The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights: Volume 1

by Penguin; Robert Irwin; Malcolm Lyons; Ursula Lyons

  Having decided to go on this journey, he went to take leave of his mother and then, going out of the palace, he buckled on his sword and, putting on his turban and his mouth-veil, he mounted his horse, Qatul. He was like a full moon as he rode through the city. Then, coming to the city gate, he saw his companion, Sabbah ibn Rammah, going out. When Sabbah saw him, he ran up to his stirrup and greeted him. After he had returned the greeting, Sabbah asked: ‘Brother, how did you get this horse and this sword, together with these clothes, while up till now I have nothing but my sword and my shield?’ ‘It is the hunter’s purpose that determines what quarry he gets,’ replied Kana-ma-Kana, ‘and it was just after you left that good fortune came to me. Now, will you come with me, act as a true companion and travel with me in this desert?’ ‘By the Lord of the Ka‘ba,’ said Sabbah, ‘from now on I shall call you “my master”.’ He then ran in front of the horse, with his sword hanging from his shoulder and his bag between his shoulder blades, followed by Kana-ma-Kana.

  For four days they went further and further into the desert, living off the gazelles that they hunted and drinking from springs. On the fifth day, they came to a high hill beneath which there were meadows and a running stream, where there were camels, cows, sheep and horses, filling the hills and valleys, with little children playing in the pastures. When Kana-ma-Kana saw this, he was delighted and his heart was filled with joy. Making up his mind to fight in order to take the camels – male and female – he said to Sabbah: ‘Come down with me to these flocks that are pastured away from their owners and join me in fighting all comers, from near and far, so that we may have our share of booty.’ ‘Master,’ said Sabbah, ‘the clan that owns these is numerous, and among them are skilled fighters both on horse and on foot. If we risk our lives on a matter as serious as this, we will be in grave danger. Neither of us will escape safely and each of us will lose his cousin.’ Kana-ma-Kana laughed, realizing that Sabbah was a coward. He then rode down the hill to launch his attack, reciting the following lines at the top of his voice:

  Clan of Nu‘man, we are the ambitious heroes, the skull-strikers,

  Who, when battle rages, stand on foot in the mêlée.

  The poor sleep safely among us with no sight of ugly poverty.

  I hope for help from the Lord of power, Creator of mankind.

  He then rode against the female camels like a stallion camel in rut, driving them all off in front of him, together with the cows, the sheep and the horses. The slaves rushed out against him with sharp swords and long lances, led by a Turkish rider, a strong fighter who knew how to use both the brown spear and the white sword. He rode against Kana-ma-Kana, crying: ‘Damn you, if you knew to whom these flocks belonged, you would not have done this. Their owners are the Rumi tribe, the heroes of the sea, the Circassian clan, all grim heroes, a hundred riders, who have cast off allegiance to any king. A stallion of theirs has been stolen and they have sworn that they will not leave here without it.’ When Kana-ma-Kana heard this, he shouted: ‘This is the stallion that you mean, you wretches, the one that you are looking for. You want to fight me for it, so come on, all of you together, and do your worst.’

  He shouted from between the ears of Qatul, who charged against them like a ghul. Kana-ma-Kana turned in against the rider, unhorsing him with a thrust and ripping out his kidneys. He then attacked a second, a third and a fourth, killing them all. At that, the other slaves shrank from him in fear and he shouted to them: ‘Drive out the cattle and the horses, you bastards, or else I shall dye my spear point in your blood.’ They obeyed his order and then started to decamp, at which point Sabbah came down, shouting to Kana-ma-Kana in high glee.

  Suddenly, however, a dust cloud rose, blocking out the horizon, and under it were to be seen a hundred riders like grim lions. Sabbah fled away and climbed from the valley to the top of the hill, from which he could look at the fight as a spectator, saying to himself: ‘I am only a rider in play and in jest.’ The hundred riders surrounded Kana-ma-Kana and circled round him. One of them came up to him and asked him where he was going with the flocks. ‘I am going to take them off and rob you of them,’ replied Kana-ma-Kana, adding: ‘Get ready to fight, but know that between you and what you are facing is a terrible lion, a brave champion and a sword that cuts wherever it strikes.’ When the rider heard what he said, he looked at him and saw that he was a horseman like a lion, but with a face like the moon on the fourteenth day of the month, with courage showing from between his eyes.

