THE HISTORY OF THE FIRST OLD MAN AND THE HIND.

I AM now going,” said he, “to begin my tale, and I request your attention. The hind, that you see here, is my cousin; nay more, she is my wife. When I married her, she was only twelve years old; and she ought therefore to look upon me not only as her relation and husband, but even as her father.

“We lived together thirty years, without having any children; this, however, did not decrease my kindness and regard for her. Still my desire for an heir was so great, that I purchased a female slave, who bore me a son of great promise and beauty. Soon afterwards my wife was seized with jealousy, and consequently took a great aversion to both mother and child; yet she so well concealed her feelings that I, alas! never had a suspicion of them till too late.

“In the meantime my son grew up; and he was about ten years old when I was obliged to make a journey. Before my departure, I recommended both the slave and the child to my wife, whom I trusted implicitly, and begged her to take care of them during my absence, which would last not less than a year. Now was the time she endeavoured to gratify her hatred. She applied herself to the study of magic; and when she was sufficiently skilled in that diabolical art to execute the horrible design she meditated, the wretch carried my son to a distant place. There, by her enchantments, she changed him into a calf; and giving the creature to my steward, told him it was a purchase of hers, and ordered him to rear it. Not satisfied even with this infamous action, she changed the slave into a cow, which she also sent to my steward.

“Immediately on my return I inquired after my child and his mother. ‘Your slave is dead,’ said she, ‘and it is now more than two months since I have beheld your son; nor do I know what is become of him.’ I was deeply affected at the death of the slave; but as my son had only disappeared, I consoled myself with the hope that he would soon be found. Eight months however passed, and he did not return; nor could I learn any tidings of him. The festival of the great Bairam^d was approaching; to celebrate it, I ordered my steward to bring me the fattest cow I had, for a sacrifice. He obeyed my commands; and the cow he brought me was my own slave, the unfortunate mother of my son. Having bound her, I was about to offer her up; but she lowed most sorrowfully, and tears even fell from her eyes. This seemed to me so extraordinary, that I could not but feel compassion for her; and I was unable to strike the fatal blow. I therefore ordered that she should be taken away, and another cow brought.

 

The merchant and the Genie.

“My wife, who was present, seemed angry at my compassion, and resisted an order which defeated her malice. ‘What are you about, husband? ’ said she. ‘Why not sacrifice this cow? Your steward has not a more beautiful one, nor one more proper for the purpose.’ Wishing to oblige my wife, I again approached the cow; and struggling with the pity that held my hand, I was again going to give the mortal blow, when the victim a second time disarmed me by her renewed tears and moanings. I then delivered the instruments into the hands of my steward. ‘Take them,’ I cried, ‘and perform the sacrifice yourself, for the lamentations and tears of the animal have overcome me.’

“The steward was less compassionate than I; he sacrificed her. On taking off her skin we found her greatly emaciated, though she had appeared very fat. ‘Take her away,’ said I, to the steward, greatly mortified. ‘I give her to you to do as you please with; feast upon her with any friend you choose; and if you have a very fat calf, bring it in her place.’ I did not inquire what he did with the cow, but he had not been gone long before a remarkably fine calf was brought out. Although I was ignorant that this calf was my own son, yet I felt a sensation of pity arise in my breast at the first sight of him. As soon as he perceived me, he made so great an effort to come to me, that he broke his cord. He lay down at my feet, with his head on the ground, as if he endeavoured to seek my compassion, and would beg me not to have the cruelty to take away his life. He was striving in this manner to make me understand that he was my son.

“I was still more surprised and affected by this action, than I had been by the tears of the cow. I felt a kind of tender pity, and a great interest for him; or, to speak more correctly, nature guided me to what was my duty. ‘Go back,’ I cried, ‘and take all possible care of this calf, and in its stead bring me another directly.’

“So soon as my wife heard this, she exclaimed, ‘What are you about, husband? Do not, I pray you, sacrifice any calf but this.’ ‘Wife,’ answered I, ‘I will not sacrifice him; I wish to preserve him, therefore do not oppose it.’ This wicked woman, however, did not agree to my wish. She hated my son too much to suffer him to remain alive; and she continued to demand his death so obstinately, that I was compelled to yield. I bound the calf; and, taking the fatal knife, was going to bury it in the throat of my son, when he turned his tearful eyes so persuasively upon me, that I had no power to execute my intention. The knife fell from my hand, and I told my wife I was determined to have another calf brought. She tried every means to induce me to alter my mind. I continued firm, however, in my resolution, in spite of all she could say; promising, in order to appease her, to sacrifice this calf at the feast of Bairam on the following year.

“The next morning my steward desired to speak with me in private. ‘I am come,’ said he, ‘to give you some information, which, I trust, will afford you pleasure. I have a daughter, who has some little knowledge of magic; and yesterday, as I was bringing back the calf which you were unwilling to sacrifice, I observed that she smiled on seeing it, and the next moment began to weep. I inquired of her the cause of two such contrary emotions. ‘My dear father,’ she answered, ‘that calf, which you bring back, is the son of our master; I smiled with joy at seeing him still alive, and wept at the recollection of his mother, who was yesterday sacrificed in the shape of a cow. These two metamorphoses have been contrived by the enchantments of our master’s wife, who hated both the mother and the child.’ This,’ continued the steward, ‘is what my daughter said, and I come to report it to you.’ Imagine, O Genie, my surprise at hearing these words: I immediately went with my steward, to speak to his daughter myself. I went first to the stable, where the calf had been placed; he could not return my caresses; but he received them in a way which convinced me that he was really my son.

“When the daughter of the steward made her appearance, I asked her if she could restore the poor creature to his former shape.—‘Yes,’ replied she, ‘I can.’ ‘Ah!’ exclaimed I, ‘if you can perform such a miracle, I will make you the mistress of all I possess.’ She then answered with a smile, ‘You are our master, and I know how much we are bound to you; but I must mention, that I can restore your son to his own form, only on two conditions: firstly, that you bestow him upon me for my husband; and secondly, that I may be permitted to punish her who changed him into a calf.’ ‘To the first condition,’ I replied, ‘I agree with all my heart; I will do still more, I will give you, for your own separate use, a considerable sum of money, independent of what I destine for my son. You shall perceive that I properly value the important service you do me. I agree also to the stipulation concerning my wife; for a horrible crime like this is worthy of punishment. I abandon her to you. Do what you please with her; I only entreat you to spare her life.’ ‘I will treat her then,’ she said, ‘as she has treated your son.’ To this I gave my consent, provided she first restored me my son.

“The damsel then took a vessel full of water; and pronouncing over it some words I did not understand, she thus addressed the calf: ‘O calf, if thou hast been created as thou now appearest, by the all-powerful Sovereign of the world, retain that form; but, if thou art a man, and hast been changed by enchantment into a calf, reassume thy natural figure!’ As she said this, she threw the water over him, and he instantly regained his own form.

“ ‘My child! my dear child!’ I exclaimed; ‘it is Allah, who hath sent this damsel to us, to destroy the horrible charm with which you were enthralled, and to avenge the evil that has been done to you and your mother. I am sure your gratitude will lead you to accept her for a wife, as I have already promised for you.’ He joyfully consented; but before they were united the damsel changed my wife into this hind, which you see here. I wished her to have this form in preference to any other, that we might see her, without repugnance, in our family.

“Since that time my son has become a widower, and is now travelling. Many years have passed since I have heard any thing of him; I have therefore now set out with a view to gain some information; and as I did not like to trust my wife to the care of any one, during my absence, I thought proper to carry her with me. This is the history of myself and the hind. Can any thing be more wonderful?” “I agree with you,” said the Genie, “and in consequence, I remit to this merchant a third part of his penalty.”

“As soon as the first old man had finished his history,” continued Scheherazade, “the second, who led the two black dogs, said to the Genie, ‘I will tell you what has happened to me, and to these two dogs, which you see here; and I am sure you will find my history still more astonishing than that which you have heard. But when I have told it, will you forgive this merchant another third of his penalty?’ ‘Yes,’ answered the Genie, ‘provided your history surpass that of the hind.’ ” This being settled, the second old man began as follows:—