One thousand and one nig.., p.388
One Thousand and One Nights, page 388
Then, of his ignorance, he took a [brass] mortar and returning to the shop, laid it before the Persian, who was still sitting there and who said to him. ‘O my son, what wilt thou do with this mortar?’ ‘Let us put it in the fire,’ answered Hassan, ‘and make of it ingots of gold.’ The Persian laughed and said, ‘O my son, art thou mad that thou wouldst go down into the market with two ingots of gold in one day? Knowst thou not that the folk would suspect us and we should lose our lives? If I teach thee this craft, thou must practise it but once a year; for that will suffice thee from year to year.’ ‘True, O my lord,’ answered Hassan, and sitting down, threw charcoal on the fire and set on the melting-pot. Quoth the Persian, ‘What wilt thou, O my son?’ And Hassan replied, ‘Teach me this craft.’ ‘There is no power and no virtue but in God the Most High, the Supreme!’ cried the Persian, laughing. ‘Verily, O my son, thou art little of wit and in nowise fitted for this noble craft. Did ever any in his life learn this art in the beaten way or in the markets? If we busy ourselves with it here, the folk will say, “These practise alchemy;” and the magistrates will hear of us, and we shall lose our lives. Wherefore, O my son, if thou desire this forthright, come with me to my house.’
So Hassan closed his shop and went with him; but by the way he bethought him of his mother’s words and stood still, with bowed head, thinking in himself a thousand thoughts. The Persian turned and seeing him thus, laughed and said to him, ‘Art thou mad? What! I purpose thee good in my heart and thou misdoubtest I will harm thee! But, if thou fear to go with me to my house, I will go with thee to thine and teach thee there.’ ‘It is well, O uncle,’ answered Hassan, and the Persian said, ‘Go thou before me.’ So Hassan led the way to his own house, where he left the Persian standing at the door, and going in, told his mother of his coming. She set the house in order for them and when she had made an end of furnishing and adorning it, her son bade her go to one of the neighbours’ houses. So she left the house to them and went her way, whereupon Hassan brought in the Persian.
Then he took a dish and going to the market, returned with food, which he set before the Persian, saying, ‘Eat, O my lord, that there may be bread and salt between us, and may God the Most High do vengeance upon him who is unfaithful to the bond of bread and salt!’ The Persian smiled and answered, ‘True, O my son! Who knoweth the virtue of bread and salt?’ Then he came forward and ate with Hassan, till they were satisfied; after which, ‘O my son Hassan,’ said he, ‘bring us some sweetmeats.’ So Hassan went to the market, rejoicing in his words, and returned with ten saucers of sweetmeats, of which they both ate and the Persian said, ‘May God abundantly requite thee, O my son! It is the like of thee with whom folk company and to whom they discover their secrets and teach what may profit him!’ Then said he, ‘O Hassan, bring the gear.’
No sooner did Hassan hear this than he went forth, like a colt let out to grass in the Spring, and hastening to the shop, fetched the gear and set it before the Persian, who pulled out a paper and said, ‘O Hassan, wert thou not dearer to me than my son, I would not let thee into this mystery, for I have none of the elixir left save what is in this paper; but by and by I will bring the ingredients whereof it is composed and make it before thee and teach thee its fashion; and do thou observe, when I compound the simples and lay them before thee. Know, O my son Hassan, that thou must lay to every ten pounds of copper half a drachm of that which is in this paper, and the whole will presently become virgin gold without alloy. There are in this paper three ounces, Egyptian measure, and when it is spent, I will make thee more.’ Hassan took the packet and finding therein a yellow powder, finer than before, said to the Persian, ‘O my lord, what is the name of this substance and where is it found and how is it made?’ But he laughed and said, ‘Of what dost thou question? Indeed, thou art an impertinent boy! Do and hold thy peace.’
