she replied，'Know that I see written on thy forehead things which thou must needs accomplish，and then thou shalt win to thy will.Moreover，be fief and fain，O Ala al-Din，that there hath been born to thee a son named Aslan； who now being arrived at age of discretion，sitteth in thy place with the Caliph.Know also that Truth hath prevailed and that Falsehood naught availed； and that the Lord hath withdrawn the curtain of secrecy from him who stole the Caliph's goods，that is，Ahmad Kamakim the arch-thief and traitor； and he now lieth bound and in jail.And know further 'twas I who sent thee the jewel and had it put in the bag where thou foundest it，and 'twas I who sent the captain that brought thee and the jewel； for thou must know that the man is enamoured of me and seeketh my favours and would possess me； but I refused to yield to his wishes or let him have his will of me； and I said him，'Thou shalt never have me till thou bring me the jewel and its owner.' So I gave him an hundred purses and despatched him to thee，in the habit of a merchant，whereas he is a captain and a war-man； and when they led thee to thy death after slaying the forty captives，I also sent thee this old woman to save thee from slaughter.' Said he，'Allah requite thee for us with all good！ Indeed thou hast done well.' Then Husn Maryam renewed at his hands her profession of Al-Islam； and，when he was assured of the truth of her speech，he said to her，O my lady，tell me what are the virtues of this jewel and whence cometh it？' She answered，'This jewel came from an enchanted hoard，and it hath five virtues which will profit us in time of need.Now my lady grandmother，the mother of my father，was an enchantress and skilled in solving secrets and finding hidden treasures from one of which came the jewel into her hands.And as I grew up and reached the age of fourteen，I read the Evangel and other books and I found the name of Mohammed （whom Allah bless and preserve！） in the four books，namely the Evangel，the Pentateuch，the Psalms and the Koran；[124] so I believed in Mohammed and became a Moslemah，being certain and assured that none is worship worth save Allah Almighty，and that to the Lord of all mankind no faith is acceptable save that of Al-Islam.Now when my lady-grandmother fell sick，she gave me this jewel and taught me its five virtues.Moreover，before she died，my father said to her，'Take thy tablets of geomancy and throw a figure，and tell us the issue of my affair and what will befal-me.' And she foretold him that the far off one[125] should die，slain by the hand of a captive from Alexandria.So he swore to kill every prisoner from that place and told the Kaptan of this，saying，'There is no help for it but thou fall on the ships of the Moslems and seize them and whomsoever thou findest of Alexandria，kill him or bring him to me.' The Captain did his bidding until he had slain as many in number as the hairs of his head.Then my grandmother died and I took a geomantic tablet，being minded and determined to know the future，and I said to myself，'Let me see who will wed me！' Whereupon I threw a figure and found that none should be my husband save one called Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat，the Trusty，the Faithful.At this I marvelled and waited till the times were accomplished and I foregathered with thee.' So Ala al-Din took her to wife and said to her，'I desire to return to my own country.' Quoth she，'If it be so，rise up and come with me.' Then she took him and，hiding him in a closet of her palace，went in to her father，who said to her，'O my daughter，my heart is exceeding heavy this day； sit down and let us make merry with wine，I and thou.' So she sat down with him and he called for a table of wine； and she plied him till he lost his wits，when she drugged a cup with Bhang and he drank it off and fell upon his back.Then she brought Ala al-Din out of the closet and said to him，'Come； verily thine enemy lieth prostrate，for I made him drunk and drugged him； so do thou with him as thou wilt.' Accordingly Ala al-Din went to the King and，finding him lying drugged and helpless，pinioned him fast and manacled and fettered him with chains.Then he gave him the counter-drug and he came to himself，--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that Ala al-Din gave the antidote of Bhang to King Yohanna，father of Husn Maryam，and he came to himself and found Ala al-Din and his daughter sitting on his breast.So he said to her，'O my daughter，dost thou deal thus with me？' She answered 'If I be indeed thy daughter，become a Moslem，even as I became a Moslemah，for the truth was shown to me and I attested it； and the false，and I deserted it.I have submitted myself unto Allah，The Lord of the Three Worlds，and am pure of all faiths contrary to that of Al-Islam in this world and in the next world.