ألف ليلة وليلة (Thousand and One Nights — 14th-15th century MS)

And by God, who raised the sky without pillars, if you two do not do as I say, I will send the ‘Ifrit a powerful, monstrous spirit, my husband, to you, and I will command him to weave you together and drown you in this sea. Then she insisted upon them in this matter, perhaps? that they might oppose her in her major and minor affairs. When they had finished and stood up from her, she said to them, "Give me your signet rings." Then she took a small bag from her clothes, opened it, and poured out what was inside. Out came ninety-eight rings, all of different colors and craftsmanship. She said to them, "Do you know what these rings are?" They said, "No." She said, "The owners of all these rings have lain with me, and for every one who has lain with me, I have taken a ring. These two referring to her current captives have also lain with me, so give me your rings until I add them to these. Then you will know that my ring will have completed one hundred men upon the head of this filthy? habitare me fecit / Custodi me Latin: "He made me dwell" / "Protect me" ‘Ifrit a powerful, monstrous spirit, who imprisoned me in this box, locked it with four locks, and qui concubuit mecum ad sustinendam supercilia murmurare video Latin: "Who lay with me to support... I see murmuring" settled me in the middle of this roaring, storm-tossed sea. He protected me and desired for me chastity or security, but he did not know that destiny cannot be rejected or prevented by anything. If a woman desires something, no one can turn her away." When King Shahryar and King Shah Zaman heard the young woman’s words, they were astonished with a great astonishment at her varied charms?, and they said, "There is no god but God, and there is no power nor strength except in God, the Most High, the Almighty. Indeed, their guile is great." Then each of them took off his ring and handed it to her. She took them, placed them all in the bag, and went and sat at the head of the ‘Ifrit. She lifted his head and placed it on her lap just as it had been, and signaled to them, "Go safely on your way." The narrator said, then they turned back, faced the road, and Shahryar turned to his brother and said to him, "O my brother Shah Zaman, look at this calamity. By God, this is greater than our own calamity. This man kidnapped a girl on her wedding night, put her in a glass box, locked it with four locks, and settled her in the middle of the seas. He claimed he was protecting her from fate and destiny, and behold, I have seen that she has lain with ninety-eight men, and you and I make it a hundred. Let us return, my brother, to our kingdom and our city."