The Arabian Nights (New Deluxe Edition) (85 page)

The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that when the king heard her words, he replied, “As for your saying that you are a brokenhearted woman in a foreign land, where is the reason for it, since my entire kingdom is in your hands and I am your slave? But, as for your saying that you have a mother and a father and a brother, where are they and what is your name?”

She replied, “I will tell you my name. I am called Jullanar of the Sea. My father was a sea-king, who then died and left his kingdom to my mother, my brother, and myself, but another sea-king defeated us and took the kingdom from us. My mother is descended from the daughters of the sea, not the daughters of the land and clay. My brother is called Sayih. One day I quarreled with him and left, swearing by the Almighty God that I would throw myself into the hands of a man of the land. I came out of the sea and sat down on the shore of the Island of the Moon, where an old man came up to me and, taking me to his house, tried to make love to me. But I refused and hit him on the head, so hard that I almost killed him! Then he took me out and sold me to that pious, fair, and honorable merchant who bought me for two thousand dinars, and brought me here and sold me to you. Had you not, O King, offered me your kindness and love and preferred me over your favorites, concubines, and all other women, I would never have stayed with you even one single hour but would have thrown myself from this window into the sea and returned to my people. I was also too ashamed to return with child, for fear that my people would distrust me, think ill of me, and refuse to believe, even if I swore to them, that it was a king who had bought me with his money and made me his lot in life.”

When the king heard her explanation, he thanked her and kissed her between the eyes and said, “By God, O my lady and my darling, if you leave me even for a single hour, I will die. But for God's sake, tell me how do the people of the sea walk there without sinking and dying?” She replied, “O King, we walk in water just as you people walk on land, without being wetted or hurt by the water,” adding, “We do this by virtue of the words inscribed on the seal ring of God's prophet Solomon, son of David—Peace be on him—and stay dry without being touched by the water. You should know, O King, that the time of my delivery is near, and I therefore wish my mother, my uncle's daughters, and my brother to come so that they may see me with you and find out that I am bearing the child of one of the kings of the land, who has bought me with his money and treated me kindly, and so that I may make peace with them; besides, your women are daughters of the land who do not know how to assist in birth the daughters of the sea or how to help them or take care of them properly. Moreover, I wish them to come, so that you may satisfy yourself that I am truly a daughter of the sea and that my father was a king.”

When the king heard her explanation, he replied . . .

But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence.

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The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that when the king heard Jullanar's explanation, he replied, “Do as you wish, and I will agree with whatever you do.” She said, “You should also know, O King, that we walk in the sea and see the daylight and the sun and the sky and see the night and the moon and the stars, without being harmed at all. In the sea there are people of all types and creatures of all kinds, just as there are on land, and more.” The king marveled at what she said. Then she took out from her bosom a case of Javanese aloewood and took out from it a bead of the same wood. Then she threw the bead into the fire, whistled, and spoke words that the king did not understand, and there arose a great cloud of smoke. She said to the king, “Rise and hide in a closet, so that you may see my brother, mother, and cousins without being seen by them, for I intend to bring them here and show you the Almighty God's marvelous handiwork and the forms He created in the sea.” The king ran and, hiding in a closet, watched what she did.

No sooner had she finished her incantation than the sea began to foam and surge, and suddenly the water split asunder and a young man emerged. He had sprouting mustaches, rosy cheeks, and teeth as glittering as gems. He was more handsome than the moon and as lovely as his sister Jullanar. He was followed by a gray-haired old woman and five young ladies who looked like moons and resembled Jullanar in beauty. The king saw the old woman and the young man and young ladies . . .

But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence.

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The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that the king saw the old woman and the young man and young ladies walk on the surface of the water until they reached the palace, while Jullanar went to the window to receive them. When they saw her, they were happy and they leapt and flew like birds and in an instant stood beside her, embracing her tearfully and telling her how much they had missed her. Then they said to her, “O Jullanar, you have been away for three years, and we have been desolate without you, unable to enjoy food or drink.” Jullanar kissed her brother's head and his hands and feet and did the same to her mother and her cousins. Then they sat for a while, expressing to each other how they had suffered during their separation. Then they questioned her about her present situation, with whom she was living, to whom the palace belonged, and who had brought her there. She said to them, “When I left you, I came out from the sea and sat on the shore of the Island of the Moon, where a man found me and sold me to a merchant who sold me to the king of this city for ten thousand dinars. I have had a happy life with him, for he has forsaken all his concubines and slave-girls on my account, has turned away even from the affairs of the kingdom, and has devoted himself to me.” When her brother heard this, he said, “O sister, rise and let us return to our home and family.” When the king heard what the brother said, he lost his senses from shock and fright, saying to himself, “I am afraid that she will listen to her brother, leave me, and cause my death by her departure, for I am madly in love with her, especially since she is bearing my child, and I will die of longing for her and for my son.” But when Jullanar heard her brother's words, she laughed and said, “O brother, you should know that the man I am living with is a pious, generous, and honorable man who has never said one bad word to me, who has treated me kindly, and who has given me the best of lives.”

But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence.

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The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that Jullanar added, “I am bearing his child, and just as I am the daughter of a king, he too is a king and the son of a king. He has no son, but the Almighty God has been generous to me, and I pray to Him to bless us with a son to inherit his father's kingdom.” When her brother and her mother and cousins heard this, they rejoiced and said to her, “You know your place in our heart; if you wish to stay here, we will gladly abide by your wish.” She replied, “Yes, by God, I do.” When the king heard this, he realized that she truly loved him and that she wished to stay with him and he was grateful to her and loved her even more.

Then Jullanar called for food, and the waiting women set the tables and laid on them all kinds of food, sweets, and fruits. They began to eat but soon said to her, “Your lord is a stranger whom you have praised to us because of your gratitude for his kindness to you and your love for him. We have entered his house without his leave and we have eaten his food, yet he has neither shown us himself nor eaten with us.” They were so angry at the king that the fire flamed from their mouths as if from torches. When the king saw this, he was mad with terror, while Jullanar rose and, going into the closet, said to him, “O King, you have seen and heard how I praised you and how they wanted to carry me with them down to the sea and take me home.” The king replied, “By God, I was not sure of your love until this moment. May God reward you.” She replied, “O King, ‘Is the reward of kindness anything but kindness'? You have treated me kindly and generously and you have made me your lot in life; how can I bear to part from you?”

But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence.

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The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that Jullanar said to the king, “How can I bear to part from you? You should know that when I praised you to my brother and mother and cousins, they felt a great affection for you and desired to see you, saying, ‘We will not leave until we meet him and eat with him, so that his bread and salt may bind us together.'” The king replied, “I hear and obey, but I am afraid of them because of the fire I saw flaming from their mouths, for although I was not near them, I almost died of fright.” Jullanar laughed and said, “Do not worry, for they do this only when they are angry, and they got angry this time because I had invited them to eat without you.” Then she took the king by the hand and led him to them, as they sat before the food, waiting for him. When he came up to them, he greeted and welcomed them and they greeted him back with utmost respect, sprang up to their feet, and kissed the ground before him. Then they said to him, “O King of the age, we have only one request for you; take care of this unique pearl, Jullanar of the Sea, who is worthy of you just as you are worthy of her. By God, all the kings of the sea sought her hand in marriage, but we rejected them because we could not bear to part from her even for a single moment. Had you not been a pious, upright, honorable, and noble-hearted man, God would not have blessed you with this queen. Glory be to Him who made you cherish her and made her favor you and serve you, for you are like those of whom the poet said: