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Among the tales that are told is that, in the days of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, there lived in Cairo a man named Wardan, who was a butcher dealing in mutton. Every day a woman would come to him with a dinar weighing nearly as much as two and a half Egyptian dinars, and say, “Give me a sheep.” She would bring a porter with a basket, and Wardan would take her dinar and give her a sheep, which she handed to the porter before taking him away with her. The next morning she would return at the same hour. The butcher earned a dinar from her every day, and this continued for a long time. One day Wardan began to ponder her affairs, saying to himself, “This woman buys a sheep from me every day for a dinar, and has never once made the mistake of paying me in dirhams. This is a strange business.” So, in the woman’s absence, he asked the porter, “Where do you go every day with this woman?” The porter replied, “I am utterly astonished by her. Every day she has me carry the sheep from your shop, then buys provisions, fruit, candles, and nuts for another dinar. From a Christian she takes two flasks of wine and gives him a dinar. She loads all this upon me, and I walk with her to the vizier’s gardens. There she blindfolds me so tightly that I cannot see the ground beneath my feet, takes me by the hand, and leads me I know not where. Then she says, ‘Set it down here.’ She has another basket there, and gives me the empty one. Then she takes my hand and leads me back to the place where she blindfolded me, removes the blindfold, and gives me ten dirhams.” The butcher said, “May God come to her aid.” But he grew still more preoccupied with her, and so many misgivings crowded his mind that he passed the night in great disquiet. Then Wardan the butcher said: When morning came, she arrived as usual, gave me the dinar, took the sheep, and handed it to the porter before going away. I left my boy in charge of the shop and followed her unseen. But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she fell silent, leaving her tale untold.

When it was the three hundred and fifty-fourth night

She said: It has reached me, O fortunate King, that Wardan the butcher said: I left my boy in charge of the shop and followed her unseen. I kept her in sight until she left Cairo, concealing myself as I went, until she reached the vizier’s gardens. There I hid while she blindfolded the porter, then followed her from place to place until she came to the mountain. She stopped at a spot where there was a great stone and lifted the basket from the porter’s back. I waited until she had taken him away and returned, emptied the basket of everything in it, and disappeared for a while. Then I went up to the stone, moved it aside, and entered. Behind it I found an open brass trapdoor and a flight of steps leading down. I descended slowly until I reached a long, brightly lit passage, along which I walked until I saw what looked like the doorway of a hall. Keeping close to the corners of the doorway, I found a raised platform outside the hall, with steps leading up to it. I climbed them and came upon a small gallery with an opening overlooking the hall. Looking down, I saw that the woman had taken the sheep, cut off the choicest portions, and put them in a pot. The rest she threw to a huge bear of monstrous size, which devoured every scrap while she cooked. When she had finished, she ate her fill, set out the fruit and nuts, and brought out the wine. She drank from a goblet and gave the bear wine in a golden bowl until both were flushed with drunkenness. Then she stripped off her clothes and lay down. The bear rose and coupled with her, and she responded to him as ardently as any human lover, until he had finished and sat back. Then he sprang upon her and coupled with her again, after which he sat and rested. He continued in this fashion until he had done so ten times, and at last both fell senseless and lay motionless. I said to myself, “Now is the time to seize my chance.” So I went down, carrying a knife sharp enough to shear through bone before flesh. When I reached them, I found that neither had so much as a vein stirring, so exhausted were they by their exertions. I set the knife against the bear’s throat and bore down upon it until I had cut clean through and severed his head from his body. He gave a mighty snore like thunder, and the woman awoke in terror. When she saw the bear slaughtered and me standing there with the knife in my hand, she uttered so dreadful a scream that I thought her soul had left her body. Then she said, “Wardan, is this how you repay kindness?” I answered, “You enemy to your own soul! Were there no men left, that you had to commit this shameful deed?” She lowered her head to the ground and made no reply. Then she gazed at the bear, whose head had been severed from his body, and said, “Wardan, which would you prefer: to listen to what I tell you, and so ensure your safety…” But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she fell silent, leaving her tale untold.

When it was the three hundred and fifty-fifth night

She said: It has reached me, O fortunate King, that the woman said, “Wardan, which would you prefer: to listen to what I tell you, and so ensure your safety and wealth for the rest of your days, or to disobey me and bring about your own destruction?” I replied, “I choose to listen to you, so tell me whatever you wish.” She said, “Slaughter me as you slaughtered this bear, take what you need from this treasure, and go your way.” I answered, “I am better than this bear. Return to God Most High and repent, and I will marry you. We can live on this treasure for the rest of our lives.” She said, “Wardan, that can never be. How could I live after him? By God, if you do not slaughter me, I shall take your life. Do not argue with me, or you will perish. That is my resolve, and there is an end to it.” I said, “Then I shall slaughter you, and you may go to God’s curse.” I seized her by the hair and cut her throat, and she departed under the curse of God, the angels, and all mankind. After that I looked about the place and found such quantities of gold, gems, and pearls as no king could ever gather. I took the porter’s basket and filled it with as much as I could carry, covered it with the garment I was wearing, and hoisted it up. Then I climbed out of the treasure chamber and went on my way. I walked until I reached the gate of Cairo, where I saw ten of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah’s men approaching, with the ruler himself behind them. He called to me, “Wardan!” “At your service, O King,” I replied. “Have you killed the bear and the woman?” he asked. “Yes,” I said. “Set down the load from your head,” he told me, “and be at ease. All the wealth you carry is yours, and no one shall dispute your right to it.” I set the basket down before him. He uncovered it, looked inside, and said, “Tell me their story, though I know it as well as if I had been there with you.” So I told him everything that had happened, and all the while he said, “You speak the truth.” Then he said, “Wardan, come and lead us to the treasure.” I went there with him, and he found the trapdoor shut. “Lift it, Wardan,” he said, “for no one but you can open this treasure chamber. It is held under an enchantment bound to your name and likeness.” I said, “By God, I have not the strength to open it.” He replied, “Go forward, with God’s blessing.” So I stepped up to it, invoked the name of God Most High, and put my hand to the trapdoor. It rose as though it weighed nothing at all. Then al-Hakim said, “Go down and bring up what is there. Ever since this treasure was laid here, none has been able to descend to it except a man bearing your name, appearance, and attributes. The slaying of this bear and this woman at your hands is recorded in my books, and I have been awaiting its fulfilment until now.” Wardan continued: So I went down and brought him everything in the treasure chamber. Then he called for beasts of burden and had it loaded upon them. He gave me my basket with all it contained, and I took it and returned home. I opened a shop in the market, and that market exists to this day, known as Wardan’s Market.