Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night - Volume 5.djvu/286

 beat upon me, there swam up to me one of the sailors, who climbed on the plank and said, 'By Allah, I desired thee whilst thou wast yet in the ship, and now I have come at thee: so yield thy body to me, or I will throw thee into the sea.' Said I, 'Out on thee! hast thou no memory of that which thou hast seen and is it no warning to thee?' Quoth he, 'I have seen the like of this many a time and come off safe and care not.' Quoth I, 'O fellow, we are now in a calamity, whence we hope to be delivered by obedience to Allah and not by disobedience.' But he persisted with me, and I feared him and thought to put him off; so I said to him, 'Wait till this babe shall sleep'; but he took the child off my lap and threw him into the sea. Now when I saw this desperate deed, my heart sank and sorrow was sore upon me; so I raised my eyes heavenwards and said, 'O Thou that interposest between a man and his heart, intervene between me and this leonine brute; for Thou over all things art Omnipotent!' And by Allah, hardly had I spoken when a beast rose out of the sea and snatched him off the plank. When I saw myself alone my sorrows redoubled and my grief and longing for my child, and I recited,

'My coolth of eyes, the darling child of me * Is lost, and racked my heart with agony; My body wrecked, and red-hot coals of love * Burning my liver with sore pangs, I see. In this my sorrow shows no gleam of joy; * Save Thy high grace and my expectancy: Hast seen, O Lord, what unto me befel; * My son aye lost and parting pangs I dree: Take ruth on us and make us meet again; * For now my stay and only hope's in Thee!'

I abode in this condition a day and a night; and, when morning dawned, I caught sight of the sails of a vessel shining afar off, nor did the waves cease to drive me and the winds to waft me on, till I reached the ship, whose sails I had sighted. The sailors took me up and I looked and behold, my babe was amongst them: so I threw myself upon him and said, 'O folk, this is my child: how and whence came ye by him?' Quoth they, 'Whilst we were sailing along the seas the ship suddenly stood still and lo! that which stayed us was a beast, as it were a great city, and this babe on its back, sucking his thumbs. So we took him up.' Now when I heard this, I told them my tale and all that had betided me and returned thanks to my Lord for His goodness, and vowed