So Hassan arose and fetching a [brass] bowl from the house, cut it up and threw it into the melting-pot; then he scattered on it a little of the powder and it became a lump of pure gold. When he saw this, he rejoiced mightily and was filled with amazement and could think of nothing but the gold; but, whilst he was occupied with taking up the ingot from the melting-pot, the Persian pulled out of his turban in haste a packet of Cretan henbane, which if an elephant smelt, he would sleep from night to night, and cutting off a little thereof, put it in a piece of sweetmeat. Then said he to Hassan, ‘O Hassan, thou art become my very son and dearer to me than my soul and my wealth and I have a daughter whose like never have eyes beheld for beauty and grace and symmetry. Now I see that thou befittest none but her and she none but thee; wherefore, if it be the will of God, I will marry thee to her.’ ‘I am thy servant,’ replied Hassan; ‘and whatsoever thou dost with me [of good] will be [credited to thee] with God the Most High.’ ‘O my son,’ rejoined the Persian, ‘have patience and good shall betide thee.’
Therewithal he gave him the piece of sweetmeat and he took it and kissed his hand, knowing not what was hidden for him in the future. Then he put it in his mouth, but hardly had he swallowed it, when he fell down, head foremost, and was lost to the world; whereupon the Persian rejoiced exceedingly and said, ‘Thou hast fallen into my snare, O good-for-nothing dog of the Arabs! This many a year have I sought thee, O Hassan, and now I have got thee!’ Then he girt himself and binding Hassan hand and foot, laid him in a chest, which he emptied for the purpose, and locked it upon him. Moreover, he emptied another chest and laying therein all Hassan’s valuables, together with the ingot of gold [and the price of that which he had sold], locked it.
Then he ran to the market and fetching a porter, took up the two chests and made off with them without the city, where he set them down on the sea-shore, hard by a vessel at anchor there. Now this vessel was freighted by the Persian and her captain was awaiting him; so, when the sailors saw him, they came to him and carried the chests on board. Then the Persian called out to the captain, saying, ‘Up and let us begone, for I have done my errand and compassed my desire.’ So the captain cried out to the crew, saying, ‘Weigh anchor and set sail!’ And the ship put out to sea with a fair wind.
Meanwhile, Hassan’s mother awaited him till nightfall, but heard neither sound nor news of him; so she went to the house and Ending it open, entered and saw none therein and missed the chests and valuables; wherefore she knew that her son was lost and that destiny had overtaken him and buffeted her face and tore her clothes, crying out and lamenting and saying, ‘Alas, my son! Alas, the fruit of my entrails!’ And she recited the following verses:
My patience fails me and unrest is sore upon me; yea, Lament and sickness, after you, redouble on me aye.
By God, no fortitude have I to bear the loss of you! How should I patience have, when all my hopes are fled away?
Since he I love is gone, in sleep how should I have delight? Who can take pleasure in a life of misery and dismay?
Thou’rt gone and hast made desolate both house and folk and eke Troubled the limpid streams whereat I did my thirst allay.
Thou wast mine aid in all distress; my glory and my pride Among mankind, in every need my comfort and my stay.
Not hast thou ever, until now, been absent from my sight, But unto me thou didst return again, ere ended day!
And she ceased not to weep and bemoan herself till the morning, when the neighbours came in to her and questioned her of her son, and she told them what had befallen him with the Persian, assured that she should never see him again. Then she went round about the house weeping, till she espied two lines written upon the wall; so she sent for a learned man, who read them to her; and they were as follows:
Tbe phantom of Leila came to me in dreams, tow’rds the break of day, When slumber ruled and my comrades all in the desert sleeping lay;
But, when I awoke to the dream of the night, that came to visit me, I found the air void and the wonted place of our rendezvous far away.
When she heard this, she cried out and said, ‘Yes, O my son! Indeed, the house is desolate and distant the place of visitation!’ Then the neighbours took leave of her and went away, after they had prayed that she might be vouchsafed patience and speedy reunion with her son; but she ceased not to weep all tides of the day and watches of the night and built a tomb amiddleward the house, on which she let write Hassan’s name and the date of his loss, and thenceforward she quitted it not, but sojourned by it night and day.
Now this Persian was a Magian, who hated Muslims with an exceeding hatred and destroyed all who fell into his power. He was a lewd and filthy villain, an alchemist, an astrologer and a seeker after hidden treasures, such an one as he of whom quoth the poet:
A dog, the son of a dog, is he and his grandfather, too was one; And when was there ever aught of good in a dog, of a dog the son?