  The rider, whose name was Kahardash, was the leader of the hundred, and, looking at Kana-ma-Kana, he saw that, in addition to his consummate horsemanship, he had remarkable beauty, which was like that of Fatin, his own beloved, a girl with the loveliest of faces, who had been endowed by God not only with beauty but with every noble quality and indescribable grace, so as to distract all men’s hearts. The riders of her clan and the champions of that region went in fear and awe of her strength and she had sworn not to marry or to give herself to any man who could not defeat her. Kahardash was one of her suitors, but she had told her father that she would not allow anyone to approach her who had not got the better of her in a duel.

  When Kahardash heard this, he had been ashamed to fight against a girl and afraid of being disgraced. One of his friends had told him: ‘You have all the qualities of beauty and were she to prove stronger than you in a fight, you would still get the better of her, as she would see how handsome you are and let herself be defeated by you so that you could take her. Women have something that they want from men, as you well know.’ Kahardash, however, had still refused and would not fight, and he had continued in his refusal until his encounter with Kana-ma-Kana. He was taken aback, thinking that his opponent was Fatin herself, who was, in fact, in love with him because of what she had heard of his beauty and courage. Advancing towards Kana-ma-Kana, he said: ‘Damn you, Fatin, have you come to show me how brave you are? Dismount so that I can talk with you. I have driven off all these flocks, betrayed companions and intercepted warriors and champions all because of your peerless beauty. Marry me, so that the daughters of kings may serve you and you may become queen of these lands.’

  When Kana-ma-Kana heard this, he became furiously angry and shouted out: ‘Damn you, you Persian dog! Forget about Fatin and what you suspect her to be, and come out to fight. You will soon be on the ground.’ He then began to wheel and attack, varying his tactics so that when Kahardash saw this, he realized that here was a gallant rider and a lion-like champion. His mistake was made clear to him when he saw the dark down on Kana-ma-Kana’s cheek, like myrtle growing among red roses. He shrank from his attack and said to his companions: ‘Damn you, charge him, one of you, and show him the sharp sword and the quivering lance. You should know that it is shameful for a group to attack a single man, even if he is a brave and powerful champion.’

  At that, a strong rider charged Kana-ma-Kana, mounted on a black horse with white fetlocks and a blaze the size of a dirham on its forehead, bewildering both mind and eye, like ‘Antar’s Abjar, of whom the poet says:

  The horse has come to you, entering the battle

  Joyfully, mixing earth and sky.

  It is as though dawn has struck its forehead,

  Punishing it by plunging into its inmost parts.

  He quickly charged Kana-ma-Kana and for a time they circled round each other, striking blows that bewildered the mind and blinded the eye. Kana-ma-Kana then forestalled him with the blow of a champion that cut through his turban and his head-piece until it reached the head itself, at which he toppled to the ground like a falling camel. A second rider charged, then a third, a fourth and a fifth, only to fall as the first had done. All the rest then attacked, upset and burning with anger, but his spear soon picked them off like ripe fruit. When Kahardash saw this, he was afraid to enter the fight, realizing that Kana-ma-Kana was a stout-hearted warrior, fit to be considered unique among champions. So he said to him: ‘I grant you your own life and shall not take blood revenge for my compa
nions. Take what flocks you like and go on your way. I feel pity for you because of your steadfastness and you have a right to live.’ ‘May you never find yourself without the chivalry of the noble,’ said Kana-ma-Kana, ‘but leave aside this kind of talk. Take your life and fear no blame. Don’t hope to recover the spoil but go straight off to save yourself.’

  At that, Kahardash became furiously and destructively angry. ‘Damn you,’ he said to Kana-ma-Kana. ‘If you knew who I was you would not speak like this on the field of battle. Ask about me, for I am the strong lion, Kahardash by name, who has plundered great kings, plagued the roads for every traveller and seized the goods of merchants. I have been looking for this horse that you are riding. Tell me how you got it.’ Kana-ma-Kana told him: ‘This horse was on its way to my uncle, King Sasan, led by an old woman who was attended by ten slaves. You attacked her and took it from her. She owes me a blood debt for my grandfather, King ‘Umar ibn al-Nu‘man, and my uncle, Sultan Sharkan.’ ‘Damn you,’ said Kahardash, ‘who is your father, you child without a mother?’ The prince replied: ‘I am Kana-ma-Kana, the son of Dau’ al-Makan, the son of ‘Umar ibn al-Nu‘man.’

