by Mir Amman
“Your Majesty, this dog had followed me to that well and when they’d pushed me in, lay by its wall. I was unconscious for quite a while. When I regained consciousness I thought I was dead and that the place was my grave. I heard two men talking to each other and I thought they were the two angels who had come for my reckoning. When I felt about me I found some bones in my hand. After a while I heard a sound as if someone was eating something. I exclaimed, ‘O creatures of God, tell me for God’s sake, who are you?’ They laughed and said, This is Solomon’s Prison. We are prisoners here.’ ‘Am I still alive?’ I asked them. They laughed heartily and said, ‘As yet you are, but soon you shall die.’ I said, ‘What are you eating? Give me also a little bit of it.’ They got angry at this and gave me only a coarse reply. After eating they fell asleep, while I lay half-conscious, weeping and praying to God.
‘“Your Majesty, for seven days I had been in the sea and for so many days after that I had remained without food due to my brothers’ false accusation. I had been beaten too and was now confined to a prison there was no way to come out of. It was as if I was facing the agonies of death. Life seemed to come and go. Sometimes a person came at midnight and lowered the end of a rope with some bread tied in a piece of cloth and a small earthen jar. The two men confined with me would take it all for themselves. Out of pity for me this dog tried to bring me food and water. It went to the city where there were always loaves of fresh milk-bread piled up at the bakers. Seizing one in its mouth, it ran off. People chased, pelting it with stones, but it outran them; when the dogs of the city attacked, it faught them all and saved the bread for me. When it dropped the bread into the well, it barked. In the daylight streaming in, I saw the loaf and grabbed it. The dog then went to find some water. Outside a hut in a village nearby, where an old woman was busy spinning at a wheel, it saw two earthen pots full of water. It tried dragging one away with its mouth but ended up breaking both the pots. Now when the woman charged at it with a stick, it rolled on the ground and began rubbing its muzzle on her feet and wagging its tail. Frantically it would run towards the mountain and then back to her, pulling her by the hem of her dress. By the grace of God, that kind woman guessed what the dumb animal wanted and followed it with a bucket of water which she lowered into the well. I drank a few draughts of water, ate what was left of the milk-bread and then retired to a corner to await what fate had in store for me. This ritual was repeated almost every day. Soon the bakers got used to the dog and, taking pity, would throw it a loaf whenever they saw it. And if some day the old woman failed to bring water, all her pots would be broken. Thus, this faithful animal kept me alive for six months—though, confined to such a prison and reduced to a skeleton with no fresh air reaching me, life had become a burden to me. I often wished I was dead.
‘“One night when the two prisoners were asleep and my heart was heavy with grief, I broke into tears and humbly prayed to God. And lo, in the last quarter of the night I saw a rope dangling near me and heard a low voice saying, ‘O unfortunate being, hold the end of the rope firmly in your hands and come out of the well.’ I thought my brothers had had a change of heart and had come to take me out of the prison. I was overjoyed at this thought. I tied the end of the rope round my waist and was slowly pulled out. It was a dark night so I could not see the face of my benefactor. When I came out of the well, he said, ‘Come, be quick. We should not stay here any longer.’ Although I hadn’t strength enough to walk down the mountain, my fear pushed me to the spot where two saddled horses were ready for us. The stranger helped me mount one of them. He mounted the other and led me to the banks of a river. By morning we had journeyed twenty miles away from the city. I looked at the stranger. He was well-armed and was gazing angrily at me now. Obviously I was not the one he had come to rescue. Realizing his mistake he bit his finger and suddenly charged at me but I parried his thrust by falling from my horse. I appealed to him for mercy and said, ‘I am innocent. Why do you want to kill me? You have been so kind. After rescuing me from such a horrid prison what will you get by killing me?’ Tell me the whole truth about yourself/he demanded. I said, ‘I am a traveller but fell into this misery due to bad luck. It is by your kindness that I am still alive.’ My entreaties made him pity me. He sheathed his sword and said, ‘Well, God does what He wills. Get up now, I spare you. Mount your horse quickly. This is no place to stay.’ We spurred our horses and went on. On the way he regretted and repented much. After midday we reached an island. There he got off his horse and made me also alight. He took the saddles off the horses and let them loose to graze. He also took off his arms, sat down on the ground and said to me, ‘O you miserable wretched fellow, now let me know who you are.’ I told him of my antecedents and all that had happened to me.
The Princess of Zerbad
‘“When he heard my life-story he broke down and said, ‘Now you listen to my story. I am actually the daughter of the king of Zerbad and the young man confined in Solomon’s Prison is Bahramand, the son of my father’s minister. One day the king ordered all the nobles and princes to assemble on the plain near the seraglio and exhibit their horsemanship and skill at polo and archery. I was seeing all this through a lattice from the upper storey of the palace with the queen, my mother, and nurses and friends. The minister’s son was the most handsome of them all. He ringed and lounged his horse with great skill. I became enamoured of him. However, for quite some time I kept it a secret. When I grew too restless I confided in my nurse and gave her many presents so that she would help me. She somehow managed to bring that young man secretly to my apartment. He also fell in love with me. For many days we had our secret rendezvous till one night the guards caught hold of him when they saw him enter my room, and informed the king. Enraged, the king ordered him to be put to death. But as the high officers of State pleaded for him he was spared his life and sent to Solomon’s Prison. The other young man imprisoned with him is his close friend. He was with Bahramand that night when he was caught. Both of them were put in prison and they have spent about three years there but even now nobody knows why they had come to the king’s palace. God preserved my honour and out of gratitude to Him I took upon myself to provide the two prisoners with bread and water. Since then I have gone there every week with provisions for them. Last night I had a dream in which somebody said to me, “Get up quickly, take a horse and some clothes and money with you and go to the prison-well and rescue that unfortunate man.” This dream woke me from my sleep. In fact, I rejoiced at it. I disguised myself as a man, filled a little box with jewels and gold sovereigns and taking a horse and some clothes with me, reached there to get him out of prison. But it was perhaps so destined that I should do this for you. No one knows what I have done. Perhaps it was some god who made me go there and get you released. Well now, I got what my fate held in store for me.’
‘“After relating all this she took out some fried cakes of flour and pulse and cooked meat which she had in a piece of cloth. But first she dissolved some sugar in a cup of water, added some musk to it and gave it to me to drink. Then I had some breakfast. A little later, draping me round my waist she took me to the river and cut my hair and nails. After giving me a wash she dressed me and thus helped me look like a man again. I turned my face in the direction we say our prayers. The beautiful girl watched me perform my prayers. When I had finished she asked, ‘What is it that you have done?’ I said, ‘I have offered my thanks to God the Almighty who has created the universe, who is Incomparable, who filled the heart of a beautiful one like you with kindness for me and sent you to rescue me from that horrible prison and attend to me.’ She said, ‘So you are a Muslim?’ I replied, ‘Thank God, I am!’ She said, T am pleased with what you say. Teach me all these prayers.’ I said to myself, ‘Praise be to God, she is inclined tó embrace our faith.’ So I recited the creed to her and asked her to repeat it after me. Then we rode further on. When we halted at night she talked of our religion and faith and was pleased to hear what I said about it.
‘
“In this way we journeyed on for two months till we arrived in a country between Zerbad and Sarandip. We entered the city. It was more populous than Istanbul and its climate was excellent for health. The king of that country excelled even Cyrus in justice and in protection of his subjects. We were happy to be there. I bought a big house and a few days later, after getting over the fatigue, I purchased some household requirements, married the young lady according to the Muhammadan rites and settled there. Within the next three years I made contacts with the high and low of the city, started a business and established my goodwill. Very soon I surpassed all other merchants in business.
