The Arabian Nights (New Deluxe Edition) (28 page)

Then I awoke and eagerly sprang up to do the voice's bidding. I shot at the horseman, and he fell from the horse into the sea, while the horse dropped at my feet, and when I buried the horse in the place of the bow, the sea swelled and rose until it came up to me. Soon I saw a skiff in the offing, coming toward me, and I praised and thanked the Almighty God. When the skiff came up to me, I saw there a man of brass, bearing on his breast a lead tablet inscribed with names and talismans. I climbed into the skiff without uttering a word, and the boatman rowed with me through the first day and the second and on to the ninth, when I happily caught sight of islands, hills, and other signs of safety. But in my excess of joy, I praised and glorified the Almighty God, crying, “There is no god but God.” No sooner had I done that than the skiff turned upside down and sank, throwing me into the sea. I swam all day until my shoulders were numb with fatigue and my arms began to fail me, and when night fell and I was in the middle of nowhere, I became resigned to drown. Suddenly there was a violent gust of wind, which made the sea surge, and a great wave as tall as a mountain swept me and with one surge cast me on dry land; for God had willed to preserve my life. I walked ashore, wrung out my clothes, and spread them to dry. Then I slept the whole night.

In the morning I put on my clothes and went to scout and see where I was. I came to a cluster of trees, circled around them, and as I walked further, I found out that I was on a small island in the middle of the sea. I said, “There is no power and no strength save in God, the Almighty, the Magnificent,” and while I was thinking about my situation, wishing that I was dead, I suddenly saw in the distance a ship with human beings on board, making for the island. I climbed a tree and hid among the branches. Soon the ship touched land, and there came ashore ten black men, carrying shovels and baskets. They walked on until they reached the middle of the island. Then they began to dig into the ground and to shovel the earth away until they uncovered a slab. Then they returned to the ship and began to haul out sacks of bread and flour, vessels of cooking butter and honey, preserved meat, utensils, carpets, straw mats, couches, and other pieces of furniture—in short, all one needs for setting up house. The black men kept going back and forth and descending through the trapdoor with the articles until they had transported everything that was in the ship. When they came out of the ship again, there was a very old man in their middle. Of this man nothing much was left, for time had ravaged him, reducing him to a bone wrapped in a blue rag through which the winds whistled east and west. He was like one of whom the poet said:

Time made me tremble; ah! how sore that was

For with his might does time all mortals stalk.

I used to walk without becoming tired;

Today I tire although I never walk.

The old man held by the hand a young man who was so splendidly handsome that he seemed to be cast in beauty's mold. He was like the green bough or the tender young of the roe, ravishing every heart with his loveliness and captivating every mind with his perfection. Faultless in body and face, he surpassed everyone in looks and inner grace, as if it was of him that the poet said:

With him to make compare Beauty they brought,

But Beauty hung his head in abject shame.

They said, “O Beauty, have you seen his like?”

Beauty replied, “I have ne'er seen the same.”

My lady, they walked until they reached the trapdoor, went down, and were gone for a long time. Then the old man and the black men came out without the young man and shoveled the earth back as it was before. Then they boarded the ship, set sail, and disappeared.

I came down from the tree and, going to the spot they had covered, began to dig and shovel away. Having patiently cleared the earth away, I uncovered a single millstone, and when I lifted it up, I was surprised to find a winding stone staircase. I descended the steps, and when I came to the end, I found myself in a clean, whitewashed hall, spread with various kinds of carpets, beddings, and silk stuffs. There I saw the young man sitting on a high couch, leaning back on a round cushion, with a fan in his hand. A banquet was set before him, with fruits, flowers, and scented herbs, as he sat there all alone. When he saw me, he started and turned pale, but I greeted him and said, “My lord, set your mind at ease, for there is nothing to fear. I am a human being like you, my dear friend, and like you, the son of a king. God has brought me to you to keep you company in your loneliness. But tell me, what is your story, and what causes you to dwell under the ground?”

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 I stay alive!”

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The following night Dinarzad said to her sister Shahrazad, “Please, sister, if you are not sleepy, tell us the rest of the story of the king's son and the young man under the ground.” Shahrazad replied, “With the greatest pleasure”:

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

My lady, when I asked the young man to tell me his story, and he was assured that I was of his kind, he rejoiced and regained his composure. Then he made me draw near to him and said, “O my brother, my case is strange and my tale is amazing. My father is a very wealthy jeweler, who deals even with kings and who has many black and white slaves as well as traders who travel on ships to trade for him. But he was not blessed with a child. One night he dreamt that he was going to have a son who would be short-lived, and he woke up in the morning, feeling depressed. My mother happened to conceive on the following night, and my father noted the date of her conception. When the months passed and her time came, she gave birth to me, and my father was exceedingly happy. Then the astrologers and wise men, noting my birth date, read my horoscope and said, ‘Your son will live fifteen years, after which there will be a conjunction of the stars, and if he can escape it, he will live. For there stands in the salty sea a mountain called the magnetic mountain, on top of which stands a brass horseman riding on a brass horse and holding in his mouth a lead tablet. Fifty days after this horseman falls from the horse, your son will die, and his killer will be the man who will have thrown the horseman off the horse, a man named 'Ajib, son of King Khasib.' My father was stricken with grief. But he raised me and educated me as the years went by until I was fifteen. Ten days ago, the news reached my father that the brass horseman has been thrown into the sea by a man called King 'Ajib, son of King Khasib. When my father heard the news, he wept bitterly at our impending separation and became like a madman. Then for fear that 'Ajib, son of King Khasib, would kill me, my father built me this house under the ground and brought me in the ship with everything I need for the duration of fifty days. Ten days have already passed, and there remain only forty days until the conjunction of the stars is over and my father comes back to take me home. This is my story and the cause of my loneliness and isolation.”

My lady, when I heard his narrative and strange tale, I said to myself, “I am the one who overthrew the brass horseman, and I am 'Ajib, son of King Khasib, but by God, I will never kill him.” Then I said to him, “O my lord, may you be spared from death and safe from harm. God willing, there is nothing to worry about or fear. I will stay with you to serve you and entertain you these forty days. I will help you and go home with you, and you in turn will help me to return to my native land, and God will reward you.” My words pleased him, and I sat to chat with him and entertain him.

When night came, I got up and, lighting a candle, I filled and lit three oil lamps. Then I offered him a box of sweets, and after we both ate and savored some, we sat and chatted most of the night. When he fell asleep, I covered him, and then I too lay down and slept. When I woke up in the morning, I heated some water for him and gently woke him up, and when he awoke, I brought him the hot water, and he washed his face and thanked me saying, “God bless you, young man. By God, when I escape the man who is called 'Ajib, son of Khasib, and God saves me from him, I will make my father reward you and grant you every favor.” I replied, “May all your days be free from harm, and may God set my appointed day before yours!” Then I offered him something to eat, and after the two of us ate I rose and cut pieces of wood for checkers and set the pieces on the checkerboard. We diverted and amused ourselves, playing and eating and drinking till nightfall. Then I rose, lit the lamps, and offered him some sweets, and after we ate and savored some, we sat and chatted, then went to sleep.

My lady, in this way we passed many days and nights, and I became an intimate friend of his, felt a great affection for him, and forgot my cares and sorrows. I said to myself, “The astrologers lied when they told his father, ‘Your son will be killed by one called 'Ajib, son of Khasib,' for by God, this is I and in no way will I kill him,” and for thirty-nine days I kept serving him, entertaining him, and carousing with him through the night. On the night of the fortieth day, feeling glad at his safe escape, he said, “Brother, I have now completed forty days. Praise be to God who has saved me from death by your blessed coming. By God, I shall make my father reward you and send you to your native land. But, brother, kindly heat some water for me, so that I may wash my body and change my clothes.” I replied, “With the greatest pleasure.” Then I rose, heated some water, and took the young man into a little room where I gave him a good bath and put on him fresh clothes. Then I spread for him a high bed, covered with a leather mat, and there he lay down to rest, tired from his bath. He said to me, “Brother, cut me up a watermelon and sweeten the juice with sugar.” I rose and, bringing back a fine watermelon, set it on a platter, saying, “My lord, do you know where the knife is?” He replied, “Here it is, on the high shelf over my head.” I sprang up and, reaching over him in haste, drew the knife from the sheath, and as I stepped back, I slipped on the leather mat, as had been foreordained, and fell prostrate on the young man, and the knife, which was in my hand, pierced his heart and killed him instantly. When I saw that he was dead and realized that it was I who had killed him, I let out a loud scream, beat my face, tore my clothes, and cried, “O people, O God's creatures, there remained for this young man only one day out of the forty, yet he still met his death at my hand. O God, I ask for your forgiveness, wishing that I had died before him. These my afflictions I suffer, draught by bitter draught, ‘so that God's will may be fulfilled.'”

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

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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 of the third dervish.” Shahrazad replied, “With the greatest pleasure”:

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

My lady, when I was sure that I had killed him, as the God above had foreordained, I rose and, ascending the stairs, replaced the trapdoor and covered it with earth. Then I looked toward the sea and saw the ship that had brought him, cleaving the waters toward the island to fetch him. I said to myself, “The moment they come and see their boy slain and find that I am his slayer, they will surely kill me.” I headed toward a nearby tree and, climbing it, hid among the branches, and hardly had I done so when the ship reached the island and touched the shore, and the black servants came out with the old father of the young man I had killed. They came to the spot, and when they removed the earth, they were surprised to find it soft. They went down and found the young man lying down, with his face still glowing after the bath, dressed in clean clothes and the knife deep in his heart. When they examined him and found that he was dead, they shrieked, beat their faces, wept, wailed, and invoked awful curses on the murderer. His father fell into such a deep swoon that the black servants thought that he was dead. At last he came to himself, and they wrapped the young man in his clothes and carried him up, together with the old man. Then one of the slaves went and came back with a seat covered with silk, and they carried the old man, laid him there, and sat by his head. All this took place under the tree in which I hid, watching everything they did and listening to everything they said. My heart felt hoary before my head turned gray because of the afflictions, misfortunes, calamities, and sorrows I had suffered. O my lady, the old man remained in a swoon till close to sunset. When he came to himself, looked at his son, and recalled what had happened—that what he feared had come to pass—he wept, beat his face, and recited the following verses: