There was a merchant of Bagdad, in the reign of the Caliph Haroun al-Raschid, and he had a son named Abou Hassan the Wag. And this merchant died, leaving to his son vast wealth; whereupon Abou Hassan divided his property into two equal portions, one of which he laid aside, and the other he spent. He took as his familiar friends a number of the sons of the merchants, and others, and gave himself up to the delights of good drinking and good eating, until half his wealth was consumed. Upon this he repaired to his associates, relations, and boon companions, and exposed to them his case, showing them how little property remained in his possession; but none of them paid any regard to him, or uttered a word in reply. So he returned to his mother with a broken heart, and told her of the treatment that he had experienced from his associates- that they would neither do him justice nor even reply to him. But she said, "O Abou Hassan, thus are the sons of this age; as long as thou hast anything, they draw thee near to them." She was grieved for him, and he sighed and wept.
He then sprang up, and went to the place in which was deposited the other half of his wealth, and upon this he lived agreeably. He took an oath that he would not thenceforthassociate with any of those whom he knew, but only with strangers, and that he would not associate with any person but for one night, and on the following morning would not recognize him. Accordingly, every night, he went forth and seated himself on the bridge; and, when a stranger passed by him, he invited him to an entertainment, and took him to his house, where he caroused with him that night until the morning. He then dismissed him, and, after that, he would not salute him if he saw him.
Thus he continued to do for a whole year. As he was sitting one day upon the bridge as usual, to see who might come towards him, Haroun al-Raschid the Caliph and certain of the domestics passed by in disguise. The Caliph had come forth to amuse himself among the people. So Abou Hassan laid hold upon him, and said to him, "O my master, hast thou any desire for a repast and beverage? " Al-Raschid said to him, " Conduct us. " Abou Hassan knew not who was his guest. The Caliph proceeded with him to Abou Hassan"s house; and, when al- Raschid entered, he found in it a beautiful saloon. After he had seated himself there and been entertained, he said to Abou Hassan, " O young man, who art thou? Acquaint me with thy history, that I may requite thee for thy kindness." But Abou Hassan smiled, and replied, " O my master, far be it from me that what hath happened should recur, and that I should be in thy company again after this time! " "Why so? " said the Caliph. So Abou Hassan told him his story; and, when the Caliph heard it, he laughed violently, and said, "By Allah, O my brother, thouart excusable in this matter. "
Then a dish of roast goose was placed before him, and a cake of fine bread; and Abou Hassan sat, and cut off the meat, and put morsels into the mouth of the Caliph, and they continued eating until they were satisfied. Then the basin and ewer were brought, with the kali; and they washed their hands. After this, Abou Hassan lighted for his guest three candles and three lamps, spread the wine-cloth, and brought clear, strained, old, perfumed wine, the odour of which was like fragrant musk; and, having filled the first cup, he handed it to the Caliph, who accepted it from his hand, drank it, and handed it back to him. So they drank and caroused until midnight.
After this the Caliph said to his host, "O Abou Hassan, is there any service that thou wouldst have performed, or any desire that thou wouldst have accomplished? "Abou Hassan answered, " In our neighbourhood is a mosque, to which belong an imam and four sheikhs; and, whenever they hear music or any sport, they incite the judge against me, and impose fines upon me, and trouble my life, so that I suffer torment from them. If I had them in my power, therefore, I would give each of them a thousand lashes, that I might be relieved from their excessive annoyance. "Al-Raschid replied, "May Allah grant thee the accomplishment of thy wish! " And, without being aware of it, al-Raschid put into a cup a lozenge of bhang, and handed it to him; and, as soon as it had settled in his stomach, he fell asleep immediately. Al-Raschid then arose and went to the door,where he found his young men waiting for him, and he ordered them to convey Abou Hassan upon a mule, and returned to the palace-Abou Hassan being intoxicated and insensible. When the Caliph had rested himself in the palace, he called for his Vizier, and certain of his chief attendants, and said to them all, "In the morning when ye see this young man(pointing to Abou Hassan) seated on the royal couch, pay obedience to him, and salute him as Caliph, and whatsoever he commandeth you, do it. " Then going to his girl slaves, he directed them to wait upon Abou Hassan, and to address him as Prince of the Faithful; after which, he entered a private room, and, having let down a curtain over the entrance, slept.
