The Arabian Nights (New Deluxe Edition) (53 page)

Doctor, I am a native of Mosul; when my grandfather died, he left behind ten sons, of whom my father was the eldest. When they grew up, all ten got married, and God blessed my father with me but did not bless his nine brothers with any children. So I grew up among my uncles.

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!”

T
HE
O
NE
H
UNDRED AND
T
HIRTY
-S
ECOND
N
IGHT

The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O King, that the Jewish physician told the king of China that the young man said:

I had grown up and reached manhood, when one Friday I went with my father and my uncles to the Mosul mosque. After we performed the Friday prayers and the people went out, my father and my uncles sat in a circle, talking about the wonders of foreign lands and the marvels of various cities until they mentioned Cairo, and one of my uncles said, “Travelers say that there is nothing on the face of the earth fairer than Cairo,” and from that moment I longed to see Cairo. Another disagreed, saying, “It is Baghdad that is Paradise and the capital of the world.” But my father, who was the eldest, said, “He who has not seen Cairo has not seen the world. Its dust is gold, its women dolls, and its Nile a wonder, whose water is sweet and refreshing and whose clay is soft and cool, as the poet said:

Enjoy today the flooding of your Nile,

Whose waters on you their riches bestow.

The Nile is but the tears I shed for you,

A boon, which from my blighted eyes does flow.

If you saw its gardens, adorned with flowers and ornamented with all kinds of blossoms, if you saw the Nile Island with its many lovely sights, and if you saw the Ethiopian Pond, your eyes would be dazzled with their wonders. O how lovely is the sight of the green gardens, encircled by the waters of the Nile, like chrysolites set in silver sheets! How well the poet put it who said:

O what a day by the Ethiopian Pond

We spent between the shadows and the light,

The water flashing amid the green plants,

A sabre in an eye trembling with fright.

We sat in a fine garden where the rays

Embroidered and adorned that lovely sight,

A garden woven for us by the clouds,

Soft carpets made and spread for us to rest,

As we sat passing the refreshing wine,

Which of all drugs for sorrow works the best,

Quaffing deep draughts from large and brimful cups

For they alone can quench our burning thirst.”

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!”

T
HE
O
NE
H
UNDRED AND
T
HIRTY
-T
HIRD
N
IGHT

The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O King, that the Jewish physician told the king of China that the young man said:

My father went on to describe Cairo, and when he finished describing the Nile and the Ethiopian Pond, he said, “And what is this compared with the observatory and its charms, of which every approaching viewer says, ‘This spot is full of wonders'; and if you speak of the night of the Nile-Flooding Feast, open the floodgates of words and release the bow; and if you see al-Rauda Park in the shade of the late afternoon, you will be thrilled with wonder and delight; and if you stand at the river bank, when the sun is sinking and the Nile puts on its coat of mail and shield, you will be refreshed by the deep and ample shade and gentle breeze.” When I heard this description, my thoughts dwelt so much on Cairo that I was unable to sleep that night.

Some time later my uncles prepared merchandise for a trade journey to Cairo, and I went to my father and importuned him with tears until he prepared merchandise for me too and let me go with them, saying to them, “Don't let him go to Cairo, but leave him behind to sell his goods in Damascus.” Having provided ourselves for the journey, we set out from Mosul and journeyed until we reached Aleppo, where we stayed for a few days. Then we pressed on until we reached Damascus, which I found to be a pleasant, peaceful, and prosperous city, abounding in trees and rivers and birds, like a garden in Paradise, and abounding in “fruits of all kinds,” like one of the gardens in Rudwan.
⁵
We stayed in one of the caravansaries, to my delight, while my uncles sold my goods at a profit of five dinars for each dinar. Then they left me and went on to Egypt, while I stayed in Damascus, in a large house, known as the house of Sudun ‘Abd al-Rahman, which I rented for two dinars a month. It had a marble hall, a storeroom, an extra room with cupboards, and a fountain with water running day and night. I lived there, spending my money on feasting and drinking, until I had squandered most of it.

One day, as I sat at the door of my lodging, there came up a young lady so finely dressed that I have seen none better. I invited her to come in and could hardly believe it when she actually accepted.

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!”

