The Night-Adventure of Sultan Mohammed of Cairo.130
Richard Francis Burton translation
The Night-Adventure of Sultan Mohammed of Cairo.130
The Sultan and the Wazir threaded the broadways of the city and they noted the houses and stood for an hour or so in each and every greater thoroughfare, till they came to a lane, a cul-de-sac wherethrough none could pass, and behold, they hit upon a house containing a company of folk. Now these were conversing and saying, "By Allah, our Sultan hath not acted wisely nor hath he any cause to be proud, since he hath made his daughter's bride-feast a vanity and a vexation and the poor are excluded therefrom. He had done better to distribute somewhat of his bounty amongst the paupers and the mesquin, who may not enter his palace nor can they obtain aught to eat." Hearing this the Sultan said to the Wazir, "By Allah, needs must we enter this place;" and the Minister replied, "Do whatso thou willest." Accordingly the King went up to the door and knocked, when one came out and asked, "Who is at the door?" The Sultan answered, "Guests;" and the voice rejoined, "Welcome to the guests;" and the door was thrown open. Then they went in till they reached the sitting-room where they found three men of whom one was lame, the second was broken-backed and the third was split-mouthed.131 And all three were sitting together in that place. So he asked them, "Wherefore sit ye here, ye three, instead of going to the Palace?" and they answered him, "O Darwaysh, 'tis of the weakness of our wits!" The King then turned to his Minister and said, "There is no help but thou must bring these three men into my presence, as soon as the wedding-fêtes be finished, that I may enquire into what stablished their imbecility."?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night, an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was