The Arabian Nights

by Padraic Colum

  And after this, the King called his servant, and commanded him to go forth immediately to his Wezir, and to desire him to collect all the troops, and order them to equip themselves with their arms, and to mount their horses. So the servant went to the Wezir, and acquainted him with that which the King had commanded. And upon this the Wezir summoned the chiefs of the army, and the grandees of the empire, and ordered them to mount their horses, and to go forth equipped with the weapons of war.—Meanwhile, the King continued to converse with the young man, being pleased with his conversation and sense and good breeding; and as they were talking together, the morning arrived. The King therefore arose, went to his throne, and ordered his troops to mount. Then he proceeded, with the young man before him, until they arrived at the horse-course, when the young man looked at the troops and their number. And the King called out, O companies of men, a young man hath come unto me demanding in marriage my daughter, and I have never beheld any handsomer than he, nor any stronger in heart, nor any greater in intrepidity than he: and he hath asserted that he alone will overcome you. But when he cometh forth to combat you, receive him upon the points of your spears, and the edges of your swords; for he hath undertaken a great enterprise.

  The King then said to the young man, O my son, do as thou desirest with them. But he replied, O King, thou hast not treated me equitably. How shall I go forth to combat them when I am on foot and thy people are mounted on horses?—So the King said to him, Take then of the horses and choose of them that which thou wilt.—He replied, None of thy horses pleaseth me, and I will mount none but the horse on which I came. The King therefore said to him, And where is thy horse? He answered him, It is on the top of thy palace.—In what place in my palace? asked the King. He answered, On the roof of the palace. And when the King heard his words, he said to him, This is the first instance that hath appeared of thine insanity. O, woe to thee! How can the horse be upon the roof? But now will thy veracity be distinguished from thy lying.—Then the King looked toward one of his chief officers, and said to him, Go to my palace, and bring what thou shalt find upon the roof. And the people wondered at the words of the young man; one saying to another, How can this horse descend the stairs from the roof? Verily, this is a thing the like of which we have never heard!

  Now the person whom the King had sent to the palace ascended to its roof, and beheld the horse standing there; and he had seen none more handsome than it; and he approached it and examined it, and found it to be of ebony and ivory. Some others of the chief officers of the King also went up with this person; and when they beheld the horse, they laughed together, and said, Did the young man speak of such a horse as this? We imagine that he is no other than a madman: but his case will soon appear to us; and perhaps he may be a person of great importance.—They then raised the horse upon their hands, and carried it without stopping until they came before the King, when they placed it before him; and the people assembled around it, gazing at it, and wondering at the beauty of its make, and at the beauty of its saddle and bridle. The King also admired it, and wondered at it extremely; and he said to the King’s son, O young man, is this thy horse? He answered, Yes, O King, this is my horse, and thou shalt see a wonder performed by it. The King said to him, Take thy horse and mount it. But he replied, I will not mount it unless the troops retire to a distance from it. So the King commanded the troops that were around him to retire from it as far as an arrow might be shot.

  Then said the young man, O King, I am going to mount my horse, and charge upon thine army, and disperse them to the right and left, and split their hearts. The King replied, Do what thou desirest, and pity them not; for they will not pity thee. And the King’s son went to the horse and mounted it. The troops were arranged in ranks before him; and one said to another, When the young man arriveth between the ranks, we will receive him with the points of the spears, and the edges of the swords. But one of them said, By Allah, it is a calamity! How shall we kill this young man?—And another said, By Allah, ye shall by no means reach him unless after a great event; and the young man hath not done these deeds but from his knowledge of his own valor and preeminence.

  And when the King’s son had seated himself firmly upon his horse, he turned the pin of ascent. The eyes of the spectators were strained to see what he would do; and his horse bestirred itself, and moved about with violent action, until it had performed the most extraordinary of the motions of horses, and its body became filled with air. Then it rose, and ascended into the sky. So when the King saw that he had risen, and ascended aloft, he called out to his troops, and said, Woe to you! Take him before he escape from you.—But his Wezir and lieutenants replied, O King, can anyone catch the flying bird? This is none other than a great enchanter. God hath saved thee from him: therefore praise God (whose name be exalted!) for thine escape from his hand.

