The Arabian Nights (New Deluxe Edition) (67 page)

T
HE
O
NE
H
UNDRED AND
S
EVENTY
-S
EVENTH
N
IGHT

The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that when Ali ibn-Bakkar and his friend Abu al-Hasan al-'Attar heard what the girl said, they were terrified. But Shams al-Nahar laughed and said to the girl, “Stall them while we cover our tracks.” Abu al-Hasan related later what happened next: “Still looking at the young man, Shams al-Nahar forced herself to rise and, bidding the doors of the alcove be shut and the drapes be drawn upon us, she closed the doors of the hall behind her and went out into the garden. Then she bade the other couches be removed, seated herself on her couch, and bade one of her damsels sit and rub her feet. Then she said to one of the maids, ‘Give them permission to come in.' The three chief eunuchs came in with twenty other eunuchs, all dressed in elegant and beautiful uniforms, girdled with golden belts and girded with swords. They saluted in the best of manners, and Shams al-Nahar saluted back and received them with respect and good cheer. Then turning to Masrur, she asked, ‘What is your wish?' He replied, ‘The Commander of the Faithful salutes you and inquires after your health. He longs to see you and sends me to inform you that this has been such a joyous day that he wishes to culminate his joy by seeing you and spending the night with you in your quarters. Adorn your apartment and make yourself ready to receive him.' She kissed the ground before him and said, ‘I hear and obey the command of God and the Commander of the Faithful.' Then she turned to the damsel and bid her bring the housekeepers, who came and busied themselves around the garden and the apartment, for although the apartment was perfectly ready with carpets, drapes, and everything else, Shams al-Nahar wanted to make a show of her compliance with the command. Then she said to the eunuchs, ‘Go with God's protection and care and tell the Commander of the Faithful what you have seen, so that he may wait a while until I arrange the furniture and make the place ready.'”

The eunuchs left hurriedly, and Shams al-Nahar rose and went to her beloved and his friend, who looked like startled birds. She embraced Nur al-Din Ali, pressing him hard to her breast, and wept bitterly. He said to her, “O my lady, this separation will lead to my destruction and death. May God grant me patience until I see you again, and may He grant me another opportunity to be with you.” She replied, “You yourself will leave safely; your passion will remain concealed, your love will be safeguarded, and no one will know how you feel. I, however, will face doom and destruction, for the caliph expects what he is used to from me, something in which I can no longer satisfy him because of my great love for you and my grief at parting from you. With what voice shall I sing for him and with what heart shall I face him and take care of him? With what strength shall I serve him, with what mind shall I speak with those who will come with him, and with what wit shall I exceed them in gaining his favor?” Abu al-Hasan al-'Attar said to her, “I implore you to steel yourself and be as patient as you can tonight, and may the Beneficent God unite you again.”

He related later, “While we were conversing, up came a damsel who said, ‘The eunuchs are approaching, while you are still standing here.' Shams al-Nahar replied, ‘Listen you, hurry and take them upstairs to the gallery overlooking the garden, and when it gets dark, help them go home graciously.' The damsel replied, ‘I hear and obey.'” Then Shams al-Nahar bade them good-bye and left, hardly able to walk, while her maid took the two men to the upstairs gallery, which had many chambers, with one side overlooking the garden and another overlooking the Tigris River. She seated them and, closing the door on them, left them until it was dark.

But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said to her 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
S
EVENTY
-E
IGHTH
N
IGHT

The following night Dinarzad said to her sister Shahrazad, “Tell us the rest of the story.” Shahrazad replied, “Very well”:

I heard, O happy King, that the girl seated them in the gallery and went away, and they remained seated until it was dark, not knowing what to do or how to get away. Suddenly, as they were looking, into the garden came more than a hundred eunuchs who looked like bridegrooms dressed with colorful costumes, girdled with gold belts, and girded with swords. With them came more than one hundred pages, each bearing a camphor candle, and with them came the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, swaying between Masrur and Wasif, intoxicated. He was followed by twenty girls as lovely as the sun, wearing the finest clothes and adorned with jewels that glittered around their necks and on their heads. They were met under the trees by Shams al-Nahar, followed by girls bearing musical instruments. When she kissed the ground before the caliph, he said to her, “Welcome, my joy, my life's bliss, and my heart's delight.” Then he leaned on her arm and walked with her until he reached the silver couch, where he seated himself. Then they set the other couches before him by the sides of the ponds, and he bade the girls who came with him be seated, and each of them sat in her proper place, while Shams al-Nahar sat on a chair beside him.

After he enjoyed the sights of the garden for a while, he bade the drapes of the alcove be drawn open and bade the candles be placed to his right and left, so that the dark became light and the night day, while the pages began to bring in the wine service. Abu al-Hasan related later: “I saw jewels the likes of which had never before graced my eyes or even my imagination, dazzling my mind and making my heart beat with excitement, until I thought that I was in a dream, while Ali ibn-Bakkar, feeling weak and dejected, lay prostrate on the ground, loath to see what I saw and depressed to think what I thought. I said to him, ‘Do you see the caliph?' and he replied, ‘He is the cause of our misfortune, and I am certain to perish, but I will be undone only by what has overcome me, love and the separation after union, the danger of the situation and the impossibility of escape, as well as my own fear and helplessness. May God the Deliverer deliver me from my predicament.' I replied, ‘There is no recourse but to be patient until the Almighty God sends you relief.' Then he turned to look at the scene again.