  When Kahardash heard this, he said: ‘You are undeniably a perfect blend of chivalry and beauty,’ adding: ‘Leave in safety, as your father was good and generous to us.’ ‘By God,’ replied Kana-ma-Kana, ‘I shall show you no respect, you contemptible fellow, until I defeat you on the battlefield.’ This enraged the Bedouin and each charged the other with loud cries, while their horses pricked up their ears and raised their tails. They continued to clash until each thought that the sky had been split open. They fought like butting rams, exchanging thrusts with their spears. Kahardash tried to strike home with one such thrust, but Kanama-Kana avoided it and then attacked in his turn, dealing Kahardash such a blow in his chest that the spear point emerged from his back. He then collected the horses and the other spoils and ordered the servants to drive them with all speed.

  It was now that Sabbah came down from the hill. He went up to Kana-ma-Kana and said: ‘Well done, champion of the age. I prayed for you and the Lord answered my prayer.’ He then cut off the head of Kahardash, at which Kana-ma-Kana laughed and said: ‘Damn you, Sabbah. I had thought that you were a man of war.’ ‘Don’t forget your servant when it comes to distributing these spoils,’ said Sabbah, ‘for with their help I may be able to marry my cousin, Najma.’ ‘You may certainly have a share of them, but in the meantime you must guard both the spoils and the slaves.’ He then set off for his own lands and travelled night and day until he came near Baghdad. All the troops learned of his coming and they could see the spoils and the flocks that he was bringing with him, together with the head of Kahardash, mounted on Sabbah’s spear. The merchants recognized it with delight, exclaiming: ‘God has delivered the people from this highwayman.’ They were astonished that he had been killed and they invoked blessings on his slayer.

  The Baghdadis went up to Kana-ma-Kana to ask him what had happened, and when he told them, they were all struck with awe, and the riders and champions were filled with fear. He then drove his booty to the palace and planted the spear on which Kahardash’s head was mounted at the palace gate. He distributed gifts to the people, giving away the horses and camels, as a result of which the Baghdadis loved and favoured him all the more. He then turned to Sabbah, assigned spacious quarters to him and gave him some of the spoils, after which he went to his mother and told her what had happened on his journey.

  The news had reached King Sasan, who left his audience chamber and went off to consult his principal officers in private. ‘Know,’ he said to them, ‘that I wish to reveal to you what I have kept hidden. It is Kana-ma-Kana who will cause us to be dismissed from these lands. He has killed Kahardash, although Kahardash was supported by Kurdish and Turkish tribes, and thanks to this our position is doomed. Most of our troops are closely allied to him and you know what the vizier Dandan has done. Although I was good to Dandan and treated him well, he was ungrateful and broke his word to me. I am told that he has gathered the armies of the lands with the intention of making Kana-ma-Kana king, as the kingdom had belonged to his father and his grandfather, and without a doubt he is bound to kill me.’ When his officers heard this, they said: ‘Your majesty, Kana-ma-Kana has not the strength for this. Had we not known that he had been brought up by you, not one of us would have received him. Know that we are at your service and if you want him killed, we shall kill him, while if you want him exiled, we shall see to it that he leaves.’

  When Sasan heard this, he said: ‘The right thing to do is to kill him, but we must first bind ourselves by a covenant,’ and so they took an oath that they would kill Kana-ma-Kana, and when the vizier Dandan came, he would hear of his death and would no longer be able to carry out what he intended. After they had made their compact and sworn to this, Sasan treated them with the greatest honour before going to his own apartments. The leaders had left him and the troops refused to obey orders until they could find out what was going to happen, as they saw that the bulk of the army had joined the vizier Dandan.

  When Qudiya-fa-Kana heard what was going on, she was overcome by grief and she sent a message to the old woman who had been in the habit of bringing her news from her cousin. When the woman arrived, the princess told her to go and tell him what had happened. She went off and greeted him, and, after he had welcomed her with pleasure, she gave him the news. ‘Give my greetings to my cousin,’ he said when he heard this, ‘and tell her that that God, the Great and Glorious, allows whom He wishes from among His servants to inherit the earth. How well has the poet put it:

  Kingship belongs to God; a man may obtain his desires,

  But God sends him back defeated, condemning his soul to hell.