  The King therefore returned to his palace, after he had witnessed these acts of the King’s son; and when he arrived at his palace, he went to his daughter, and acquainted her with that which had happened to him with the King’s son; but he found her greatly lamenting for him, and for her separation from him; and she fell into a violent sickness, and took to her bed. So when her father saw her in this state he pressed her to his bosom, kissed her between the eyes, and said to her, O my daughter, praise God (whose name be exalted!) and thank Him for our escape from this crafty enchanter. He began to repeat to her the account of the deeds of the King’s son that he had witnessed, describing to her how he had ascended into the air. But she listened to nought of her father’s words; her weeping and wailing increased in violence, and afterward she said within herself, By Allah, I will not eat food, nor drink any beverage, until God reunite me with him. Therefore exceeding anxiety overcame her father the King on account of this; the state of his daughter afflicted him, and he mourned in heart for her; and every time that he addressed her with soothing words, she only increased in her passion for the young man.—Such was her case.

  Now, as to the King’s son, when he had ascended into the sky, being alone, he reflected upon the beauty of the damsel, and her loveliness. He had inquired of the King’s people respecting the name of the city, and the name of the King, and that of his daughter; and that city was the city of San‘a. He then prosecuted his journey with diligence until he came in sight of the city of his father; and after he had made a circuit around the city, he bent his course to his father’s palace, and descended upon the roof. Having left his horse there, he descended to his father, and went in to him, and he found him mourning and afflicted on account of his separation: therefore, when his father saw him, he rose to him and embraced him, pressing him to his bosom, and rejoicing exceedingly at his return. And the Prince inquired of his father respecting the sage who made the horse, saying, O my father, what hath fortune done with him? His father answered him, May God not bless the sage nor the hour in which I beheld him; for he was the cause of thy separation from us, and he hath been imprisoned, O my son, since thou absentedst thyself from us.

  He gave orders, however, to relieve him, and take him forth from the prison, and bring him before him; and when he came before him, he invested him with an honorary dress in token of satisfaction, and treated him with the utmost beneficence; but would not marry his daughter to him. So the sage was violently enraged at this, and repented of that which he had done, knowing that the King’s son had become acquainted with the secret of the horse and the mode of its motion. Then the King said to his son, It is my opinion that thou shouldst not approach this horse henceforth, nor mount it after this day; for thou knowest not its properties, and thou art deceived respecting it. The King’s son had related to his father what had happened to him with the daughter of the King, the lord of the city, and what had happened to him with her father; and his father said to him, Had the King desired to slay thee, he had slain thee; but the end of thy life was delayed.

  After this, they ate and drank and were merry; and there was with the King a female musician, who played upon the lute; an
d she took the lute, and began to play upon it, singing of absence, before the King and his son; and she sang these verses:—

  Think not that absence hath made me forget: for if I forget you, what shall I remember?

  Time passeth; but never shall our love for you end: in our love for you we will die and be raised.

  Then anxious thoughts were aroused in the mind of the King’s son by his love of the damsel, the daughter of the King of San‘a: so he rose and went to the horse and mounted it, and turned the pin of ascent; whereupon it soared with him into the air, and rose with him toward the upper region of the sky. And in the morning, his father missed him, and found him not: he therefore went up to the top of the palace, in a state of affliction, and he beheld his son mounting into the air; and upon this he grieved for his separation, and repented extremely that he had not taken the horse and concealed it. He said within himself, By Allah, if my son returns to me, I will not preserve this horse, that my heart may be at rest respecting my son. And he resumed his weeping and wailing.

