THE WOMAN WHOSE HANDS WERE CUT OFF FOR
GIVING ALMS TO THE POOR.
A certain King once made proclamation to the people of his realm
saying, "If any of you give alms of aught, I will verily and
assuredly cut off his hand;" wherefore all the people abstained
from alms-deed, and none could give anything to any one. Now it
chanced that one day a beggar accosted a certain woman (and
indeed hunger was sore upon him), and said to her, "Give me an
alms"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
her permitted say.
When it was Three Hundred and Forty-eighth Night
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that, quoth the
beggar to the woman, "Give me an alms however small." But she
answered him, "How can I give thee aught, when the King cutteth
off the hands of all who give alms?" Then he said, "I conjure
thee by Allah Almighty, give me an alms;" so when he adjured her
by the Holy Name of Allah, she had ruth on him and gave him two
scones. The King heard of this; whereupon he called her before
him and cut off her hands, after which she returned to her house.
Now it chanced after a while that the King said to his mother, "I
have a mind to take a wife; so do thou marry me to a fair woman."
Quoth she, "There is among our female slaves one who is
unsurpassed in beauty; but she hath a grievous blemish." The King
asked, "What is that?" and his mother answered, "She hath had
both her hands cut off." Said he, "Let me see her." So she
brought her to him, and he was ravished by her and married her
and went in unto her; and begat upon her a son. Now this was the
woman who had given two scones as an alms to the asker, and whose
hands had been cut off therefor; and when the King married her,
her fellow-wives envied her and wrote to the common husband that
she was an unchaste, having just given birth to the boy; so he
wrote to his mother, bidding her carry the woman into the desert
and leave her there. The old Queen obeyed his commandment and
abandoned the woman and her son in the desert; whereupon she fell
to weeping for that which had befallen her and wailing with
exceeding sore wail. As she went along, she came to a river and
knelt down to drink, being overcome with excess of thirst, for
fatigue of walking and for grief; but, as she bent her head, the
child which was at her neck fell into the water. Then she sat
weeping bitter tears for her child, and as she wept, behold came
up two men, who said to her, "What maketh thee weep?" Quoth she,
"I had a child at my neck, and he hath fallen into the water."
They asked, "Wilt thou that we bring him out to thee?" and she
answered, "Yes." So they prayed to Almighty Allah, and the child
came forth of the water to her, safe and sound. Then said they,
"Wilt thou that Allah restore thee thy hands as they were?"
"Yes," replied she: whereupon they prayed to Allah (extolled and
exalted be He!) and her hands were restored to her, goodlier than
before. Then said they, "Knowest thou who we are?"; and she
replied, "Allah is all knowing;"[FN#412] and they said, "We are
thy two Scones of Bread, which thou gayest in alms to the asker
and which were the cause of the cutting off of thy hands.[FN#413]
So praise thou Allah Almighty for that He hath restored to thee
thy hands and thy child." Then she praised Almighty Allah and
glorified Him. And men relate a tale of
