第38章

fell on my feet and could not get out of that same pit.Then I turned and saw therein a girdle of gold and I stretched out my hand to take it； but when I raised it from the ground，I saw it was two girdles.So I girt my middle with them both and behold，the girdles became one girdle； and this，O Wazir，is my dream and what I saw when my sleep was deepest.'Said Dandan，'O our Lord the Sultan！ know that this thy dream denoteth thou hast a brother or a brother's son or an uncle's son or other near kinsman of thy flesh and blood whom thou knowest not； withal he is of the noblest of you all.'Now when the King heard these words he looked at Kanmakan and Nuzhat alZaman and Kuzia Fakan and the Wazir Dandan and the rest of the captives and said to himself，'If I smite these people's necks，their troops will lose heart for the destruction of their chiefs and I shall be able to return speedily to my realm，lest the Kingship pass out of my hands.'So having determined upon this he called the Sworder and bade him strike off Kanmakan's head upon the spot and forthright，when lo！ up came Rumzan's nurse and said to him，'O auspicious King，what purposest thou？'Quoth he，'I purpose slaughtering these prisoners who are in my power； and after that I will throw their heads among their men： then will I fall upon them，I and all my army in one body，and kill all we can kill and rout the rest： so will this be the decisive action of the war and I shall return speedily to my kingdom ere aught of accident befal among my subjects.'When the nurse heard these words，she came up to him and said in the Frankish tongue，'How canst thou prevail upon thyself to slay thine own brother's son，and thy sister，and thy sister's daughter？'When he heard this language，he was wroth with exceeding wrath and said to her，'O accursed woman，didst thou not tell me that my mother was murthered and that my father died by poison？Didst thou not give me a jewel and say to me，'Of a truth this jewel was thy father's？' Why didst thou not tell me the truth？'Replied she，'All that I told thee is true，but my case and thy case are wonderful and my history and thy his tory are marvellous.My name is Marjanah and thy mother's name was Abrizah： and she was gifted with such beauty and loveliness and velour that proverbs were made of her，and her prowess was renowned among men of war.And thy father was King Omar bin al Nu'uman，Lord of Baghdad and Khorasan，without doubt or double dealing or denial.He sent his son Sharrkan on a razzia in company with this very Wazir Dandan； and they did all that men can.But Sharrkan，thy brother，who had preceded the force，separated himself from the troops and fell in with thy mother Queen Abrizah in her palace； and we happened to have sought a place apart in order to wrestle，she and I and her other damsels.

He came upon us by chance while we were in such case，and wrestled with thy mother，who overcame him by the power of her splendid beauty and by her prowess.Then she entertained him five days in her palace，till the news of this came to her father，by the old woman Shawahi，surnamed Zat alDawahi，whereupon she embraced AlIslam at the hands of Sharrkan，and he took her and carried her by stealth to Baghdad，and with her myself and Rayhanab and twenty other damsels，all of us having，like her，followed the True Faith.When we came into the presence of thy Father，the King Omar bin alNu'uman，and he saw thy mother，Queen Abrizah，he fell in love with her and going in unto her one night，had connection with her，and she conceived by him and became with child of thee.Now thy mother had three jewels which she presented to thy father； and he gave one of them to his daughter，Nuzhat alZaman，another to thy brother，Zau al Makan，and the third to thy brother Sharrkan.This last thy mother took from Sharrkan and kept it for thee.But as the time of her delivery drew near she yearned after her own people and disclosed to me her secret； so I went to a black slave called Al Ghazban； and，privily telling him our case，bribed him to go with us.Accordingly the negro took us and fled the city with us，thy mother being near her time.But as we approached a desert place on the borders of our own country，the pangs of labour came upon thy mother.Then the slave proved himself a lustful villain and approaching her sought of her a shameful thing； whereupon she cried out at him with a loud cry，and was sore affrighted at him.

In the excess of her fright she gave birth to thee at once，and at that moment there arose，in the direction of our country，a dustcloud which towered and flew till it walled the view.

Thereupon the slave feared for his life； so he smote Queen Abrizah with his sword and slew her in his fury； then mounting his horse he went his way.Soon after his going，the dust lifted and discovered thy grandfather，King Hardub，Lord of Graecia

land，who，seeing thy mother （and his daughter） lying slain on the plain，was sorely troubled with a distress that redoubled，and questioned me of the manner of her death and the cause of her secretly quitting her father's realm.So I told him all that had passed，first and last； and this is the cause of the feud between the people of the land of the Greeks and the people of the city of Baghdad.Then we bore off thy murthered mother and buried her； and I took thee and reared thee，and hung about thy neck the jewel which was with Queen Abrizah.But，when being grown up thou camest to man's estate，I dared not acquaint thee with the truth of the matter，lest such information stir up a war of blood revenge between you.More over，thy grandfather had enjoined me to secrecy，and I could not gainsay the commandment of thy mother's father，Hardub，King of the Greeks.This，then，is the cause of my concealment and the reason why I forbore to inform thee that thy father was King Omar bin alNu'uman； but when thou camest to the throne，I told thee what thou knowest； and I durst not reveal to thee the rest till this moment，O King of the Age！