  But as to his son, he ceased not his course through the sky until he came to the city of San‘a, when he descended in the place where he descended the first time, and he walked down stealthily until he came to the chamber of the King’s daughter; but he found neither her nor her female servants, nor the man who was her guard; and the event greatly afflicted him. Then he went about searching for her through the palace, and at last he found her in a different chamber from that in which he had been with her. She had taken to the pillow, and around her were the female servants and nurses. And he went in to them and saluted them; and when the damsel heard his speech, she rose to him and embraced him. He said to her, O my mistress, thou hast rendered me desolate during this period. And she replied, Thou hast rendered me desolate, and had thine absence from me continued longer, I had perished without doubt.—O my mistress, he rejoined, what thoughtest thou of my conduct with thy father, and his actions to me? Were it not for my love of thee, I had slain him, and made him an example to beholders: but I love him for thy sake.—And she said to him, How couldst thou absent thyself from me? Can my life be pleasant after thy departure?—He then said to her, Wilt thou comply with my desire, and listen to my words? She answered him, Say what thou wilt; for I will consent to that which thou requirest me to do, and will not oppose thee in anything. And he said to her, Journey with me to my country and my kingdom. She replied, Most willingly.

  So when the King’s son heard her words, he rejoiced exceedingly, and, taking her by her hand, he made her swear by God (whose name be exalted!) that she would do so. Then he led her up to the roof of the palace, mounted his horse, and placed her on it behind him, and after he had bound her firmly, he turned the pin of ascent in the shoulder of the horse, and it ascended with them into the sky. Upon this the female servants cried out, and informed the King her father, and her mother, who thereupon came up in haste to the roof of the palace; and the King, looking up into the sky, beheld the ebony horse soaring with them in the air. The King was agitated, and his agitation increased, and he called out and said, O son of the King, I conjure thee by Allah that thou have mercy upon me, and have mercy upon my wife, and that thou make not a separation between us and our daughter! The King’s son, however, answered him not; but he imagined that the damsel repented of parting from her mother and her father; so he said to her, Dost thou desire that I restore thee to thy mother and thy father?—O my love, she answered, by Allah, that is not my desire: my desire is rather to be with thee wherever thou shalt be; for I am drawn off by my love of thee from everything else, even from my father and my mother. And when the King’s son heard her reply, he rejoiced exceedingly, and began to make the horse proceed gently with them, that it might not disquiet her; and he ceased not to journey on with her until he beheld a green meadow, in which was a spring of water.

  There they alighted, and ate and drank; after which, the King’s son mounted his horse again, took her up behind him, and bound her, in his fear for her. He then proceeded with her, and ceased not in his course through the air until he arrived at the city of his father. His joy thereat was great; and he desired to shew to the damsel the seat of his power and the dominion of his father, and to inform her that the dominion of his father was greater than that of her father. He therefore deposited her in one of the gardens in which his father diverted himself, put her in a private chamber that was furnished for his father, and placed the ebony horse at the door of that chamber, charging the damsel to guard it, and saying to her, Sit here until I send to thee my messenger; for I am going to my father, to prepare for thee a palace, and to display to thee my dominion. And the damsel rejoiced when she heard from him these words, and replied, Do what thou desirest. Then it occurred to her mind that she was not to enter the city but with respect and honor, as was suitable to persons of her rank.

  So the King’s son left her, and proceeded until he arrived at the city, and went in to his father; and when his father saw him, he rejoiced at his coming, and met him and welcomed him; and the King’s son said to his father, Know that I have brought the King’s daughter of whom I informed thee, and I have left her without the city, in one of the gardens, and come to acquaint thee with her arrival, that thou mayest prepare the procession of state, and go forth to meet her, and display to her thy dominion and thy troops and guards. The King replied, Most willingly. And immediately he commanded the people of the city to decorate the city in the most handsome manner, and rode forth in a procession equipped in the most perfect manner and with the most magnificent decorations, with all his soldiers and the grandees of his empire, and all his servants.

  The King’s son also took forth, from his palace, ornaments and apparel and such things as Kings treasure up, and prepared for the damsel a camel-litter of green, red, and yellow brocade, in which he displayed wonderful treasures. Then he left the camel-litter and went on before to the garden; and he entered the private chamber in which he had left the damsel, and searched for her; but found her not, nor did he find the horse. Upon this he slapped his face and rent his clothes, and began to go round about through the garden, with a mind confounded; after which, he returned to his reason, and said within himself, How did she learn the secret of this horse when I did not acquaint her with aught of it? But perhaps the Persian sage who made the horse hath found her, and taken her, as a requital for that which my father hath done unto him.—Then the King’s son sought the keepers of the garden, and asked them who had passed by them, saying, Have ye seen anyone pass by you and enter this garden? And they answered, We have not seen anyone enter this garden except the Persian sage; for he entered to collect useful herbs. So when he heard their words, he was convinced that the person who had taken the damsel was that sage.

