The Arabian Nights (New Deluxe Edition) (42 page)

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The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that Ja'far said to the caliph:

The vizier of Egypt, the uncle of Badr al-Din Hasan, journeyed with his daughter and her son for twenty days until he came to the city of Damascus and saw its rivers and birds, just as the poet described them:

Once in Damascus I spent such a night

That time swore 't would never the like allow.

We slept carefree under the wing of night

Till morning smiled and beamed with dappled brow,

And dewdrops on the branches hung like pearls,

Then fell and scattered when the zephyr blew,

And birds chanted the words traced on the lake,

As the wind wrote and the clouds the points drew.

The vizier dismounted and pitched his tents at a place called the Plain of Pebbles, saying to his followers, “Let us rest here for two or three days.” Then the pages and servants went on their errands into the city, this to sell, that to buy, another to go to the bath. 'Ajib too went into the city to see the sights, followed by a eunuch carrying a red club of knotted almondwood, “with which if one hit a camel, it would go galloping as far as Yemen.”
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When the people of Damascus saw 'Ajib, who in spite of his very young age was all beauty, charm, and perfect grace, just like him of whom the poet said:

The scent is musk, the cheek a rose,

The teeth are pearls, the mouth is wine,

The frame a bough, the hip a barge,

The hair is night, the face a moon divine,

they followed him, while others ran ahead and waited for him to pass by, so that they might gaze on him, until, as if it had been foreordained, the eunuch stopped in front of the shop of 'Ajib's father, Badr al-Din Hasan al-Basri.

Badr al-Din had been living in Damascus for twelve years, during which time the reformed cook died, leaving his shop and all his property to his adopted son, Badr al-Din. In the course of the years Badr al-Din's beard had grown and his understanding had matured. When his son and the servants stood before him . . .

But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then the king said to himself, “By God, I will not have her put to death until I find out what happened to the vizier Badr al-Din Hasan, his son, his uncle, and his cousin. Then I will have her put to death as I did the others.”

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The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that Ja'far said to the caliph:

When 'Ajib and the servant stood before Badr al-Din's shop, and he gazed on his son's extraordinary beauty and grace, his heart began to throb, his stomach began to flutter, and he felt happy, as the blood hearkened to the blood, driven by instinctive sympathy and the divine mystery—Glory be to Him who controls everything. Looking at his son's outlandish attire and at his wonderful face, Badr al-Din said to him, “O my lord and master of my life and heart, you for whom I would shed my blood, would you enter my shop to taste my food and make me happy?” (That day he had prepared a pomegranate-seed dish cooked in sugar.) At that moment, he remembered his happy days as a vizier's son, and his eyes filled with tears and he recited the following verses:

O my beloved, as I shed my tears,

I should acquaint you with my sorry plight:

When I avoid you, I yearn for you so

And feel a passion that does burn and blight.

'Tis not that I hate or wish to forget,

But that such love can such wisdom beget!

'Ajib felt tenderness for him, and his heart throbbed. He turned to the eunuch and said, “Tutor, I feel sympathy and pity for this cook, who seems to have lost a son or a brother. Let us enter his shop and by accepting his hospitality console him; perhaps God will reward this act by reuniting me with my father.” When the eunuch heard his words, he was angry and said, “What a fine thing for a vizier's son to eat at a cookshop! While I stand here to protect you with this club even from people's looks, how can I let you enter their shops?” When Badr al-Din heard what the eunuch said, he turned to his son and recited the following verses:

I marvel that they guard you with one slave,

While many are enslaved by your own grace,

The basil of the beard and jewels of the mouth,

The mole of ambergris and rubies of the face.

Then Badr al-Din turned to the eunuch and said, “Noble lord, will you make me happy by entering my shop, you who are like a chestnut, black without but white within, just like him of whom the poet said?” The eunuch laughed and asked, “For God's sake, what did the poet say?” Badr al-Din recited the following verses:

Were he not such a fine and trusty man,

He would not in the court hold such a sway,

Or guard the harem with such zeal and care

That even the angels do him homage pay.

In blackness he excels, but 'tis his deeds,

His noble deeds that outshine the bright day.

