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Then he gave a heavy sigh and repeated the following:
Trust thine affair to the Ruler of all that be And put thought-taking and trouble away from thee:
Say not of aught that is past, “How came it so?” All things depend upon the Divine decree.
The King marvelled and said to him, ‘What makes thee weep, O youth?’ ‘How should I not weep,’ answered he, ‘being in such a plight?’ Then he put out his hand and lifted the skirt of his robe, and behold, he was stone from the waist downward. When the King saw this his condition, he grieved sore and lamented and cried out, ‘Alas! alas!’ and said, ‘Verily, O youth, thou addest trouble to my trouble. I came to enquire concerning the fish; and now I am concerned to know thy history also. But there is no power and no virtue save in God the Most High, the Supreme! Hasten therefore, O youth, and expound to me thy story.’ Quoth the youth, ‘Give me thine ears and understanding:’ and the King replied, ‘I am all attention.’ Then said the youth, ‘There hangs a strange story by these fish and by myself, a story which, were it graven with needles on the corners of the eye,[1] would serve as a warning to those who can profit by example. ‘How so?’ asked the King; and the youth replied, ‘Know, O my lord, that
STORY OF THE ENCHANTED YOUTH.
My father was King of the city that stood in this place, and his name was Mohammed, Lord of the Black Islands, which are no other than the four hills of which thou wottest. He reigned seventy years, at the end of which time God took him to Himself, and I succeeded to his throne and took to wife the daughter of my father’s brother, who loved me with an exceeding love, so that,
- ↑ The word here translated “eye” may also be rendered “understanding.” The exact meaning of the phrase (one of frequent recurrence in these stories) is doubtful.
