A plain and literal translation of the Arabian nights entertainments, now entituled The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night. Volume 7 (of 17). Народное творчество
“’Tis the sword of Yafis bin Nuh, wherewith he was wont to do battle against men and Jinn. The sage Jardúm forged it and graved on its back names of might.33 It is named Al-Máhik—the Annihilator—for that it never descendeth upon a man, but it annihilateth him, nor upon a Jinni, but it crusheth him; and if one smote therewith a mountain ’twould overthrow it.” When Gharib heard tell of the virtues of the sword, he said, “I desire to look on this blade;” and Mura’ash said, “Do as thou wilt.” So Gharib put out his hand, and, hending the sword, drew it from its sheath; whereupon it flashed and Death crept on its edge and glittered; and it was twelve spans long and three broad. Now Gharib wished to become owner of it, and King Mura’ash said, “An thou canst smite with it, take it.” “’Tis well,” Gharib replied, and took it up, and it was in his hand as a staff; wherefore all who were present, men and Jinn, marvelled and said, “Well done, O Prince of Knights!” Then said Mura’ash, “Lay thy hand on this hoard for which the Kings of the earth sigh in vain, and mount, that I may show thee the city.” Then they took horse and rode forth the palace, with men and Jinns attending them on foot,–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Gharib and King Mura’ash rode forth the palace of Japhet, with men and Jinns attending them on foot, they passed through the streets and thoroughfares of the town, by palaces and deserted mansions and gilded doorways, till they issued from the gates and entered gardens full of trees fruit-bearing and waters welling and birds speaking and celebrating the praises of Him to whom belong Majesty and Eternity; nor did they cease to solace themselves in the land till nightfall, when they returned to the palace of Japhet son of Noah and they brought them the table of food. So they ate and Gharib turned to the King of the Jann and said to him, “O King, I would fain return to my folk and my force; for I know not their plight after me.” Replied Mura’ash, “By Allah, O my brother, I will not part with thee for a full month, till I have had my fill of thy sight.” Now Gharib could not say nay, so he abode with him in the city of Japhet, eating and drinking and making merry, till the month ended, when Mura’ash gave him great store of gems and precious ores, emeralds and balass-rubies, diamonds and other jewels, ingots of gold and silver and likewise ambergris and musk and brocaded silks and else of rarities and things of price. Moreover he clad him and Sahim in silken robes of honour gold-inwoven and set on Gharib’s head a crown jewelled with pearls and diamonds of inestimable value. All these treasures he made up into even loads for him and, calling five hundred Marids, said to them, “Get ye ready to travel on the morrow, that we may bring King Gharib and Sahim back to their own country.” And they answered, “We hear and we obey.” So they passed the night in the city, purposing to depart on the morrow, but, next morning, as they were about to set forth behold, they espied a great host advancing upon the city, with horses neighing and kettle-drums beating and trumpets braying and riders filling the earth for they numbered threescore and ten thousand Marids, flying and diving, under a King called Barkán. Now this Barkan was lord of the City of Carnelian and the Castle of Gold and under his rule were five hill-strongholds, in each five hundred thousand Marids; and he and his tribe worshipped the Fire, not the Omnipotent Sire. He was a cousin of Mura’ash, the son of his father’s brother, and the cause of his coming was that there had been among the subjects of King Mura’ash a misbelieving Marid, who professed Al-Islam hypocritically, and he stole away from his people and made for the Valley of Carnelian, where he went in to King Barkan and, kissing the earth before him, wished him abiding glory and prosperity. Then he told him of Mura’ash being converted to Al-Islam, and Barkan said, “How came he to tear himself away from his faith34?” So the rebel told him what had passed and, when Barkan heard it, he snorted and snarked and railed at Sun and Moon and sparkling Fire, saying, “By the virtue of my faith, I will surely slay mine uncle’s son and his people and this mortal, nor will I leave one of them alive!” Then he cried out to the legions of the Jinn and choosing of them seventy thousand Marids, set out and fared on till he came to Jabarsá35 the city of Japhet and encamped before its gates. When Mura’ash saw this, he despatched a Marid, saying, “Go to this host and learn all that it wanteth and return hither in haste.” So the messenger rushed away to Barkan’s camp, where the Marids flocked to meet him and said to him, “Who art thou?” Replied he, “An envoy from King Mura’ash;” whereupon they carried him in to Barkan, before whom he prostrated himself, saying, “O my lord, my master hath sent me to thee, to learn tidings of thee.” Quoth Barkan, “Return to thy lord and say to him:—This is thy cousin Barkan, who is come to salute thee.”–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Marid-envoy of Mura’ash was borne before Barkan and said to him, “O my lord, my master hath sent me to thee to learn tidings of thee,” Barkan replied, “Return to thy lord and say to him:—This is thy cousin Barkan who is come to salute thee!” So the messenger went back and told Mura’ash, who said to Gharib, “Sit thou on thy throne whilst I go and salute my cousin and return to thee.” Then he mounted and rode to the camp of his uncle’s son. Now this was a trick36 of Barkan, to bring Mura’ash out and seize upon him, and he said to his Marids, whom he had stationed about him, “When ye see me embrace him,37 lay hold of him and pinion him.” And they replied, “To hear is to obey.” So, when King Mura’ash came up and entered Barkan’s pavilion, the owner rose to him and threw his arms round his neck; whereat the Jann fell upon Mura’ash and pinioned him and chained him. Mura’ash looked at Barkan and said, “What manner of thing is this?” Quoth Barkan, “O dog of the Jann, wilt thou leave the faith of thy fathers and grandfathers and enter a faith thou knowest not?” Rejoined Mura’ash, “O son of my uncle, indeed I have found the faith of Abraham the Friend to be the True Faith and all other than it vain.” Asked Barkan, “And who told thee of this?”; and Mura’ash answered, “Gharib, King of Irak, whom I hold in the highest honour.” “By the right of the Fire and the Light and the Shade and the Heat,” cried Barkan, “I will assuredly slay both thee and him!” And he cast him into gaol. Now when Mura’ash’s henchman saw what had befallen his lord, he fled back to the city and told the King’s legionaries who cried out and mounted. Quoth Gharib, “What is the matter?” And they told him all that had passed, whereupon he cried out to Sahim, “Saddle me one of the chargers that King Mura’ash gave me.” Said Sahim, “O my brother, wilt thou do battle with the Jinn?” Gharib replied, “Yes, I will fight them with the sword of Japhet son of Noah, seeking help of the Lord of Abraham the Friend (on whom be the Peace!); for He is the Lord of all things and sole Creator!” So Sahim saddled him a sorrel horse of the horses of the Jinn, as he were a castle strong among castles, and he armed and mounting, rode out with the legions of the Jinn, hauberk’d cap-à-pie. Then Barkan and his host mounted also and the two hosts drew out in lines facing each other. The first to open the gate of war was Gharib, who drave his steed into the mid-field and bared the enchanted blade, whence issued a glittering light that dazzled the eyes of all the Jinn and struck terror to their hearts. Then he played38 with the sword till their wits were wildered, and cried out, saying, “Allaho Akbar! I am Gharib, King of Irak. There is no Faith save the Faith of Abraham the Friend!” Now when Barkan heard Gharib’s words, he said, “This is he who seduced my cousin from his religion; so, by the virtue of my faith, I will not sit down on my throne till I have decapitated this Gharib and suppressed his breath of life and forced my cousin and his people back to their belief: and whoso baulketh me, him will I destroy.” Then he mounted an elephant paper-white as he were a tower plastered with gypsum, and goaded him with a spike of steel which ran deep into his flesh, whereupon the elephant trumpeted and made for the battle-plain where cut and thrust obtain; and, when he drew near Gharib, he cried out to him, saying, “O dog of mankind, what made thee come into our land, to debauch my cousin and his folk and pervert them from one faith to other faith. Know that this day is the last of thy worldly days.” Gharib replied, “Avaunt,39
According to Turcoman legends (evidently post-Mohammedan) Noah gave his son Japhet a stone inscribed with the Greatest Name, and it had the virtue of bringing on or driving off rain. The Moghuls long preserved the tradition and hence probably the sword.
This expresses Moslem sentiment; the convert to Al-Islam being theoretically respected and practically despised. The Turks call him a “Burmá” = twister, a turncoat, and no one either trusts him or believes in his sincerity.
The name of the city first appears here: it is found also in the Bul. Edit., vol. ii, p. 132.
Arab. “’Amala hílah,” a Syro-Egyptian vulgarism.
Arab. “La’ab,” meaning very serious use of the sword: we still preserve the old “sword-play.”
Arab. “Ikhsa,” from a root meaning to drive away a dog.