This pleased the eunuch, who laughed and, taking 'Ajib by the hand, entered Badr al-Din's shop. Badr al-Din placed before them a sizzling bowl of pomegranate seeds conserved with almonds and sugar, and they ate and found it extremely delicious. 'Ajib turned to his father and said, “Sit down and eat with us, and may the Almighty God reunite me with the one for whom I long!” Badr al-Din said, “Son, have you too at your tender age suffered the loss of one you love?” 'Ajib replied, “Yes uncle, my heart bleeds for the loss of one I love, and my grandfather and I have been roaming the land in search of him. Alas, how I long to be reunited with him!” Then he wept and Badr al-Din wept at the sight of his son's tears and at the thought of his own separation from his home and mother, in a distant land, and he recited the following verses:

If ever we meet each other again,

I will have much about which to complain,

For no letter can cure the ailing heart,

Nor can another voice a lover's pain.

The critics censure my abundant tears,

But tears are little for lovers to pay.

When will the Good Lord bring me back my love

And let my care and sorrow go away?

If we meet then, I will to you complain,

For none but I myself can voice such pain.

The eunuch felt pity for Badr al-Din, and after they ate together, he took 'Ajib and departed. But when they left the shop, Badr al-Din felt as if his soul had left his body and had gone with them. He could not bear to be without them even for a single moment; so he closed his shop and followed them.

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 Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that Ja'far said to the caliph:

Badr al-Din closed his shop and followed his son, without knowing that he was his son. He walked until he caught up with them before they reached the city gate and kept following them. When the eunuch looked behind and saw him, he said, “Damn it, what do you want?” Badr al-Din replied, “Noble lord, when you departed, I felt that my soul had left me and gone with you; besides, as I have some business outside the Victory Gate, I thought that I would come out to finish it and return.” The eunuch was angry and said to 'Ajib, “This is what I feared, and this is what you have done to me. When one is blind, one does not see ahead. Because we entered this fellow's shop and ate an unfortunate mouthful, he takes liberties with us and follows us from place to place.” 'Ajib turned around and, seeing the cook following him, reddened with anger and said to the eunuch, “Let him walk like any Muslim, but if he turns in the same direction when we come outside the city and turns toward our tents, we will know that he is following us.” Then he bowed his head and walked on, with the eunuch behind him.

Badr al-Din followed them until they came to the Plain of Pebbles and drew near their tents, and when 'Ajib turned around and saw Badr al-Din still following him, he flushed and turned pale, angry and afraid that his grandfather might find out that he had gone into a cookshop and that he had been followed by one of the cooks; and when 'Ajib saw Badr al-Din's eyes fixed on him, for he was like a body without a soul, he thought that they were the eyes of a treacherous or a lewd fellow, and his rage mounted. He bent to the ground, picked up a granite stone weighing a pound, and threw it at his father. It struck him on the forehead, cutting it open from eyebrow to eyebrow, and he fell down in a swoon, with his blood streaming down over his face, while 'Ajib and the eunuch headed to their tents. When Badr al-Din came to himself, he wiped away the blood and, taking off his turban, bandaged his wound with it, blaming himself and saying, “I wronged the boy in closing my shop and following him, making him think that I was some treacherous or lewd fellow.” Then he returned to his shop, where every now and then he would feel a bit of nostalgia for his mother in Basra, weep for her, and recite the following verses:

If you ask fair play of fate, you wrong it,

For blameless fate is not meant to be fair.

Take what may please you and be not concerned,

For in this life, one day is troubled, one day fair.

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 I stay alive!”

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The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that Ja'far said to the caliph:

Badr al-Din returned to his shop and resumed selling his food. Meanwhile the vizier, his uncle, stayed in Damascus for three days and departed for Homs, and after he arrived there and finished his search, he departed for Hama, where he spent the night. Again, after he finished his search, he departed, pressing on until he reached Aleppo,
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where he stayed for two days. Then going through Dyarbakir, Mardin, Sinjar, and Mosul,
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he fared on until he reached Basra. When he arrived, he went up to meet the king, who received him with honor and esteem and asked the reason for his coming. Shams al-Din related to him his story and told him that his vizier, Nur al-Din Ali of Egypt, was his brother. The king commended Nur al-Din's soul to the mercy of God and said, “My lord, he lived here for fifteen years; then he died, leaving a son, who stayed here only one month after his father's death and disappeared without any trace or news. But his mother, who was the daughter of my old vizier, is still with us.” Shams al-Din asked the king for permission to visit her and meet with her, and the king gave him permission.