So, when Abou Hassan awoke, he found himself upon the royal couch, with the attendants standing around, and kissing the ground before him; and a maid said to him, "O our lord, it is the time for morning prayer. " Upon which he laughed, and, looking round about him, he beheld a magnificent pavilion, with furniture and carpets spread, and lighted lamps, and slaves and other attendants; whereat he was perplexed in his mind, and said, " By Allah, either I am dreaming, or this is Paradise, and the Abode of Peace. " And he closed his eyes. So a servant said to him, "O my lord, this is not thy usual custom, O Prince of the Faithful. " He was perplexed at his case, and began to open his eyes by little and little. He bit his finger; and, when he found that the bite pained him, he cried, "Ah! " and was angry. Then, raising his head, he called one of the slaves, who answered him, " At thy service, O Prince of the Faithful! "He said to her, "What is thy name? " She answered, " Cluster of Pearls. " And he said, "Knowest thou in what place I am, and who I am? " "Thou art the Prince of the Faithful, " she"Thou art the Prince of the Faithful. "
answered, " sitting in thy palace, upon the royal couch. " He replied, "I am perplexed at my case; my reason hath departed, and it seemeth that I am asleep; but what shall I say of my yesterday"s guest? I imagine nothing but that he is a devil, or an enchanter, who has sported with my reason. "All this time, the Caliph was observing him from a place where Abou Hassan could not see him. Abou Hassan lookedtowards the chief servant, and called to him and said to him, "Who is the Prince of the Faithful? " "Thou, " he answered. Abou Hassan replied, "Thou liest. " Addressing another servant, he said to him, "O my chief, as thou hopest for Allah"s protection, tell me, am I the Prince of the Faithful?" "Yea, by Allah, " answered the man, "thou art at this present time the Prince of the Faithful, and the Caliph of the Lord of all Creatures. " Abou Hassan, perplexed at all that he beheld, said, "In one night do I become Prince of the Faithful! Was I not yesterday Abou Hassan; and to-day am I Prince of the Faithful? "He remained perplexed and confounded until the morning, when a servant advanced and said, " May Allah grant a happy morning to the Prince of the Faithful! " He handed to Abou Hassan a pair of shoes of gold stuff, adorned with precious stones and rubies; Abou Hassan took them, and, after examining them a long time, put them into his sleeve. So the servant said to him, "These are shoes to walk in. " And Abou Hassan replied, " Thou hast spoken truth. " He therefore took them forth, and put them on his feet. Shortly after, the slaves brought him a basin of gold and a ewer of silver, and poured the water upon his hands; and, when he had performed the ablution, they spread for him a prayer-carpet, and he prayed. They then brought him a magnificent dress, and, looking at himself as he sat upon the couch, he said, "All this is an illusion, and a trick of the genii. "While he was in this state, lo, a servant came in and said tohim, " O Prince of the Faithful, the chamberlain is at the door, requesting permission to enter!" "Let him enter, " replied Abou Hassan. So he came in, and, having kissed the ground before him, said, "Peace be on thee, O Prince of the Faithful. At thy service! " Abou Hassan said to him, " Repair immediately to such a street, and give a hundred pieces of gold to the mother of Abou Hassan the Wag, with my salutation; then take the imam of the mosque, and the four sheikhs; inflict upon each of them a thousand lashes; and, when thou hast done that, write a bond against them, confirmed by oath, that they shall not reside in the street. After, thou shalt have them paraded through the city, mounted on beasts, with their faces to the tails, and have proclaimed before them-"This is the recompense of those who annoy their neighbours !" Beware of neglecting that which I have commanded thee to do. " So the judge did as he was ordered. When Abou Hassan had exercised his authority until the close of the day, he called for a servant who was near at hand, and said to him, " I am hungry, and desire something to eat. " The servant replied, "I hear and obey, " and led him by the hand into the eating-chamber, where the attendants placed before him a table of rich viands; and ten slave-girls stood behind his head. Abou Hassan, looking at one of these, said to her, "What is thy name? " She answered, " Branch of Willow. " And he said to her, " O Branch of Willow, who am I? " "Thou art the Prince of the Faithful, " she answered. But he replied, " Thou liest, by Allah. You girls are laughing at me. " Then the slave-girls led him by the hand to the drinking chamber, wherehe saw what astonished the mind. One of the slave-girls filled for him a cup of wine; and he took it from her hand and drank it. After this the slave-girls plied him with wine in abundance, and one of them threw into his cup a lozenge of bhang; and, when it had settled in his stomach, he fell down senseless.
Al-Raschid then gave orders to convey him to his house; and the servants did so, and laid him on his bed. When he recovered from his intoxication, in the latter part of the night, he found himself in the dark; and he called out, "Branch of Willow! Cluster of Pearls! " But no one answered him. His mother, however, heard him shouting these names, and arose and came, and said to him, "What hath happened to thee, O my son, and what hath befallen thee? Art thou mad? "When he heard the words of his mother, he said to her, "Who art thou, O ill-omened old woman, that thou addressest the Prince of the Faithful with these expressions? " She answered, " I am thy mother, O my son. " But he, replied, "Thou liest; I am the Prince of the Faithful, the lord of the countries and the people." " Be silent, " she said, "or else thy life will be lost. " She began to pronounce spells and to recite charms over him, and said to him, " It seemeth, O my son, that thou hast seen this in a dream. " She then said to him, "I give thee good news, at which thou wilt be rejoiced. " " What is it? " said he. She answered, "The Caliph gave orders yesterday to beat the imam and the four sheikhs, and caused a bond to be written against them, that they shall meddle no longer; and he sent me a hundred pieces of gold, with his salutation. " When Abou Hassan heardthese words from his mother, he uttered a loud cry, and he exclaimed, "I am he who gave orders to beat the sheikhs, and who sent thee the hundred pieces of gold, with my salutation, and I am the Prince of the Faithful. "Having said this, he rose up against his mother, and beat her with an almond stick, saying to her, "O ill-omened old woman, am I not the Prince of the Faithful? Thou hast enchanted me!" When the neighbours heard his words, they said, "This man hath become mad. " And they came in and laid hold upon him, bound his hands behind him, and conveyed him to the madhouse. There every day they punished him, flogging him with whips, making him a madman in spite of himself. Thus he continued, stripped of his clothing, and chained by the neck to a high window, for the space of ten days; after which, his mother came to salute him. And she said to him, "O my son, if thou wert Prince of the Faithful, thou wouldst not suffer this." When he heard what his mother said, he replied, " By Allah, thou hast spoken truth. It seemeth that I was only asleep, and dreamt that they made me Caliph, and assigned me servants and slaves. " His mother said to him, "O my son, verily Satan doth more than this. " He replied, "Thou hast spoken truth, and I beg forgiveness of God for the actions committed by me. "They therefore took him forth from the madhouse and conducted him into the bath; and, when he had recovered his health, he prepared food and drink, and began to eat. But eating by himself was not pleasant to him; and he walked to the bridge, to seek for himself a cup-companion. While he wassitting there, lo, Haroun al-Raschid the Caliph came to him in the garb of a merchant; for, from the time of his parting with him, he came every day to the bridge, but found him not till now. As soon as Abou Hassan saw him, he said to him, "A friendly welcome to thee, O King of the Genii! " So Haroun al-Raschid said, " What have I done to thee? " " What more couldst thou do, " said Abou Hassan, " than thou hast done unto me, O filthiest of the genii? I have suffered beating, and entered the madhouse, and they pronounced me a madman. All this was occasioned by thee. I brought thee to my abode, and fed thee with the best of my food; and, after that, thou gavest thy devils and thy slaves entire power over me, to make sport with my reason from morning to evening. Depart from me, therefore, and go thy way. "The Caliph smiled at this, and, seating himself by his side, addressed him in courteous language, and said to him, "O my brother, when I went forth from thee, I carelessly left the door open, and probably the Devil went in to thee. " Abou Hassan replied, " Inquire not respecting that which happened to me. What possessed thee, " he added, "that thou shouldst leave the door open, so that the Devil came in to me, and that such and such things befell me? "He related to the Caliph all that had happened to him from first to last, while al-Raschid laughed, but concealed his laughter; after which, the Caliph said to him, " Praise be to God that thou art cured. " But Abou Hassan replied, " I will not take thee again as my boon companion, nor as an associate tosit with me; for the proverb saith,"He who stumbleth against a stone and returneth to it is to be blamed and reproached." With