“When everything was readied before the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, he turned to one of the damsels who had come with him and said, ‘Sweetheart, sing me a song.' The damsel played the lute and sang the following verses:

If water can turn cheeks into green fields,

My tears might have covered my cheeks with green,

Reflecting the same tincture in their flow,

Turning my face into a verdant scene,

Except that I have shed nothing but tears

When my departing soul bade me adieu

And, finding no relief but death, I said,

‘Welcome, O death,' when the hour nearer drew.”

The two men looked and saw that Shams al-Nahar was so agitated that she slumped and fell off the chair to the ground, while the girls rushed to her and lifted her up. Abu al-Hasan kept looking at her, and when he turned to her beloved, he found him unconscious, lying on his face motionless. He said to himself, “Fate has proved kind to them both, by treating them equally.” But, aware of the grave danger, he was overwhelmed with alarm. Presently, the girl came and said, “Rise, for we do not have much leeway, and I fear that all hell will break loose tonight.” The druggist asked her, “Who can arouse this young man in his condition?” The girl sprinkled Nur al-Din Ali's face with rosewater and rubbed his hands until he came to himself. His friend the druggist said to him, “Wake up at once or you will destroy us with you.” Then they carried him and went down with him from the gallery, and the girl, opening a small iron gate, brought them out to a jetty on the river. She clapped her hands softly, and a rowboat appeared with a boatman, who rowed until the boat touched the jetty. Abu al-Hasan related later, “As we entered the boat, the young lover, stretching one hand toward the palace and the young lady's apartment and placing the other on his heart, recited in a faint voice the following verses:

I stretched one feeble hand to bid adieu

And placed the other on my burning heart.

But let this nourishment be not my last,

Nor this parting keep us always apart.

“The boatman rowed us away, together with the damsel.”

But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said to her 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! It will be even stranger and more amazing.”

T
HE
O
NE
H
UNDRED AND
S
EVENTY
-N
INTH
N
IGHT

The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that the young man recited the verses, and the boatman rowed until they crossed the river and reached the opposite side. The two men disembarked, but the girl took leave of them, saying “I cannot go with you beyond this point.” Then she departed, leaving Nur al-Din Ali prostrate on the ground before Abu al-Hasan, unable to stand on his feet. Abu al-Hasan said to him, “My lord, our lives are not safe here, for I fear that we may be prey to robbers,” and he kept reproaching him and remonstrating with him until he rose at last and proceeded with him, hardly able to walk.

It happened that Abu al-Hasan al-'Attar had some friends who lived on that side of the city; so he went to the house of one of them, whom he trusted and with whom he felt intimate, and knocked at the door. The friend came out quickly, and when he saw Abu al-Hasan, he was extremely pleased. Abu al-Hasan related later: “He brought us into his house, and when we were seated, he asked, ‘Where have you been, my lord?' I replied, ‘I had a business deal with a certain individual, and when I heard that he had designs on my money as well as that of other people, I went to him tonight in the company of this gentleman,' pointing to Ali ibn-Bakkar and adding, ‘I took him with me for fear that the man would get wind of my intention and hide from me. But in spite of my efforts, I was unable to catch him or find out where he was; so I returned and, feeling sorry for this exhausted gentleman, not knowing where else to go, and looking forward to the pleasure of your company, I took the liberty of coming to you.'” The host treated them with the utmost attention and generosity, and they stayed with him the rest of the night.

As soon as it was dawn, they headed for the riverbank and, taking a rowboat, crossed to the other side. They landed and went to the house of Abu al-Hasan, who conjured Ali ibn-Bakkar to go in with him. As soon as Ali ibn-Bakkar went in, he collapsed on the bed, suffering from longing, grief, and exhaustion. The two men slept a while, and when Abu al-Hasan awoke, he ordered the servants to spread the furnishings. He related later: “I said to myself, ‘Let me entertain him and distract him, for I know very well the torment he feels for leaving his beloved behind.' Then I thanked God for my deliverance from danger and pledged alms in gratitude.

“When the young man awoke and sat up, I said to him, ‘Refresh yourself.'” Ali ibn-Bakkar called for water, and when the servants brought it, he rose and, performing his ablutions, prayed the obligatory prayers, which he had missed the past day and night. Then he tried to find solace and console himself by talking with his friend. When Abu al-Hasan saw this, he turned to him and said, “My lord, it would be better for you in your condition to stay with me tonight, so that you may make merry with me, enjoy the entertainment and diversion, and relieve yourself from the anguish of your love and longing, and perhaps God will send you relief from your affliction.” Ali ibn-Bakkar replied, “Do as you wish, for I will not contradict you.” Abu al-Hasan related later, “I summoned his servants, invited his friends, and brought a singing woman. We spent the time together till nightfall, and when the candles were lit and the moment was propitious, the singing woman sang these verses: