The Arabian Nights (New Deluxe Edition) (26 page)

The following night Dinarzad said, “Sister, tell us the rest of the story.” Shahrazad replied, “Very well”:

It is related, O happy King, that the second dervish said to the girl:

The messengers took the scroll and returned with it to the king, and when he looked at it, my writing pleased him and he said, “Take this robe of honor and this she-mule to the master of these seven scripts.” The men smiled, and seeing that their smiling had made the king angry, they said, “O King of the age and sovereign of the world, the writer of these lines is an ape.” The king asked, “Is it true what you say?” They replied, “Yes, by your bounty, the writer is an ape.” The king was greatly amazed and said, “I wish to see this ape.” Then he dispatched his messengers with the she-mule and the robe, “Dress him with this robe, place him on the she-mule, and bring him to me, together with his master.”

As we sat on board, we saw the king's messengers suddenly appear again. They took me from the captain, dressed me with the robe, and, placing me on the she-mule, walked behind me in a procession, which caused a great commotion in the city. Everyone came out, crowding to gaze at me and enjoy the spectacle. By the time I reached the king, the whole city was astir, and the people were saying to each other, “The king has taken an ape for vizier.”

When I entered into the presence of the king, I prostrated myself and then stood up and bowed three times. Then I kissed the ground once, before the chamberlains and statesmen and knelt on my knees. Those who were present marveled at my fine manners, most of all the king himself, who said, “This is a wonder.” Then he gave permission to his retinue to leave, and everyone left, save for the king, one servant, one little Mamluk,
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and myself. Then, he ordered a table of food set before him, and motioned to me to eat with him. I rose, kissed the ground before him, and, after I washed my hands seven times, I sat back on my knees and, as good manners require, took only a little to eat. Then I took a pen and an inkwell and over a board wrote the following lines:

Wail for the crane well-stewed in tangy sauce;

Mourn for the meat, either well baked or fried;

Cry for the hens and daughters of the grouse

And the fried birds, even as I have cried.

Two different kinds of fish are my desire,

Served on two loaves of bread, zestful though plain,

While in the pan that sizzles o'er the fire

The eggs like rolling eyes fry in their pain.

The meat when grilled, O what a lovely dish,

Served with some pickled greens; that is my wish.

'Tis in my porridge I indulge at night,

When hunger gnaws, under the bracelets' light.

O soul, be patient, for our fickle fate

Oppresses one day, only to elate.

The king read the verses and pondered. Then they removed the food, and the butler set before us a choice wine in a glass flagon. The king drank first and offered me some. I kissed the ground before him, took a sip, and wrote the following lines over the flagon:

For my confession they burned me with fire

And found that I was for endurance made.

Hence I was borne high on the hands of men

And given to kiss the lips of pretty maid.

When the king read the verses, he marveled and said, “If a man had such cultivation, he would excel all the men of his time.” Then he set before me a chessboard and with a sign asked, “Do you play?” I kissed the ground before him and nodded “Yes.” Then the two of us arranged the pieces on the board and played a game, and it was a draw. We played a second game, and I won. Then we played for the third time, and I attacked and won again, and the king marveled at my skill. Once more I took the inkwell and the pen and over the chessboard wrote the following lines:

Two armies all day long with arms contend,

Bringing the battle always to a head.

But when night's cover on them does descend

The two go sleeping in a single bed.

As the king read these lines, he was overwhelmed with admiration and delight, and said to the servant, “O Muqbil, go to your lady, Sitt al-Husn, and tell her that her father the king summons her to come and look at this strange ape and enjoy this wonderful spectacle.”

The eunuch disappeared and came back a while later with the king's daughter. When she entered and saw me, she veiled her face and said, “O father, have you lost your sense of honor to such a degree that you expose me to men?” Astonished, the king asked, “Daughter, there is no one here, save this little Mamluk, this your mentor who brought you up, and I your father. From whom do you veil your face?” She replied, “From this young man who has been cast under a spell by a demon who is the son of Satan's daughter. He turned him into an ape after he killed his own wife, the daughter of Aftimarus, king of the Ebony Island. This whom you think an ape is a wise, learned, and well-mannered man, a man of culture and refinement.” The king was amazed and, looking at me, asked, “Is it true what my daughter said?” I replied with a nod, “Yes.” Then he turned to his daughter and asked, “For God's sake, daughter, how did you know that he is enchanted?” She replied, “O father, there was with me from childhood a wily and treacherous old woman who was a witch. She taught me witchcraft, and I copied and memorized seventy domains of magic, by the least of which I could within the hour transport the stones of your city beyond Mount Qaf and beyond the ocean that surrounds the world.” The king was amazed and said to his daughter, “O daughter, may God protect you. You have had such a complete power all this time, yet I never knew it. By my life, deliver him from the spell, so that I may make him vizier and marry you to him.” She replied, “With the greatest pleasure.” Then she took a knife . . .

But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said, “Sister, what a strange and entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night, if the king spares me and lets me live!”

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The following night Dinarzad said to her sister Shahrazad, “Sister, if you are not sleepy, tell us one of your lovely little tales.” Shahrazad replied, “Very well”:

I heard, O King, that the second dervish said to the girl:

The king's daughter took a knife engraved with names in Hebrew characters and, drawing a perfect circle in the middle of the palace hall, inscribed on it names in Kufic letters,
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as well as other talismanic words. Then she muttered charms and uttered spells, and in a short time the world turned dark until we could no longer see anything and thought that the sky was falling on our heads. Suddenly we were startled to see the demon descending in the semblance of a lion as big as a bull, and we were terrified. The girl cried, “Get away, you dog!” The demon replied, “You traitor, you have betrayed me and broken the oath. Have we two not taken an oath that neither would cross the other?” She said, “Cursed one, how could I keep a pledge with one like you?” The demon cried, “Then take what you have brought on yourself,” and with an open mouth he rushed toward the girl, who quickly plucked a hair from her head and as she waved the hair in the air and muttered over it the hair turned into a keen sword blade with which she struck the lion, cutting him in half. But while the two halves went flying, the head remained and turned into a scorpion. The girl quickly turned into a huge serpent, and the two fought a bitter battle for a long time. Then the scorpion turned into a vulture and flew outside the palace, and the girl changed into an eagle and flew after the vulture. The two were gone for a long time, but suddenly the ground split asunder, and there emerged a piebald tomcat, which meowed, snorted, and snored. He was followed by a black wolf, and the two battled in the palace for a long time, and when the cat saw that he was losing to the wolf, he screamed, turned into a worm, and crept into a pomegranate that was lying beside the fountain. The pomegranate swelled until it was as big as a striped watermelon, and the wolf turned immediately into a snow white rooster. The pomegranate flew in the air and fell on the marble floor of the raised hall, breaking to pieces, and as the seeds scattered everywhere, the rooster fell to picking them. He picked them all, save for one that lay hidden at the edge of the fountain. Then the rooster began to cry and crow, flap his wings, and motion with his beak, as if to ask us, “Are there any seeds left?” But we did not understand, and he let out such a loud shriek that we thought that the palace was falling on our heads. Then the rooster chanced to turn and saw the seed at the edge of the fountain. He rushed to pick it . . .

But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said, “Sister, what an amazing and entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night if the king spares me and lets me live!”

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The following night Dinarzad said to her sister Shahrazad, “Sister, if you are not sleepy, tell us the rest of the story.” Shahrazad replied, “With the greatest pleasure”:

I heard, O King, that the second dervish said to the girl:

O lady, the rooster, glad to see the seed, rushed to pick it, when it rolled into the fountain, became a fish, and dove into the water. The rooster turned immediately into a bigger fish and plunged after it, and the two disappeared into the bottom of the fountain for a very long time. Then we heard loud shouts, shrieks, and howls, which made us tremble, and a while later the demon came out as a burning flame, followed by the girl, who was also a burning flame. The demon blew fire and sparks from his mouth, nostrils, and eyes and battled the girl for a long time until their flames engulfed them, and the smoke filled the palace until we were resigned to suffocate, as we stood stricken by fear for our lives, certain of disaster and perdition, and, as the fire raged and became more intense, we cried, “There is no power and no strength save in God, the Almighty, the Magnificent.” Suddenly, before we could notice, the demon darted as a flame out of the fire, and with one leap stood in the hall before us, blowing fire in our faces, and the girl pursued him, with a loud cry. As the demon blew fire at us, the sparks flew, and, as I stood there in the semblance of an ape, one of them hit my right eye and destroyed it. A second spark hit the king, burning half of his face, including his beard and chin, and knocking out a row of his teeth. A third spark hit the servant in the chest and killed him instantly. At that moment, as we felt certain of destruction and gave ourselves up for lost, we heard a cry, “God is great, God is great! He has conquered and triumphed; He has defeated the infidel.” It was the cry of the king's daughter, who had at that very moment defeated the demon. We looked and saw a heap of ashes.

Then the girl came up to us and said, “Bring me a bowl of water,” and crying, “In the name of the Almighty God and His covenant, be yourself again,” she sprinkled me with the water, and I shook and stood “a full-fledged man.” Then she cried out, “The fire! The fire! O father, I am going to miss you, for I have been wounded by one of the demon's arrows, and I shall not live much longer. Although I am not used to fighting demons, I had no trouble until the pomegranate broke to pieces and I became a rooster. I picked all the seeds but overlooked the one that contained the very soul of the demon. Had I picked it up, he would have died instantly, but I overlooked it. I fought him under the earth and I fought him in the sky, and every time he initiated a domain of magic, I countered with a greater domain and foiled him until I opened the domain of fire. Few open it and survive, but I exceeded him in cunning, and with God's help I killed him. God will protect you in my place.” Then she implored again, “The fire! The fire!”

But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said, “Sister, what an entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night if I stay alive!”