Tales from the Arabic/Story of the Credulous Husband

by unknown author

STORY OF THE CREDULOUS HUSBAND.

There was once of old time a foolish, ignorant man, who had wealth galore, and his wife was a fair woman, who loved a handsome youth. The latter used to watch for her husband’s absence and come to her, and on this wise he abode a long while. One day, as the woman was private with her lover, he said to her, ‘O my lady and my beloved, if thou desire me and love me, give me possession of thyself and accomplish my need in thy husband’s presence; else will I never again come to thee nor draw near thee, what while I abide on life.’ Now she loved him with an exceeding love and could not brook his separation an hour nor could endure to vex him; so, when she heard his words, she said to him, [‘So be it,] in God’s name, O my beloved and solace of mine eyes, may he not live who would vex thee!’ Quoth he, ‘To-day?’ And she said, ‘Yes, by thy life,’ and appointed him of this.

When her husband came home, she said to him, ‘I desire to go a-pleasuring.’ And he said, ‘With all my heart.’ So he went, till he came to a goodly place, abounding in vines and water, whither he carried her and pitched her a tent beside a great tree; and she betook herself to a place beside the tent and made her there an underground hiding-place, [in which she hid her lover]. Then said she to her husband, ‘I desire to mount this tree.’ And he said, ‘Do so.’ So she climbed up and when she came to the top of the tree, she cried out and buffeted her face, saying, ‘Lewd fellow that thou art, are these thy usages? Thou sworest [fidelity to me] and liedst.’ And she repeated her speech twice and thrice.

Then she came down from the tree and rent her clothes and said, ‘O villain, if these be thy dealings with me before my eyes, how dost thou when thou art absent from me?’ Quoth he, ‘What aileth thee?’ and she said, ‘I saw thee swive the woman before my very eyes.’ ‘Not so, by Allah!’ cried he. ‘But hold thy peace till I go up and see.’ So he climbed the tree and no sooner did he begin to do so than up came the lover [from his hiding-place] and taking the woman by the legs, [fell to swiving her]. When the husband came to the top of the tree, he looked and beheld a man swiving his wife. So he said, ‘O strumpet, what doings are these?’ And he made haste to come down from the tree to the ground; [but meanwhile the lover had returned to his hiding-place] and his wife said to him, ‘What sawest thou?’ ‘I saw a man swive thee,’ answered he; and she said, ‘Thou liest; thou sawest nought and sayst this but of conjecture.’

On this wise they did three times, and every time [he climbed the tree] the lover came up out of the underground place and bestrode her, whilst her husband looked on and she still said, ‘O liar, seest thou aught?’ ‘Yes,’ would he answer and came down in haste, but saw no one and she said to him, ‘By my life, look and say nought but the truth!’ Then said he to her, ‘Arise, let us depart this place,^[1] for it is full of Jinn and Marids.’ [So they returned to their house] and passed the night [there] and the man arose in the morning, assured that this was all but imagination and illusion. And so the lover accomplished his desire.^[2]

Return to King Shah Bekht and His Vizier Er Rehwan.

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1. Lit. “land;” but the meaning is evidently as in the text.
2. The reader will recognize the well-known story used by Chaucer, Boccaccio and La Fontaine.