The Arabian Nights (New Deluxe Edition) (38 page)

Since you left me, home is no longer home,

Nor is the neighbor neighbor, since you went away,

Nor is the friend who kept me company

The friend I knew, nor is the day bright day,

Nor are the sun and moon that shone with light,

The same, for they will never shine again.

In desolation you have left the world,

In gloomy darkness, every field and plain.

O, may the crow that at our parting crowed

His feathers lose and without' shelter stand.

My patience fails; my body wastes away;

How many veils are torn by death's cruel hand!

I wonder, will our nights come back again,

And will the old home once more hold us twain?

Badr al-Din Hasan wept at his father's tomb for a full hour, thinking of his plight and feeling at a loss what to do or where to go. As he wept, he laid his head on his father's tomb until he fell asleep—Glory be to Him who sleeps not. He slept on till it was dark, when his head rolled off the tomb and he fell on his back and, with arms and legs outstretched, lay sprawling against the tomb.

It happened that the cemetery was haunted by a demon who sought shelter there in the daytime and flew to another cemetery at night. When night came, the demon came out and was about to flyaway, when he saw a man, fully dressed, lying on his back. When he drew near him and looked at his face, he was startled by and amazed at his beauty.

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!”

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The following night Shahrazad said:

It is related, O King, that Ja'far said to the caliph:

When the demon looked at Hasan al-Basri, who lay asleep on his back, he marveled at his beauty, saying to himself, “This can be none other than one of the children of Paradise, whom God has created to tempt all mortals.” He looked upon him for a long time; then he flew up in the air, rising until he was between the heaven and the earth, where he ran into a flying she-demon. He asked her. “Who are you?” and she replied, “I am a she-demon.” Then he greeted her and asked her, “She-demon, will you come with me to my cemetery to see what the Almighty God has created among men?” She replied, “Very well.” Then they both flew down to the cemetery, and as they stood there, the demon asked, “In all your life, have you ever seen a young man more beautiful than this one?” When the she-demon looked at Badr al-Din and examined his face, she said, “Glory be to Him who has no rival. By God, brother, by your leave, I will tell you about an extraordinary thing I witnessed this very night in the land of Egypt.” The demon said, “Tell me.” The she-demon said, “Demon, you should know that there is in the city of Cairo a king who has a vizier named Shams al-Din Muhammad. That vizier has a daughter who is about twenty years old and who bears the most striking resemblance to this young man, for with an elegant and fine figure, she is endowed with beauty, charm, and perfect grace. When she approached the age of twenty, the king of Egypt heard of her and, summoning the vizier her father, said to him, ‘Vizier, it has come to my knowledge that you have a daughter, and I wish to demand her of you in marriage.' The vizier replied, ‘O King, accept my apology and do not reproach me but grant me your indulgence. As you know, I had a brother called Nur al-Din, who shared the vizierate with me in your service. It happened that one night we sat discussing marriage and children, but the next morning he disappeared, and for twenty years I have never heard of him. Recently, however, I heard, O King of the age, that he had died in Basra, where he was a vizier, leaving behind a son. Having recorded the date of the day I got married, the night I went in to my wife, and the day she gave birth, I have reserved my daughter for her cousin; besides, there are plenty of other women and girls for our lord the king.' When the king heard the vizier's answer, he was angry.”

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!”

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The following night Shahrazad said:

It is related, O King, that Ja'far said to the caliph:

The she-demon said to the demon, “The king, angry at the answer of his vizier Shams al-Din, said to him, ‘Damn you, Someone like me asks the likes of you for his daughter in marriage, yet you put me off with a lame excuse,' and he swore to marry her to none but the meanest of his servants. It happened that the king had a hunchbacked groom with two humps, one behind and one in front, and he sent for the hunchback and, summoning witnesses, ordered the vizier to draw the marriage contract between his daughter and the hunchback that very day, swearing that he would have the hunchback led in procession and that he would have him go in to his bride that very night. I have just now left the princes and their Mamluks waiting for the hunchback at the door of the bath, with lighted candles in their hands, in order to lead him in procession when he comes out. As for the vizier's daughter, she has been dressed and decked out with jewelry by her attendants, while her father is placed under guard until the hunchback goes in to her. O demon, I have never seen anyone as beautiful or delightful as that girl.” The demon replied, “You are lying; this young man is more beautiful than she.” The she-demon said, “By the Lord of this world, none is worthy of her but this young man. It would be a pity to waste her on that hunchback.” The demon replied, “Let us take him up, carry him in his sleep to the girl, and leave them alone together.” She said, “Very well,” and the demon carried Badr al-Din Hasan al-Basri and flew with him up in the air, while the she-demon flew by his side. Then he came down at the gate of Cairo and, setting Badr al-Din on a bench, awakened him.

When Badr al-Din woke up and found himself in an unknown city, he started to make inquiries, but the demon jabbed him and, handing him a thick candle, said to him, “Go to the bath, mix with the Mamluks and the crowd of people, and walk with them until you come to the wedding hall. Then press ahead and enter the hall as if you are one of the candle bearers. Stand at the right side of the hunchbacked bridegroom, and whenever the bride's attendants, the singing women, or the bride herself approaches you, take a handful of gold from your pocket and give it to the women. Don't hesitate, and whenever you put your hand in your pocket and take it out, it will be full of gold. Take it and give it to those who approach you. Do not wonder, for this is not by your power or strength but by the power, the strength, and the will of God, so that His wise decree may be fulfilled upon His creatures.” Then Badr al-Din Hasan rose, lighted the candle, and walked until he came to the bath, where he found the hunchbacked bridegroom already on horseback. So he mixed with the people in the guise and manner already mentioned, wearing a double turban.

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 the king spares me and lets me live!”

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Shahrazad said:

It is related, O King, that Ja'far said to the caliph:

Badr al-Din Hasan walked in the procession, and whenever the singing women stopped to sing and collect money from the people, he put his hand in his pocket and, finding it full of gold, took a handful and cast it in the singing women's tambourines until they were full of dinars. The singing women and all the people were amazed at his beauty and grace, and he continued in this fashion until they reached the palace of the vizier (who was his uncle), where the doormen drove back the people, and forbade them to enter. But the singing women said, “By God, we will not enter unless this wonderful young man enters with us, for in all our life we have never seen anyone more beautiful or more generous, and we will not unveil the bride except in his presence, for he has given out a golden treasure in her honor.” So they brought him into the wedding hall and seated him on the dais to the right of the hunchback. The wives of the princes, viziers, chamberlains, and deputies, as well as every other woman present, each veiled to the eyes and holding a large lighted candle in her hand, lined up in two opposite rows, extending from the dais to the bride's throne, which stood in front of the door from which she was to emerge. When the women saw Hasan al-Basri's beauty and grace and looked on his face, which was as bright as the new moon and as dazzling as the full moon, and looked on his body, which swayed like a willow bough, they loved his charm and flirtatious looks, and when he showered them with money, they loved him even more. They crowded around him with their lighted candles and gazed on his beauty and envied him his charm, winking at each other, for every one of them desired him and wished that she was lying in his lap. Everyone said, “None deserves our bride but this young man. What a pity to waste her on the worthless hunchback! May God curse him who brought this about!” and they cursed the king. The hunchback, who was wearing a brocaded robe of honor and a double turban, with his neck buried between his shoulders, sat rolled up like a ball, looking more like a toy than a man. He was like him of whom the poet said:

O for a hunchback who can hide his hump

Like a pearl hidden in an oyster shell,

Or one who looks like a castor oil branch

From which dangles a rotten citric lump.

Then the women began to curse the hunchback and to jeer at him, while they prayed for Badr al-Din Hasan and ingratiated themselves with him.

Then the singing women beat their tambourines and played their flutes, as the attendants emerged with the bride.

But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said to her sister, “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!”