Meanwhile, when Heyat en Nufous ceased to receive the prince’s letters and messages and the old woman was absent from her, she rejoiced beyond measure and concluded that the young man had returned to his own country. One day, there came to her a covered tray from her father; so she uncovered it and finding therein fine fruits, said to her waiting-women, ‘Is the season of these fruits come?’ ‘Yes,’ answered they, and she said, ‘Would we might make ready to take our pleasure in the garden!’ ‘O my lady,’ answered they, ‘thou sayst well, and by Allah, we also long for the garden!’ And she said, ‘How shall we do, seeing that every year it is my nurse who taketh us to walk in the garden and pointeth out to us the various trees and plants and I have beaten her and forbidden her from me? Indeed, I repent me of the affront I offered her, for that, in any case, she is my nurse and hath over me the right of fosterage. But there is no power and no virtue save in God the Most High, the Supreme!’ When her women heard this, they all rose and kissing the earth before her, said, ‘God on thee, O my lady, do thou pardon her and command her to be brought!’ ‘By Allah,’ answered the princess, ‘I am resolved upon this; but which of you will go to her, for I have prepared her a splendid dress of honour?
With this two damsels came forwards by name Bulbul and Sewad el Ain, who were comely and graceful and the chief of the princess’s women, and said to her, ‘We will go to her, O princess!’ And she said, ‘Do what seemeth good to you.’ So they repaired to the house of the nurse, who received them with open arms and welcomed them. When they had sat awhile with her, they said to her, ‘O nurse, the princess pardons thee and desires to take thee back into favour.’ ‘This may never be,’ answered she, ‘though I drink the cup of perdition! Hast thou forgotten how she put me to shame before those who love me and those who hate me, when my clothes were dyed with my blood and I well-nigh died for excess of beating, and after this they dragged me forth by the feet like a dead dog and cast me without the door? By Allah, I will never return to her nor fill my eyes with her sight!’ Quoth they, ‘Disappoint not our pains in coming to thee neither send us away, unsuccessful. Where is thy courtesy to us? Think but who it is that cometh to thee: canst thou wish for any higher of standing than we with the princess?’ ‘God forbid!’ answered she. ‘I know well that my station is less than yours, were it not that the princess’s favour exalted me above all her women, so that, were I wroth with the greatest of them, she had died of fright.’ ‘All is as it was,’ rejoined they, ‘and is in nowise changed. Indeed, it is better than before, for the princess humbles herself to thee and seeks a reconciliation without intermediary.’ ‘By Allah,’ said the old woman, ‘were it not for your presence [and intercession] with me, I had never returned to her, no, not though she had commanded to put me to death!’ They thanked her for this and she rose and dressing herself, accompanied them to the palace.
When the princess saw her, she rose to her feet and the old woman said, ‘Allah! Allah! O King’s daughter, whose was the fault, thine or mine?’ ‘The fault was mine,’ answered Heyat en Nufous, ‘and it is thine to pardon and forgive. By Allah, O my nurse, thy rank is high with me and thou hast over me the right of fosterage; but thou knowest that God (blessed be He!) hath allotted to His creatures four things, disposition and life and fortune and death, nor is it in man’s power to avert that which is decreed. Verily, I was beside myself and could not govern my anger; but I repent, O my nurse, of what I did.’ With this, the nurse’s anger ceased from her and she rose and kissed the ground before the princess, who called for a splendid dress of honour and threw it over her, whereat she rejoiced with an exceeding joy. Things being thus happily accorded, in the presence of the princess’s slaves and women, Heyat en Nufous said to the old woman, ‘O my nurse, how go the fruits of our garden?’ ‘O my lady,’ replied she, ‘I see excellent fruits in the town; but I will enquire of the matter and return thee an answer this very day.’
Then she withdrew, attended with all honour and consideration, and betook herself to Ardeshir, who received her with open arms and rejoiced in her coming, for that he had long expected her. She told him all that had passed between herself and the princess and how the latter was minded to go down into the garden on such a day and said to him, ‘Hast thou done as I bade thee with the keeper of the garden and made him taste of thy bounties?’ ‘Yes,’ answered the prince; ‘and he is become my good friend: my way is his way and he would well I had need of him.’ Then he told her all that had happened and of the paintings that the Vizier had caused to be done in the pavilion: whereat she rejoiced greatly and said, ‘God upon thee, do thou set thy Vizier midmost thy heart, for this that he hath done points to the keenness of his wit and he hath helped thee to the attaining thy desire. So rise forthright, O my son, and take a bath and don thy richest clothes; then go to the gardener and make shift to pass the night in the garden, for none may win to enter it, [whilst the princess is there], though he should give the earth full of gold. When thou hast entered, hide thyself where none may see thee and stir not till thou hear me say, ‘O Thou whose bounties are hidden, vouchsafe us assurance from that we fear!’ Then come forth and walk among the trees and show thy beauty and grace, which put the moons to shame, to the intent that Heyat en Nufous may see thee and that her heart and soul may be filled with love of thee; so shalt thou attain to thy desire and thy grief be done away.’ ‘I hear and obey,’ answered the prince and gave her a purse of a thousand dinars, which she took and went away.
As for Ardeshir, he went straight to the bath and washed; after which he arrayed himself in the richest of clothes of the apparel of the kings of the Chosroes and girt his middle with a sash wherein were assembled all manner precious stones and donned a turban laced with red gold and embroidered with pearls and jewels. His cheeks shone rosy-red and his lips were scarlet; his eyelids wantoned, gazelle-wise, and he swayed in his gait like a drunken man; beauty and grace covered him, as with a garment, and his flexile shape shamed the swaying branches. Then he put in his pocket a purse containing a thousand dinars and repairing to the garden, knocked at the door. The gardener opened to him and received him with joy and honour; then, observing that his face was overcast, he asked him how he did. ‘Know, O elder,’ answered Ardeshir, ‘that I am dear to my father and he never laid his hand on me till this day, when words arose between us and he reviled me and smote me on the face and beat me with the staff and drove me away. Now I have no friend to turn to and I fear the perfidy of fortune, for thou knowest that a father’s anger is no light thing. Wherefore I come to thee, O uncle, seeing that thou art known to my father, and desire of thy favour that thou suffer me abide, till the end of the day, in the garden or pass the night there, till God make accord between my father and myself.’
When the old man heard this, he was sore concerned and said, ‘O my lord, give me leave to go to thy father and be the means of reconciliation between him and thee.’ ‘O uncle,’ replied Ardeshir, ‘thou must know that my father is of a very impatient nature, and if thou proffer him reconciliation in his heat, he will make thee no answer; but when a day or two have passed, his humour will soften. Then go thou in to him and thereupon he will relent.’ ‘I hear and obey,’ said the gardener. ‘But, O my lord, do thou go with me to my house, where thou shalt pass the night with my children and family and none shall reproach this to us.’ ‘O uncle,’ replied Ardeshir, ‘I must be alone, when I am angry.’ Quoth the old man, ‘It were grievous to me that thou shouldst lie alone in the garden, when I have a house.’ But Ardeshir said, ‘O uncle, I have a purpose in this, that the trouble of my mind may be dispelled from me and I know that in this lies the means of regaining his favour and softening his heart to me.’ ‘If it must be so,’ rejoined the gardener, ‘I will fetch thee a carpet to sleep on and a coverlet to cover thyself withal.’ And the prince said, ‘There is no harm in that, O uncle.’ So the keeper opened the garden to him and brought him the carpet and coverlet, knowing not that the princess was minded to visit the garden.
Mea
nwhile, the nurse returned to the princess and told her that the fruits were ripe on the trees of the garden; whereupon she said, ‘O my nurse, go down with me to- morrow into the garden, that we may walk about in it and take our pleasure, so God please; and send meanwhile to the gardener, to let him know our purpose.’ So she sent to the gardener to tell him that the princess would visit the garden on the morrow, bidding him leave neither tree- tenders nor water-carriers therein nor let one of all the creatures of God enter the place. So when word came to him, he set his trenches and channels in order and going to Ardeshir, said to him, ‘O my lord, the place is thy place and I live only in thy favours, besides that my tongue is under thy feet. But do thou excuse me: I must tell thee that the princess Heyat en Nufous, the mistress of this garden, hath a mind to visit it to-morrow at the first of the day and hath bidden me leave none therein to see her. So I would have thee of thy favour go forth of the garden this day, for the princess will only abide in it till the time of afternoon prayer and after it shall be at thy service for months and years.’ ‘O elder,’ said Ardeshir, ‘belike we have caused thee some inconvenience?’ And the other answered, saying, ‘By Allah, O my lord, there hath betided me from thee nothing but honour!’ ‘If it be so,’ rejoined the prince, ‘nothing but all good shall befall thee through me; for I will hide in the garden and none shall see me, till the princess has gone back to her palace.’ ‘O my lord,’ said the gardener, ‘if she espy the shadow of a human being in the garden, she will strike off my head.’ ‘Have no fear,’ replied the prince; ‘I will let none see me. But doubtless to-day thou lackest of spending money for thy family.’ Then he put his hand to his purse and pulled out five hundred dinars, which he gave to him, saying, ‘Take this gold and spend it on thy family, that thy heart may be at ease concerning them.’ When the gardener saw the gold, his life seemed a light matter to him and he suffered the prince to abide where he was, charging him straitly not to show himself in the garden.
Meanwhile, when the eunuchs went in to the princess at break of day, she bade open the private door leading into the garden and donned a royal robe, embroidered with pearls and jewels, over a shift of fine silk, embroidered with rubies. Under the whole was that which the tongue refuses to describe, whereat the mind was confounded and for love whereof the coward would become brave. On her head she set a crown of red gold, inlaid with pearls and diamonds, and put her feet in slippers of cloth of gold, embroidered with fine pearls and adorned with all manner precious stones. Then she put her hand on the old woman’s shoulder and commanded to go forth by the privy door; but the nurse looked out and seeing the garden full of eunuchs and girls, walking about, eating the fruits and troubling the streams and taking their ease of sport and pleasance therein, said to the princess, ‘O my lady, is this a garden or a madhouse?’ Quoth the princess, ‘What meaneth thy speech, O nurse?’ And the old woman answered, saying, ‘Verily, the garden is full of slave-girls and eunuchs, near five hundred girls and the like number of eunuchs, eating of the fruits and troubling the streams and scaring the birds and hindering [us] from taking [our] ease and sporting and laughing and what not else; and thou hast no need of them. Wert thou going forth of thy palace into the highway, this would be fitting, as an honour and protection to thee; but thou goest forth of the privy door into the garden, where none of the creatures of God the Most High may look on thee.’ ‘By Allah, O nurse,’ rejoined the princess, ‘thou sayst sooth! But how shall we do?’ And the old woman said, ‘Send them all away and keep only two of the slave-girls, that we may make merry with them.’ So she dismissed them all, with the exception of two of her women, who were most in favour with her.
Then, when the old woman saw that her heart was light and that the season was pleasant to her, she said to her, ‘Now we can enjoy ourselves aright: come, let us take our pleasance in the garden.’ So the princess put her hand on her shoulder and went out by the private door. The two waiting-women walked in front and she followed them, laughing at them and swaying gracefully to and fro in her robes; whilst the nurse forewent her, showing her the trees and feeding her with fruits; and so they fared on from place to place, till they came to the pavilion, which when the princess beheld and saw that it had been newly repaired, she said to the old woman, ‘O my nurse, seest thou yonder pavilion? It has been repaired and its walls newly plastered.’ ‘By Allah, O my lady,’ answered she, ‘I heard say that the keeper of the garden had taken stuffs of a company of merchants and sold them and bought bricks and lime and stones and plaster and so forth with the price; so I asked him what he had done with all this, and he said, “I have put the ruined pavilion in repair, and when the merchants sought their due of me, I said to them, ‘Wait till the princess visits the garden and sees the repairs and they please her: then will I take of her what she is pleased to bestow on me, and pay you your due.’” Quoth I, “What moved thee to do this thing?” And he said, “I saw the pavilion in ruins, the coigns thrown down and the plaster stripped from the walls, and none had the grace to repair it; so I borrowed the money on my own account and reinstated the place; and I trust in the princess to deal with me as befits her dignity.” Quoth I, “The princess is all goodness and generosity and will no doubt requite thee.” And he did all this but in hopes of thy bounty.’ ‘By Allah,’ replied the princess, ‘he hath dealt nobly in rebuilding it and hath done the deed of a man of worth! Call me my purse-keeper.’ The old woman accordingly fetched the purse-keeper, and the princess bade the latter give the gardener two thousand dinars; whereupon the nurse sent a messenger to him, bidding him to the princess’s presence.
When the gardener received the summons, he trembled in every limb and said in himself ‘Doubtless, the princess has seen the young man, and this day will be the most unlucky of days for me.’ So he went home and told his wife and children what had happened and gave them his last injunctions, and they wept for him. Then he took leave of them and returning to the garden, presented himself before the princess, with a face the colour of turmeric and scarce able to stand upright. The old woman remarked his plight and hastened to forestall him, saying, ‘O old man, kiss the earth in gratitude to God the Most High and be instant in prayer to Him for the princess; for I told her what thou didst in the matter of repairing the ruined pavilion, and she rejoiceth in this and bestoweth on thee two thousand dinars in requital of thy pains; so take them from the purse-keeper and kiss the earth before the princess and bless her and go thy way.’ So he took the money and kissed the earth before Heyat en Nufous, calling down blessings on her. Then he returned to his house, and his family rejoiced in him and blessed him who had been the [prime] cause of all this.
As soon as he was gone, the old woman said to the princess, ‘O my lady, this is indeed become a fine place! Never saw I a purer white than its plastering nor goodlier than its painting! I wonder if he have repaired the inside also: else hath he made the outside white and [left] the inside black. Come, let us enter and see.’ So they entered and found the interior painted and gilded in the goodliest fashion. The princess looked right and left, till she came to the upper end of the estrade, when she fixed her eyes upon the wall and gazed attentively thereat; whereupon the old woman knew that she had lighted on the presentment of her dream and took the two waiting-women with her, that they might not divert her attention. When the princess had made an end of examining the painting, she turned to the old woman, wondering and beating hand on hand, and said to her, ‘O my nurse, come and see a wonderful thing. Were it graven with needles on the corners of the eyes, it would serve as an admonition to him who will be admonished.’ ‘And what is that, O my lady?’ asked she. ‘Go, look at the upper end of the estrade,’ replied the princess, ‘and tell me what thou seest there.’
So she went up and came down, wondering, and said, ‘By Allah, O my lady, here is depicted the garden and the fowler and his net and the birds and all thou sawest in thy dream; and verily, nothing but urgent necessity withheld the male pigeon from returning to free his mate; for I see him in
the talons of a hawk, which has slaughtered him and is drinking his blood and rending his flesh and eating it; and this, O my lady, accounts for his tarrying to return and rescue her from the net. But the wonder is how thy dream came to be thus depicted, for, wert thou minded to set it forth in portraiture, thou hadst not availed thereto. By Allah, this is a wonder that should be recorded in history! Surely, O my lady, the angels, to whom are committed the care of the sons of Adam, knew that the male pigeon was wronged of us, whenas we blamed him for deserting his mate; so they embraced his cause and made manifest his excuse.’ ‘O my nurse,’ said the princess, ‘verily, fate and fore-ordained fortune had course against this bird, and we wronged him.’ ‘O my lady,’ rejoined the nurse, ‘adversaries shall meet before God the Most High: but, O my lady, verily, the truth hath been made manifest and the male pigeon’s excuse certified to us; for, except the hawk had seized him and killed him, he had not held aloof from his mate, but had returned to her and set her free; but against death there is no recourse, nor, O my lady, is there aught in the world more tenderly solicitous than the male for the female, among all creatures that God the Most High hath created, and especially is it thus with man; for he starves himself to feed his wife, strips himself to clothe her, angers his family to please her and disobeys and denies his parents to give to her. She knoweth his secrets and concealeth them and cannot endure from him an hour. If he be absent from her one night, her eyes sleep not nor is there a dearer to her than he. She tenders him more than her parents and they lie down to sleep in each other’s arms, with his hand under her neck and her hand under his neck, even as saith the poet in the following verses:
One Thousand and One Nights Page 373