CHAPTER V.

 hen the next morning arrived, the fifth Vizier waited upon the King, and represented the danger that might attend any further delay in the execution of Bakhtyār, as the indulgence which had been shown to him would be an encouragement to others, and induce them to commit offences, by giving them hopes of impunity¹. In consequence of this, the King ordered everything to be prepared for the execution of the young man, who, being brought before him, entreated² his Majesty³ for a longer respite⁴, and assured him that he would, on a future day, be as rejoiced at having spared his life, as a certain King of Yemen was at having pardoned the offence of his slave.

The King desired Bakhtyār to relate the particular circumstances of this story; and he accordingly began it in the following manner:

56

STORY OF THE KING OF YEMEN AND HIS SLAVE ABRAHA.

 

In former times the kingdom of Yemen was governed by a very powerful but tyrannical Prince, who, for the slightest offences, inflicted⁵ the most severe punishments. He had, however, a certain slave, named Abraha, of whom he was very fond. This young man was the son of the King of Zangībār, who by chance had fallen into slavery, and never disclosed the secret of his birth.

Abraha used frequently to attend the King of Yemen on his hunting parties. During one of these excursions, it happened that a deer bounded before the King’s horse: he discharged some arrows at it without effect; when Abraha, who was close behind him, spurred on his horse, and aimed a broad-bladed arrow at the deer; but it so happened that the arrow passed by the side of the King’s head, and cut off one of his ears. The King, in the first impulse of anger, ordered his attendants to seize Abraha; but afterwards declared that he pardoned his offence.

57They then returned to the city; and, after some time had elapsed, having gone on board a vessel⁶ and sailed into the ocean, a tempest arose, and the ship was wrecked⁷, and the King saved himself by clinging to a plank⁸, and was driven on the coast of Zangībār.

Having returned thanks to Providence⁹ for his preservation¹⁰, he proceeded till he reached the chief city of that country. As it was night, the doors of the houses and all the shops were shut; and, not knowing where he might find a better place of repose¹¹, he sheltered himself under the shade of a merchant’s house. It happened that some thieves, in the course of the night, broke open the house, and having murdered the merchant and his servants, plundered¹² it of everything that was valuable. The King of Yemen, overcome by fatigue¹³, had slept the whole time, unconscious of this transaction; but some of the blood had by accident fallen on his clothes.

When morning came, everybody was employed in endeavouring to discover the murderers of the merchant; and the stranger, being found so near the house, with blood upon his clothes, was immediately seized and dragged before the tribunal of the King.

58The King of Zangībār asked him why he had chosen his capital as the scene of such an infamous¹⁴ murder; and desired him to acknowledge who were his accomplices¹⁵, and how he had disposed of the merchant’s property. The King of Yemen declared that he was innocent, and perfectly¹⁶ ignorant of the whole transaction; that he was of a princely family; and, having been shipwrecked, was driven on the coast, and had by accident reposed¹⁸ himself under the shade of that house when the murder was committed. The King of Zangībār then inquired of him by what means his clothes had become stained with blood, and finding that the stranger could not account for that circumstance, he ordered the officers of justice to lead him away to execution. The unfortunate King of Yemen entreated for mercy, and asserted that his innocence¹⁹ would on some future day become apparent. The King consented to defer²⁰ his execution for a while, and he was sent to prison.

On one side of the prison there was an extensive plain, with a running stream, to which every day the prisoners were brought, that they might wash themselves; and it was the custom that once every week the King resorted to that plain, where he gave public 59audience to persons of all ranks. On one of those days the King of Zangībār was on the plain, surrounded by his troops, and the prisoners were sitting by the side of the stream, along which ran a wall of the prison. It happened that Abraha, who had been the King of Yemen’s slave, was standing²¹ near this wall, but his former master did not recognise him, as they had been separated for some time, Abraha having found means to return to Zangībār, his native country.

At this moment a crow chanced to light upon the wall, which the King of Yemen perceived, and taking up a large flat bone, he threw it with his utmost strength, and exclaimed, “If I succeed in hitting that crow, I shall obtain my liberty,” but he missed his aim; the bone passed by the crow, and striking the cheek of Abraha, cut off one of his ears. Abraha immediately caused an inquiry²² to be made, and the person who had thrown the bone to be brought before the King, who called him a base-born dog, and ordered the executioner to cut off his head. The King of Yemen sued for mercy, and requested that at most he might be punished according to the law of retaliation²³, which would not award a head for an ear. The King gave orders that one of his ears should be cut 60off; and the executioner was preparing to fulfil this sentence when he perceived that the prisoner had already lost an ear.

This circumstance occasioned much surprise, and excited the King’s curiosity. He told the prisoner that he would pardon him, on condition of his relating the true story of his adventures.

The King of Yemen immediately disclosed his real name and rank, described the accident by which he lost his ear, the shipwreck¹⁷ which he suffered, and the circumstances which occasioned his imprisonment²⁴.

At the conclusion of his narrative²⁵, Abraha, having recognised his former master, fell at his feet, embraced him, and wept. They mutually forgave each other; and the King of Yemen, being taken to a warm bath, was clothed in royal garments, mounted on a noble charger, and conducted to the palace; after which he was furnished with a variety of splendid robes and suits of armour²⁶, horses, slaves, and damsels. During two months he was feasted and entertained with the utmost hospitality and magnificence, attended constantly by Abraha. In the course of this time, the 61robbers who had murdered the merchant were discovered and punished; and after that the King of Yemen returned to his own country.

Bakhtyār having thus demonstrated that appearances might be very strong against an innocent person, the King resolved to defer his execution for another day, and he was accordingly led back to prison.

1 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

2 entreated   

恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They entreated and threatened, but all this seemed of no avail. 他们时而恳求，时而威胁，但这一切看来都没有用。
• 'One word,' the Doctor entreated. 'Will you tell me who denounced him?' “还有一个问题，”医生请求道，“你可否告诉我是谁告发他的？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

3 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

4 respite   

n.休息，中止，暂缓

参考例句：

• She was interrogated without respite for twenty-four hours.她被不间断地审问了二十四小时。
• Devaluation would only give the economy a brief respite.贬值只能让经济得到暂时的缓解。

5 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

6 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

7 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

8 plank   

n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目

参考例句：

• The plank was set against the wall.木板靠着墙壁。
• They intend to win the next election on the plank of developing trade.他们想以发展贸易的纲领来赢得下次选举。

9 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

10 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

11 repose   

v.(使)休息；n.安息

参考例句：

• Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
• Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑，即使在睡眠时也是这样。

12 plundered   

掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Many of our cultural treasures have been plundered by imperialists. 我国许多珍贵文物被帝国主义掠走了。
• The imperialists plundered many valuable works of art. 帝国主义列强掠夺了许多珍贵的艺术品。

13 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

14 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

15 accomplices   

从犯，帮凶，同谋( accomplice的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was given away by one of his accomplices. 他被一个同伙出卖了。
• The chief criminals shall be punished without fail, those who are accomplices under duress shall go unpunished and those who perform deeds of merIt'shall be rewarded. 首恶必办， 胁从不问，立功受奖。

16 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

17 shipwreck   

n.船舶失事，海难

参考例句：

• He walked away from the shipwreck.他船难中平安地脱险了。
• The shipwreck was a harrowing experience.那次船难是一个惨痛的经历。

18 reposed   

v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mr. Cruncher reposed under a patchwork counterpane, like a Harlequin at home. 克朗彻先生盖了一床白衲衣图案的花哨被子，像是呆在家里的丑角。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• An old man reposed on a bench in the park. 一位老人躺在公园的长凳上。 来自辞典例句

19 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

20 defer   

vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从

参考例句：

• We wish to defer our decision until next week.我们希望推迟到下星期再作出决定。
• We will defer to whatever the committee decides.我们遵从委员会作出的任何决定。

21 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

22 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

23 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

25 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

26 armour   

（=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队

参考例句：

• His body was encased in shining armour.他全身披着明晃晃的甲胄。
• Bulletproof cars sheathed in armour.防弹车护有装甲。