The name of this accursed wretch was Behram the Magian, and he was won: every year, to take a Muslim and slaughter him for a purpose of his own. So, when he had carried out his plot against Hassan the goldsmith, they sailed on till dark, when the ship made fast to the shore for the night, and at sunrise, when they set sail again, Behram bade his slaves and servants bring him the chest in which was Hassan. They did so and he opened it and taking out the young man, made him smell to vinegar and blew a powder into his nostrils. Hassan sneezed and cast up the henbane; then, opening his eyes, he looked about him and found himself on board a ship in full sail, amiddleward the sea, and saw the Persian sitting by him; wherefore he knew that the accursed Magian had put a cheat on him and that he had fallen into the very peril of which his mother had bidden him beware. So he spoke the words, which whoso utterest shall not be confounded, that is to say, ‘There is no power and no virtue save in God the Most High, the Supreme! Verily, we are God’s and to Him we return! O my God, be Thou gracious to me in Thine ordinance and give me patience to endure this Thine affliction, O Lord of all creatures!’
Then he turned to the Persian and bespoke him softly, saying, ‘O my father, what fashion is this and where is [the bond of] bread and salt and the oath thou sworest to me?’ But Behram looked at him and answered, ‘O dog, knoweth the like of me [the bond of] bread and salt? I have slain a thousand youths like thee, save one, and thou shalt make up the thousand.’ And he cried out at him and Hassan was silent, knowing that the arrow of fate had overtaken him.
Then the accursed wretch commanded to loose his bonds and they gave him a little water, whilst the Magian laughed and said, ‘By the Fire and the Light and the Shade and the Heat, methought not thou wouldst fall into my toils! But the Fire gave me the victory over thee and helped me to lay hold upon thee, that I might accomplish my need and return and make thee a sacrifice to it, so it may accept of me.’ Quoth Hassan, ‘Thou hast betrayed [the bond of] bread and salt.’ Whereupon the Magian raised his hand and dealt him a buffet, that he fell and biting the deck, swooned away, whilst the tears steamed down his cheeks. Then Behram bade his servants light him a fire and Hassan said, ‘What wilt thou do with it?’ ‘This is the Fire, giver of light and sparks,’ replied the Magian. ‘This it is I worship, and if thou wilt worship it even as I, I’ll give thee half my wealth and marry thee to my daughter.’ ‘Out on thee!’ cried Hassan. ‘Thou art an infidel Magian, that worshippeth the Fire, instead of the All-powerful King, Creator of Night and Day; and this is nought but a calamity among faiths!’
At this the Magian was wroth and said to him, ‘Wilt thou not then fall in with me, O dog of the Arabs, and enter my faith?’ But Hassan consented not to this: so the accursed Magian arose and prostrating himself to the fire, bade his servants throw him down on his face. They did so, and he beat him with a whip of plaited hide, till his flanks were laid open, whilst he cried aloud for succour, but none succoured him, and besought protection, but none protected him. Then he raised his eyes to the All-powerful King and sought aid of Him, in the name of the Chosen Prophet. And indeed patience failed him; his tears ran down his cheeks, like rain, and he repeated the following verses:
Lord, I submit myself to Thee and eke to Fate, Content, if so Thou please, to suffer and to wait.
Unjustly have they dealt by me and sore oppressed: Belike Thou wilt the past with favour compensate.
Then the Magian commanded his slaves to raise him to a sitting posture and bring him meat and drink. So they set food before him; but he refused to eat or drink; and Behram’s heart was hardened against him and he ceased not to torment him day and night during the voyage, whilst Hassan took patience and humbled himself in supplication to God the Most High, to whom belong might and majesty.