thee, O my brother, I will not carouse, nor will I keep company with thee; since I have not found thy visit to be followed by good fortune to me. " The Caliph, however, said, "I have been the means of the accomplishment of thy desire with regard to the imam and the sheikhs. " " Yes, " replied Abou Hassan. And al-Raschid added, " Perhaps something will happen to thee that will rejoice thy heart more than that. " "Then what dost thou desire of me? " said Abou Hassan. "My desire, " answered al-Raschid, " is to be thy guest this night. " At length Abou Hassan said, " On the condition that thou swear to me by the inscription on the seal of Solomon the son of David (on both of whom be peace !) that thou wilt not suffer thy spirits to make sport with me. " Al-Raschid replied, " I hear and obey. "So Abou Hassan took him to his abode, and put the food and wine before him and his attendants, and they ate and drank as much as satisfied them. Abou Hassan then said to the Caliph, " O my boon companion, in truth I am perplexed respecting my case. It seemeth that I was Prince of the Faithful, and that I exercised authority, and gave and bestowed : and truly, O my brother, it was not a vision of sleep. " But the Caliph replied, "This was the result of confused dreams. " Having said this, he put a piece of bhang into the cup, and said, " By my life, drink this cup. " "Verily I will drink it from thy hand, " replied Abou Hassan. So he took the cup, and, when he had drunk it, his head fell before his feet. The Caliph then arose immediately,and ordered his young men to convey Abou Hassan to the palace, and to lay him upon his couch, and commanded the slaves to stand around him; after which he concealed himself in a place where Abou Hassan could not see him, and ordered a slave-girl to take her lute and strike its chords over Abou Hassan"s head.
It was then the close of the night, and, Abou Hassan awaking, and hearing the sounds of the lutes and tambourines and flutes, and the singing of the slave-girls, cried out, "O my mother! " Whereupon the slave-girls answered, "At thy service, O Prince of the Faithful! " When he heard this, he reflected upon all that had happened to him with his mother, and how he had beaten her, and how he had been taken into the madhouse, and he saw the marks of the beating that he had suffered there. Then, looking at the scene that surrounded him, he said, "These are all of them of the genii, in the shapes of human beings! I commit my affair unto Allah ! " Looking towards a servant by his side, he said to him, " Bite my ear, that I may know if I be asleep or awake. " The servant said, " How shall I bite thine ear, when thou art the Prince of the Faithful?" But Abou Hassan answered, " Do as I have commanded thee, or I will strike off thy head. " So he bit it until his teeth met together, and Abou Hassan uttered a loud shriek.
Al-Raschid (who was behind a curtain in a closet) and all who were present fell down with laughter, and they said to the servant, " Art thou mad, that thou bitest the ear of the Caliph?" Abou Hassan said to them, " Is it not enough, O ye wretches ofgenii, that hath befallen me? But ye are not in fault: the fault is your chief"s, who transformed you from the shapes of genii into the shapes of human beings. I implore help against you. "Upon this al-Raschid exclaimed from behind the curtain, "Thou hast killed us, O Abou Hassan ! "And Abou Hassan recognized him, and kissed the ground before him, greeting him with a prayer for the increase of his glory and the prolongation of his life. Al-Raschid then clad him in a rich dress, gave him a thousand pieces of gold, and made him one of his chief boon companions.
From The Arabian Nights" Entertainments
Author.-The Arabian Nights" Entertainments is a famous collection of Eastern tales by various authors-Indian, Persian, and Arabian. Many of the stories tell of Bagdad and the Caliph Haroun al-Raschid (Aaron the Wise). Readers will remember the tales of Aladdin, Ali Baba, and Sindbad the Sailor.
General.-Note the steps or divisions of the story-Abou"s early extravagance, his repentance, his first meeting with the Caliph, the feast, the trick, the awakening, the progress of the deception, the madhouse, the second meeting with the Caliph, the happy ending. Note the old- fashioned phrasing, the dignity of some of the speeches, the use of "thou," the religious allusions. Bhang is a sleepy intoxicant made from hemp, an imam is a priest in a Mohammedan mosque, Allah is the Almighty, the genii were powerful spirits, the Verse of the Throne refers to a portion of the Koran, or Mohammedan scriptures.