‘“One day as I was going to wait on the Prime Minister I saw a huge crowd assembled in an open piece of land. On inquiring I gathered that two persons convicted for stealing and adultery, and perhaps for murder too, had been brought there to be stoned to death. This reminded me of a similar circumstance when I had been taken to the gallows but God had saved me then. I said to myself, ‘I wonder who they are. Maybe they are falsely implicated like I was.’ Making my way through the crowd I found that they were my brothers. Their hands were tied behind their backs and they were bareheaded and barefoot. I was grieved to see them in that condition. I gave the guards a handful of gold sovereigns and requesting them to wait, rode fast to the magistrate’s house. I gave him a costly ruby as a present and pleaded for my brothers. He said, ‘There is a plaint against them; their crimes have been proved; the king has already given his verdict. I am, therefore, helpless.’ However, as I implored him much he sent for the complainant and made him agree to accept five thousand silver coins as blood-money which I paid and thus got them released. Your Majesty may please confirm it from them.” The two men stood silently with their heads hanging in shame. “Well,” the Khwaja continued, “after getting them released I took them to my house, sent them to the bath and got them properly dressed. I provided for their stay with me in my drawing-room. This time I did not introduce them to my wife. I remained at their service, had my meals with them and retired to my apartment only at night.
‘“For three years I thus served them. They also did not do anything to disturb me. When I went out they remained at home. One day it so happened that my wife, that virtuous woman, went to the bath. When she came to the drawing-room she took off her veil as she saw no one there. But perhaps this second brother of mine lay there and was awake. One look and he was enamoured of her. He confided in the eldest brother. Together they made a plot to kill me. I knew nothing about it. I rather thanked God in my heart thinking they had done nothing wrong this time and that they had finally mended their ways for fear or for shame.
‘“One day after we had taken our meals, the eldest brother, with tearful eyes, spoke of the delights of Persia, our homeland. The other one also began to sigh. I said, ‘If you so wish, let us go. I’ll do as you please. I myself wish it. If God the Most High wills it so, I will also accompany you.’
‘“I told my wife of my brothers’ depression and also of my own intention. She wisely said, ‘You know better, but I feel that they want to do some mischief again. They are your deadly enemies. You have taken snakes to your bosom and you trust them. You may do whatever you please but be on your guard against these wicked fellows.”
‘“Anyway, within a short time preparations were made for the journey. We pitched our tents on a plain. It became quite a big caravan and they made me their chief. We started at an auspicious hour. I remained on my guard against my brothers as best as I could, though I feigned to act on their advice to please them.
‘“One day as we camped on our way, my second brother said, ‘About four miles from here there is a spring, like that of the Garden of Eden, and for miles and miles together there bloom wild tulips, lilies, narcissus and roses. It is really a delightful place worth a visit. I would love to go there tomorrow if I could and enjoy the sight. Thus we could relieve ourselves of fatigue’ I said, ‘You are certainly a master of your will. If you so wish we may stay there tomorrow and enjoy the sights.’ So I let it be known in the caravan that we would stay there one day more. I asked the chief cook to get things ready for breakfast as we would leave early to enjoy the sights. At dawn, after changing their clothes, these two brothers of mine suggested we leave in the cool of the morning. I called for my horse but they said, ‘You will enjoy the sights better if you go on foot rather then ride a horse. You may tell the grooms to lead the horses after us.’ Two attendants carried the hooka and coffee pot while we amused ourselves by shooting arrows. When we had gone quite a distance from our camp they sent one attendant on some errand. After going a little further they sent the other attendant to call the first. As luck would have it, I remained silent as if my lips were sealed. They did what they wished and to divert my attention they kept me engaged in conversation. However, my faithful dog remained with me.
‘“We had gone quite far away from our camp but I did not see any spring or flowers there. It was just a thorny wilderness. While I sat relieving myself there I perceived behind me the flash of a sword. As I turned to see, my second brother charged at me with his sword and struck me on the head. Before I could utter ‘Why do you strike me?’ my eldest brother struck me on my shoulder. Both the wounds were severe. I staggered and fell to the ground. At their ease these two merciless persons wounded me all the more and left me bathed in my blood. This dog made a rush at them and they wounded it as well. Then they gave themselves some minor injuries and ran back to the camp bareheaded and barefoot and said, ‘Robbers have killed our brother over there. We also got wounded while fighting them. Better we move off quickly from this place, or else they shall soon fall on the caravan and rob us all.’ When the people of the caravan heard of the robbers they were scared and marched off. My wife had already heard from me all about the ill treatment my trecherous brothers had meted out to me in the past. Hearing of this incident from these liars she stabbed herself to death.”’
‘O dervishes, after Khwaja the dog-worshipper had related all this I broke into tears. He continued, ‘Your Majesty, if it were not bad manners, I would have taken off my clothes and shown you my wounded body.” With these words he tore off his shirt at the shoulder. Actually, there was not an inch of his skin free from scars. He also took off his turban. There was such a big dent in his skull that a whole pomegranate would fit into it. All the officers of state and others present there shut their eyes as they could not bear the sight.
‘“Your Majesty,” the Khwaja continued, ”when these brothers thought that they had done their work, they went away. My dog and I lay there badly wounded. I had lost so much blood that I had no strength left within me. I lay there unconscious. I do not know how I remained alive.
The Princess of Sarandeep
‘“The place where my dog and I lay wounded was on the frontiers of Sarandeep. Not far away from it was a populous city with a big temple in it. The king of that country had a beautiful daughter. Many kings and princes had wasted away in their longing for her. The women of that country did not wear veils. The princess used to go out hunting and enjoy herself with her friends. There was a royal garden near the spot where we lay. With the permission of the king she had come to the garden and as she roamed around she happened to pass by the place where we lay. Some close female friends of the princess who often rode with her came close to me as they could hear me groaning. Seeing me in that condition they rode back to the princess and told her about us. She came there and was moved to see me in that condition. She took pity on me and said to her companions, ‘See, if he is still alive.’ Two or three attendants dismounted and after examining me said, ‘Yes, he is breathing.’ At once the princess ordered them to lay me on a carpet and carefully remove me to the garden. There she sent for the royal surgeon and ordered him to attend to me and my dog. She promised him a handsome reward for it. He washed the wounds with spirit, stitched them and applied ointments. He also poured musk into my mouth. The princess remained there and saw to it that I was well attended. Three or fo
ur times during the day and then at night she poured broth or sherbet into my mouth. When I regained consciousness I saw the princess and heard her saying in sorrow, ‘What heartless tyrant has done this to you? Did he not fear the Great Idol?’
‘“The sherbet and broth gave me some strength. After ten days when I opened my eyes I saw lovely damsels around me. It was the court of Indra, as though. The princess stood by my bed. I heaved a sigh and wished to move but I could not because I did not have the strength. The princess with all kindness said, ‘O Persian, take it easy. Have no grief. Someone truly callous has wounded you but the Great Idol has helped me heal you. Now you shall be all right.’ I swear by God, the One and Incomparable, I fainted to see her beauty. She showered rose water on my face. Within twenty days my wounds had healed. The princess regularly visited and fed me when all others fell asleep.
‘“In short, after forty days I felt quite well and took my bath. The princess was pleased and gave the surgeon a good reward. She then got me richly dressed. By the grace of God and with the care and attention of the princess I regained my health. In fact, I had become a bit stout. This dog also had become fat. She wined me and dined me and was. pleased to talk to me. I on my part entertained her by narrating interesting tales and anecdotes.
‘“One day she asked me to relate to her the events of my past life which I did. It moved her so much that she could not hold back her tears and said, ‘I shall now so treat you that you will forget all your past miseries.’ I said, ‘May God bless you. You have given me a new life. Now I am yours. For God’s sake, please always remain kind to me.’ She remained with me all night; sometimes her nurse would also stay with her. We told each other stories. When she would depart and I was left alone, I performed my ablutions and secretly said my prayers.