第50章

In twain may Allah cut the partingday！

And she spake also this couplet，'I pray some day that we reunion gain，So may I tell him Parting's ugly way.'

The antelope sorrowed with great sorrow，but dissuaded the peahen from her resolve to remove from the island. So they abode there together with him，eating and drinking，in peace and safety，except that they ceased not to mourn for the loss of the duck；and the antelope said to the peahen，'O my sister，thou seest how the folk who came forth of the ship were the cause of our severance from the duck and of her destruction；so do thou beware of them and guard thyself from them and from the wile of the son of Adam and his guile.'But the peahen replied，I am assured that nought caused her death save her neglecting to say Subhan' Allah，glory to God；indeed I often said to her，'Exclaim thou，'Praised be Allah，and verily I fear for thee，because thou neglectest to laud the Almighty；for all things created by Allah glorify Him on this wise，and whoso neglecteth the formula of praise[144] him destruction waylays.''When the antelope heard the peahen's words he exclaimed，'Allah make fair thy face！'and betook himself to repeating the formula of praise，and ceased not there from a single hour. And it is said that his form of adoration was as follows，'Praise be to the Requiter of every good and evil thing，the Lord of Majesty and of Kings the King！'And a tale is also told on this wise of The Hermits.

A certain hermit worshipped on a certain mountain，whither resorted a pair of pigeons；and the worshipper was wont to make two parts of his daily bread，And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the One Hundred and Fortyeighth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the worshipper was wont to make two parts of his daily bread，eating one half himself and giving the other to the pigeon pair. He also prayed for them both that they might be blest with issue so they increased and multiplied greatly. Now they resorted only to that mountain where the hermit was，and the reason of their fore gathering with the holy man was their assiduity in repeating 'Praised be Allah！'for it is recounted that the pigeon[145]in praise，'Praised be the Creator of all Creatures，the Distributor of daily bread，the Builder of the heavens and Dispreader of the earths！'And that couple ceased not to dwell together in the happiest of life，they and their brood till the holy man died，when the company of the pigeons was broken up and they dispersed among the towns and villages and mountains. Now it is told that on a certain other mountain there dwelt a shepherd，a man of piety and good sense and chastity；and he had flocks of sheep which he tended，and he made his living by their milk and wool. The mountain which gave him a home abounded in trees and pasturage and also in wild beasts，but these had no power over his flocks；so he ceased not to dwell upon that highland in full security，taking no thought to the things of the world，by reason of his beatitude and his assiduity in prayer and devotion，till Allah ordained that he should fall sick with exceeding sickness.

Thereupon he betook himself to a cavern in the mountain and his sheep used to go out in the morning to the pasturage and take refuge at night in the cave. But Allah Almighty，being minded to try him and prove his patience and his obedience，sent him one of His angels，who came in to him in the semblance of a fair woman and sat down before him. When the shepherd saw that woman seated before him，his flesh shuddered at her with horripilation[146]and he said to her，'O thou woman，what was it invited thee to this my retreat？ I have no need of thee，nor is there aught betwixt me and thee which calleth for thy coming in to me.'Quoth she，'O man，cost thou not behold my beauty and loveliness and the fragrance of my breath；and knowest thou not the need women have of men and men of women？ So who shall forbid thee from me when I have chosen to be near thee and desire to enjoy thy company？ Indeed，I come to thee willingly and do not withhold myself from thee，and near us there is none whom we need fear；and I wish to abide with thee as long as thou sojournest in this mountain，and be thy companion and thy true friend. I offer myself to thee，for thou needest the service of woman： and if thou have carnal connection with me and know me，thy sickness shall be turned from thee and health return to thee；and thou wilt repent thee of the past for having foresworn the company of women during the days that are now no more. In very sooth，I give thee good advice： so incline to my counsel and approach me.'

Quoth the shepherd，'Go out from me，O woman deceitful and perfidious！ I will not incline to thee nor approach thee. I want not thy company nor wish for union with thee；he who coveteth the coming life renounceth thee，for thou seducest mankind，those of past time and those of present time. Allah the Most High lieth in wait for His servants and woe unto him who is cursed with thy company！'Answered she，'O thou that errest from the truth and wanderest from the way of reason，turn thy face to me and look upon my charms and take thy full of my nearness，as did the wise who have gone before thee. Indeed，they were richer than thou in experience and sharper of wit；withal they rejected not，as thou rejectest，the enjoyment of women；nay，they took their pleasure of them and their company even as thou renouncest them，and it did them no hurt in things temporal or things spiritual.