T
HE
O
NE
H
UNDRED AND
T
HIRTY
-F
OURTH
N
IGHT

The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that the Jewish physician told the king of China that the young man said:

When she entered, I felt bound to honor the invitation, and I went in and closed the door behind us. When she sat and raised her veil and took off her cloak, I saw that she was extremely beautiful, like a painted moon, and her love took hold of my heart. I went out and bought from a special shop a tray of the most delicate foods and fruits, as well as wine and whatever was needed for the occasion. We ate, and when it got dark, I lighted the candles and set up the cups, and we drank until we were drunk. Then I slept with her and spent the best of nights. In the morning, I offered her ten dinars, but she frowned and said, “Shame on you, man from Mosul, to think that you can have me for gold or money!” Then taking out ten dinars herself, she swore that if I did not take them, she would never come back, saying, “Darling, expect me again in three days, between sundown and nightfall, and take these ten dinars to prepare a banquet similar to this.” Then she bade me good-bye and went away, taking my heart with her, while I could hardly wait for the three days to go by.

On the appointed day, I prepared a banquet to my liking, and she came after sundown, wearing high wooden shoes, a black headcloth, and a bonnet and exhaling sweet perfumes. We ate and drank and dallied and laughed, and when it got dark, I lighted the candles, and we drank until we got drunk. Then I slept with her, and when she arose in the morning, she gave me ten dinars and, saying, “We will meet as usual,” went away.

Three days later I again prepared a banquet, and when she came as usual, we sat and ate and dallied and conversed. When it got dark and we sat to drink, she said, “My lord, by God, am I not beautiful?” I replied, “Yes, by God, you are.” She said, “Will you then allow me to bring with me a young lady who is even more beautiful and younger than I, so that she may play, laugh, and enjoy herself, for she has been sequestered for a long time, and she has asked to go out and spend the night with me?” I replied, “By God, yes.” In the morning, she gave me fifteen dinars and, saying “Buy more provisions, for we will have a new guest when we meet as usual,” went away. On the third day I prepared a banquet.

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!”

T
HE
O
NE
H
UNDRED AND
T
HIRTY
-F
IFTH
N
IGHT

The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard that the Jewish physician told the king of China that the young man said:

Soon after sundown, she came with a girl, as we had agreed on. I received them with pleasure and delight and lighted the candles, and when the girl unveiled herself, she revealed a face that redounded to “the Glory of God, the Best of Creators.” Then we sat down to eat, and I kept feeding the new girl, while she looked at me and smiled, and when we finished eating and I set the wine and the fruits and sweets before them, I drank with her, while she smiled and winked at me as I gazed on her, all-consumed with love. My friend, seeing that the girl's eyes were fixed on mine and mine on hers, laughed and asked playfully, “My darling, isn't this girl, whom I have brought you, more beautiful and charming than I?” I replied, “By God, yes, she is.” She asked, “Would you like to sleep with her?” I replied, “Yes, by God, I would like to.” She said, “After all, she is only a visitor here tonight, while I am always here.” Then girding herself, she rose in the middle of the night and prepared our bed, and I took the girl in my arms and slept with her that night, while my friend prepared a bed for herself in the extra room and slept there alone.

When I awoke in the morning, I found myself drenched and thought that I was wet with perspiration. I sat up and tried to rouse the girl, but when I shook her by the shoulders, her head rolled off, and I realized that she had been slain. I lost my senses and, crying out, “O gracious Protector,” sprang up, and the world began to turn black before my eyes. Then I looked for my friend, and when I could not find her, I realized that it was she who, out of jealousy, had murdered the girl. I said to myself, “There is no power and no strength, save in God, the Almighty, the Magnificent. What shall I do now?” I thought for a while and finally said to myself, “I am afraid that the murdered girl's family will look for her; no one is safe from the treachery of women.” Then I took off my clothes and dug a hole in the middle of the hall and, placing the girl with all her jewelry in it, covered it back with earth and replaced the slabs of the marble pavement. Then I put on clean clothes and, taking what was left of my money in a small box, locked up the house and left. I took courage, went to the landlord, and paid him a year's rent, saying “I am going to join my uncles in Cairo.” Then I paid for my voyage at the king's caravansary and departed.