King Dadbin and His Wazirs

Source and rights: Public-domain text from Project Gutenberg. The story text is preserved from the source edition with layout whitespace normalized for web reading.

.–Vol. XI. p. 94.

This agrees pretty closely with the Turk version of the same story (rendered into French by M. Jaubert), though in the latter the names of the characters are the same as in the Persian, King Ddn and the Wazrs Kmgr and Krdr. In the Persian story, the damsel is tied hands and feet and placed upon a camel, which is then turned into a dreary wilderness. “Here she suffered from the intense heat and from thirst; but she resigned herself to the will of Providence, conscious of her own innocence. Just then the camel lay down, and on the spot a fountain of delicious water suddenly sprang forth; the cords which bound her hands and feet dropped off; she refreshed herself by a draught of the water, and fervently returned thanks to Heaven for this blessing and her wonderful preservation.” This two-fold miracle does not appear in the Turk and Arabian versions. It is not the cameleer of the King of Persia, but of King Ddn, who meets with the pious damsel in the wilderness. He takes her to his own house and one day relates his adventure to King Ddn, who expresses a wish to see such a prodigy of sanctity. The conclusion of the Persian story is quite dramatic: The cameleer, having consented, returned at once to his house, accompanied by the king, who waited at the door of the apartment where the daughter of Kmgr was engaged in prayer. When she had concluded he approached, and with astonishment recognised her. Having tenderly embraced her, he wept, and entreated her forgiveness. This she readily granted, but begged that he would conceal himself in the apartment while she should converse with Krdr, whom she sent for. When he arrived, and beheld her with a thousand expressions of fondness, he inquired how she had escaped, and told her that on the day the king had banished her into the wilderness, he had sent people to seek her and bring her to him. “How much better would it have been,” he added, “had you followed my advice, and agreed to my proposal of poisoning the king, who, I said, would one day destroy you as he had done your father! But you rejected my advice, and declared yourself ready to submit to whatever Providence should decree. Hereafter you will pay more attention to my words. But now let us not think of what is past. I am your slave, and you are dearer to me than my own eyes.” So saying, he attempted to clasp the daughter of Kmgr in his arms, when the king, who was concealed behind the hangings, rushed furiously on him and put him to death. After this he conducted the damsel to his palace, and constantly lamented his precipitancy in having killed her father.–This tale seems to have been taken from the Persian “Tt Nma,” or Parrot-book, composed by Nahkshab about the year 1306;[FN#486] it occurs in the 51st Night of the India Office MS. 2573, under the title of “Story of the Daughter of the Vazr Khssa, and how she found safety through the blessing of her piety:” the name of the king is Bahram, and the Wazrs are called Khssa and Khalssa.

STORY OF AYLAN SHAH AND AB TAMMM–Vol. XI p. 112.

The catastrophe of this story forms the subject of the Lady’s 37th tale in the text of the Turkish “Forty Vezrs,” translated by Mr. E. J. W. Gibb. This is how it goes:

In the palace of the world there was a king, and that king had three vezrs, but there was rivalry between them. Two of them day and night incited the king against the third, saying, “He is a traitor.” But the king believed them not. At length they promised two pages much gold, and instructed them thus: “When the king has lain down, ere he yet fall asleep, do ye feign to think him asleep, and while talking with each other, say at a fitting time, ‘I have heard from such a one that yon vezr says this and that concerning the king, and that he hates him; many people say that vezr is an enemy to our king.’” So they did this, and when the king heard this, he said in his heart, “What those vezrs said is then true; when the very pages have heard somewhat it must indeed have some foundation. Till now, I believed not those vezrs, but it is then true.” And the king executed that vezr. The other vezrs were glad and gave the pages the gold they had promised. So they took it and went to a private place, and while they were dividing it one of them said, “I spake first; I want more.” The other said, “If I had not said he was an enemy to our king, the king would not have killed him; I shall take more.” And while they were quarrelling with one another the king passed by there, and he listened attentively to their words, and when he learned of the matter, he said, “Dost thou see, they have by a trick made us kill that hapless vezr.” And he was repentant.

STORY OF