  Now it happened, in accordance with destiny, that, when the King’s son left the damsel in the private chamber that was in the garden, and repaired to the palace of his father to make his preparations, the Persian sage entered the garden to collect some useful herbs, and smelt the odor of musk and other perfumes with which the air was impregnated; and this sweet scent was from the odor of the King’s daughter. The sage therefore proceeded in the direction of this odor until he came to the private chamber, when he saw the horse that he had made with his hand standing at the door of the chamber. So when the sage saw the horse, his heart was filled with joy and happiness; for he had mourned after it greatly since it had gone from his possession. He approached it, and examined all its limbs, and found it sound; but when he was about to mount it and depart, he said within himself, I must see what the King’s son hath brought and left here with the horse. Accordingly he entered the private chamber, and found the damsel sitting there, resembling the shining sun in the clear sky. As soon as he beheld her, he knew that she was a damsel of high dignity, and that the King’s son had taken her, and brought her upon the horse, and left her in that private chamber while he repaired to the city to prepare for her a stately procession, and to conduct her into the city with respect and
honor.

  The sage therefore went in to her, and kissed the ground before her; and she raised her eyes toward him, and, looking at him, found him to be of most hideous aspect and disagreeable form; and she said to him, Who art thou? He answered her, O my mistress, I am the messenger of the King’s son, who hath sent me to thee, and commanded me to remove thee to another garden, near unto the city. And when the damsel heard from him these words, she said to him, And where is the King’s son? He answered her, He is in the city, with his father, and he will come to thee immediately with a grand procession. But she said to him, O thou! could not the King’s son find anyone to send to me but thee?—And the sage laughed at her words, and replied, O my mistress, let not the hideousness of my face and the disagreeableness of my aspect deceive thee; for hadst thou experienced of me what the King’s son hath, thou wouldst approve of me. Verily the King’s son hath especially chosen me to send to thee on account of the hideousness of my aspect and the horrible nature of my form, through his jealousy of thee, and his love of thee.

  So when the damsel heard his reply, it appeared reasonable to her, and she believed it, and arose and went with him, putting her hand in his. She then said to him, O my father, what hast thou brought with thee for me to ride?—O my mistress, he answered, the horse on which thou earnest thou shalt ride. She replied, I cannot ride it by myself. And when he heard this reply from her, the sage smiled, and knew that he had got possession of her; and he said to her, I myself will ride with thee. Then he mounted, and mounted the damsel behind him, and, pressing her to him, bound her tightly, while she knew not what he desired to do with her. And after this, he turned the pin of ascent, whereupon the body of the horse became filled with air, and it moved and bestirred itself, and ascended into the sky, and continued incessantly bearing them along until it was out of sight of the city. So the damsel said to him, O thou! what meant that which thou saidst respecting the King’s son, when thou assertedst that he sent thee to me?—The sage replied, May Allah keep the King’s son from everything good; for he is base and vile!—O, woe to thee! she exclaimed; how is it that thou disobeyest thy lord in that which he hath commanded thee to do? He replied, He is not my lord. And knowest thou, he added, who I am? She answered him, I know thee not but as thou hast informed me of thyself. And he said to her, Verily my telling thee this was a stratagem that I made use of against thee and against the King’s son. I was lamenting constantly for this horse that is beneath thee, for it is of my making, and he had made himself master of it; but now I have obtained possession of it and of thee also, and have tortured his heart as he hath tortured mine, and he will never have it in his power henceforth. And when the damsel heard his words, she cried out, O my grief! I have neither obtained my beloved nor remained with my father and my mother! And she wept violently for that which had befallen her, while the sage incessantly proceeded with her to the country of the Greeks, until he descended with her in a verdant meadow with rivers and trees.