  If I, or another man, owned a finger’s breadth

  Of the earth, then God would not rule alone.’

  The old woman went back to his cousin and told her what he had said and that he was staying in the city. King Sasan was waiting for him to leave in order to send the killers after him, and as it happened he went out on a hunting trip, accompanied by Sabbah, who never left him by night or by day. He caught ten gazelles, including one with dark eyes, which turned right and left and which he allowed to go free. When Sabbah asked him why he had done that, he laughed and let the others go as well. ‘Chivalry dictates that gazelles with young should be released. The reason that one turned to one side and the other was that it had fawns, and so I let it go and I let the others go for its sake.’ ‘Let me go too,’ said Sabbah, ‘so that I can return to my family.’ Kana-ma-Kana laughed and struck him over the heart with the butt of his spear, so that he fell to earth, twisting like a snake.

  While the two of them were there, suddenly they caught sight of a dust cloud stirred up by galloping horses, and beneath it could be seen brave riders. The reason for this was that a number of people had told King Sasan that Kana-ma-Kana had gone out hunting, and he had sent out a Dailami emir named Jami‘ with orders to kill him. Jami‘ had with him twenty riders, to whom Sasan had given money. When they came near they attacked Kana-ma-Kana, but he for his part charged against them and killed every last man of them. King Sasan had mounted and ridden out after his men, but when he found them all dead he went back in astonishment, and the Baghdadis laid hands on him and tied him up.

  Kana-ma-Kana set off from where he was, together with Sabbah, and on his way he saw a young man sitting at the door of a house. Kana-ma-Kana greeted him and after the young man had returned his greeting, he went into the house and came out again with two bowls, one filled with curds and the other with broth surrounded by melted butter. He placed them before Kana-ma-Kana, saying: ‘Do us the favour of eating our food.’ Kana-ma-Kana refused, and when the young man asked him why, he said: ‘I have made a vow.’ The young man asked him the reason for this and he said: ‘Know that King Sasan has robbed me of the kingdom unjustly, although this had belonged to my father and my grandfather before me. After my father’s death, he took i
t by force, paying no attention to me because of my youth. I then swore that I would eat no man’s food until I had got satisfaction from the one who had wronged me.’ ‘I have good news for you,’ said the young man, ‘for God has honoured your vow. Sasan is being held prisoner, and I think that he will soon be dead.’ ‘Where is he being held?’ asked Kana-ma-Kana. ‘In that tall dome,’ said the young man. Kana-ma-Kana looked towards the dome and saw people going in and striking Sasan, who was enduring the pains of death. He got up and went to the dome and, after seeing Sasan’s predicament, he came back to the house and sat down to eat. When he had had enough, he put the rest of the food in his provision bag, and remained seated until it had grown dark.

  His host, the young man, fell asleep and Kana-ma-Kana then went to the dome. It was surrounded by guard dogs, one of whom leapt at him, but he threw it a piece of meat from his bag. He went on throwing meat to the other dogs until he reached King Sasan. He came up to the king and put a hand on his head. ‘Who are you?’ asked Sasan in a loud voice. ‘I am Kana-ma-Kana, whom you tried to kill,’ he replied, ‘and God has caused you to fall victim to your own evil plot. Wasn’t it enough for you to take my kingdom and the kingdom of my father and my grandfather, that you should try to kill me as well?’ Sasan swore falsely that he had never done this and that the charge was untrue. Kana-ma-Kana then forgave him and said: ‘Follow me.’ ‘I am too weak to take a single step,’ Sasan told him. ‘In that case,’ said Kana-ma-Kana, ‘I shall fetch two horses for us and we can both ride off into the desert.’ He got the horses and he and Sasan mounted and rode until morning. They performed the dawn prayer and then rode on until they reached an orchard where they sat talking. Kana-ma-Kana got up and approached Sasan. ‘Is there still anything about me that you dislike?’ he asked. ‘No, by God,’ answered Sasan, and they then agreed to go back to Baghdad. ‘I shall go on ahead of you,’ said Sabbah the Bedouin, ‘to give the good news.’