They sailed the sea three months till God the Most High sent forth upon them a contrary wind and the sea grew black and rose against the ship, by reason of the much wind; whereupon quoth the captain and the sailors, ‘By Allah, this is all on account of yonder youth, who hath been these three months in torment with this Magian. Indeed, this is unlawful in the sight of God the Most High.’ Then they rose against the Magian and slew his servants and all who were with him; which when he saw, he made sure of death and feared for himself. So he loosed Hassan from his bonds and pulling off the ragged clothes he had on, clad him in others. Moreover, he made his excuses to him and promised to teach him the craft and restore him to his native land, saying, ‘O my son, bear me not malice for that I have done with thee.’ Quoth Hassan, ‘How can I ever again put faith in thee?’ But Behram said, ‘O my son, but for offence, there were no pardon. Indeed, I did all this with thee but to try thy patience, and thou knowest that the case is altogether in God’s hands.’
The sailors and the captain rejoiced in Hassan’s release, and he called down blessings on them and praised God the Most High and thanked Him. With this the wind fell and the sky cleared, and they continued their voyage with a fair breeze. Then said Hassan to Behram, ‘O Persian, whither goest thou?’ ‘O my son,’ answered the Magian, ‘I am bound for the Mountain of Clouds, where is the elixir which we use in alchemy.’ And he swore to him by the Fire and the Light that he had no longer any cause to fear him. So Hassan’s heart was set at ease and he continued to eat and drink and sleep with the Magian, whilst the latter clad him in his own raiment.
Then they sailed on other three months, at the end of which time the ship came to an anchor off a long beach of pebbles of all colours, white and yellow and blue and black and what not, and the Magian rose and said to Hassan, ‘Come, let us go ashore: for we have reached our destination.’ So Hassan rose and landed with Behram, after the latter had commended his goods to the captain’s care. They walked on inland, till they were out of sight of the ship when Behram sat down and taking from his pocket a little drum of copper and a silken strap, wroughten in gold with talismanic characters, beat the drum with the strap, whereupon there arose a cloud of dust from the further side of the desert.
Hassan marvelled at the Magian’s doings and was afraid of him: and he repented of having come ashore with him, and his colour changed. But Behram looked at him and said, ‘What ails thee, O my son? By the fire and the light, thou hast nought to fear from me; and were it not that my occasion may not be accomplished save be thy means, I had not brought thee ashore. So rejoice in all good; for yonder cloud of dust is the dust of somewhat we will mount and which will aid us to traverse this desert and make the passage thereof easy to us.’ Presently, the dust lifted and discovered three dromedaries, one of which Behram mounted and Hassan another. Then they loaded their victual on the third and fared on seven days, till they came to a wide champaign, in whose midst they saw a pavilion vaulted upon four columns of red gold; so they alighted and entering therein, ate and drank and rested there.
Presently, Hassan chanced to look aside and seeing something lofty [in the distance], said to the Magian, ‘O uncle, what is that?’ ‘It is a palace,’ answered Behram. Quoth Hassan, ‘Wilt thou not go thither, that we may enter and rest ourselves there and divert ourselves with viewing it?’ But the Persian was wroth and said, ‘Name not yonder palace to me; for therein dwells an enemy of mine, with whom there befell me somewhat whereof this is no time to tell thee.’ Then he beat the drum and up came the dromedaries, and they mounted and fared on other seven days.
On the eighth day, the Magian said, ‘O Hassan, what seest thou?’ Quoth Hassan, ‘I see clouds and mists between the east and the west.’ ‘That is neither clouds nor mists,’ answered Behram, ‘but a vast and lofty mountain, on which the clouds divide, and there are no clouds above it, for the excess of its height and the greatness of its elevation. Yonder mountain is the goal of my journey and thereon is what we seek. It is for that I brought thee hither, for my occasion may not be accomplished save at thy hands.’ When Hassan heard this, he gave himself up for lost and said to the Magian, ‘By the virtue of that thou worshippest and the faith in which thou believest, I conjure thee to tell me what is the occasion on which thou hast brought me!’ Quoth Behram, ‘The art of alchemy may not be successfully practised save by means of a herb, that grows in the place where the clouds pass and whereon they divide. Such a place is yonder mountain; the herb grows there and I purpose to send thee up thither [to gather it]; and when we have it, I will show thee the secret of this craft that thou desirest to learn.’ Hassan answered, in his fear, ‘It is well, O my master.’ And indeed he despaired of life and wept for his separation from his mother and people and country, repenting him of having gainsaid her and reciting the following verses:
