When I heard my herdsman’s words, I went with him to his house and was drunk with joy without having the least bit of wine. His daughter welcomed me and kissed my hand, and the calf came right away and fawned all over me as before. “Is it true,” I asked the herdsman’s daughter, “all that you’ve said about this calf?”
“Yes, oh master,” she said. “He’s your son, your very own flesh and blood.”
I rejoiced and said to her, “If you can release him from this spell, you can have whatever property and cattle I have.”
“Master,” she smiled, “I don’t desire such goods, and I shall take them only under two conditions: the first, that you marry me to your son, and the second, that you allow me to bewitch your wife and imprison her. Otherwise, I won’t be safe from her malice.”
Now when I heard these words, I replied, “Not only do I grant you your wish, but you may have all the cattle and the household stuff in your father’s charge, and as for my wife, anything you do to her is all right with me.”
After I had spoken, she took a cup and filled it with water. Then she recited a spell over it and sprinkled it on the calf, saying, “If Almighty Allah created you as a calf, then remain as you are and don’t change. But if you are enchanted, return to your rightful form!”
All of a sudden, the calf trembled and became a man, and I embraced him and said, “By Allah, tell me all that the daughter of my uncle did to you and your mother.” And when he told me how everything had happened, I said, “My son, Allah blessed you by enabling someone to restore you to your real form, and you may now receive your rightful due.”
Then I married him to the herdsman’s daughter, and she transformed my wife into this gazelle by giving her a shape that is by no means loathsome. After this the herdsman’s daughter lived with us day and night until she died. Then my son journeyed forth to the cities of Hind and also to the city of this man who has offended you. And I also took this gazelle and wandered with her from town to town seeking news of my son until destiny drove me to this place where I saw the merchant sitting and weeping. Such is my tale!
“This story is indeed strange,” said the jinnee, “and thus I shall grant you a third of the merchant’s blood.”
Thereupon the second old man, who owned two greyhounds, came up and said, “Oh jinnee, if I relate to you what my brothers, these two hounds, did to me, and if you admit that it is more wondrous and marvelous than the tale that you’ve just heard, will you grant me a third of the merchant’s blood as well?”
“I give you my word,” said the jinnee, “but only if your adventures are truly more marvelous.”
Thereupon the old man began
The Second Sheikh’s Story
Let me begin by telling you, oh lord of the kings of the jinn, that these two dogs are my brothers, and I am the third. When our father died and left us a capital of three thousand gold pieces, I opened a shop with my share, and my brothers did the same. However, I had been in business just for a short time when my elder brother sold his stock for a thousand dinars, and after buying equipment and merchandise, he journeyed to foreign lands. He had been gone with his caravan for one whole year when, one day, as I was sitting in my shop, a beggar stood before me asking for alms, and I said to him, “Go try somewhere else!”
In response, the beggar began weeping, “Have I changed so much that you don’t recognize me anymore?”
Then I looked at him more closely, and I realized it was my brother. So I stood up and welcomed him, and after seating him in my shop, I asked him what had happened.
“Don’t ask me,” he replied. “My wealth is all gone, and so is my health.”
So I took him to the public bath, dressed him in a suit of my own, and gave him a room in my house. Moreover, after looking over the accounts of my stock in trade and my business profits, I found that my hard work had enabled me to earn one thousand dinars while my principal amounted to two thousand. So I shared the whole thing with him and said, “Just assume that you didn’t make a journey abroad but remained at home. There’s no reason now for you to be dejected about your bad luck.”
He took the share gleefully and opened up his own shop. Things went well for some days, but soon my second brother, that dog over there, also set his heart on traveling. He sold whatever goods and stock in trade that he had, and although we tried to prevent him from leaving, he would not listen to us. He equipped himself for the journey and joined a group of travelers. After an absence of one year, he came back to me just as my elder brother had, and I said to him, “Didn’t I try to dissuade you from traveling?”
“Destiny decreed it this way!” he wept and cried out. “Now I am a mere beggar without a penny to my name or a shirt on my back.”
So I led him to the bath and dressed him in my own new clothes. Then I went with him to my shop, where I gave him something to eat and drink. Furthermore, I told him, “Brother, I generally draw up the accounts of my shop at the beginning of every year, and I intend to share the surplus with you.”
Thus, some time later, when I found a profit of two thousand dinars, I praised the Lord and gave my brother one half and kept the other for myself. Thereupon, he set up his own shop, and we lived peacefully for many days. After a while, however, my brothers began to urge me to travel with them, but I refused and argued, “What did you two gain from all your voyages that would make me want to travel?”
Since I would not listen to them, we each returned to our own shops, where we bought and sold as usual. They kept urging me to travel for a whole year, but I continued to refuse. Finally, after six years had passed, I consented and said, “All right, my brothers, I shall be your companion and am ready to travel. Now, let me see what money you intend to bring with you.”
I found, however, that they did not have anything, for they had squandered their funds on rich food, drink, and carnal pleasure. Still, I did not reproach them. Far from it. Instead, I looked over my shop accounts once more, sold what goods and stock in trade were mine, and came out with a profit of six thousand ducats, which I divided into half. After doing this, I went to my brothers and said, “These three thousand gold pieces are for me and you to conduct our trade during our travels. Let’s bury the other three thousand in the ground in case anything should happen to us. And if something does, each shall take a thousand to open new shops.”
Since they both agreed, I gave each one a thousand gold pieces and kept the same sum for myself. Then we prepared some goods for trading and hired a ship to carry our merchandise and proceeded on our voyage. After a month at sea, we reached a city, where we sold our goods, and for every piece of gold that we had invested we gained ten. And when we were about to resume our voyage, we found a maiden on the seashore clad in worn and ragged clothes. She kissed my hand and said, “Oh master, are you a man of charity and kindness? If so, I am prepared to repay you for your aid.”
“You may find me benevolent and a man of good works,” I said. “But I don’t want any return for my deeds.”
Then she said, “Please have me as your wife, oh master, and take me to your city, for I’m giving myself to you. Be kind, for I am one of those on whom charity and good works will not be lost. I can make you a fitting return for them, and you will not be shamed by my condition.”
When I heard her words, my heart went out to her as though Allah had willed it. Therefore, I took her, clothed her, gave her a comfortable place in the vessel, and treated her with honor. So we continued our voyage, and I became more and more attached to her so that I could not bear to be separated from her day or night. Indeed, I paid more attention to her than to my brothers, with the result that they grew apart from me and became jealous of my wealth and the large amount of merchandise that I had acquired. So they planned to murder me and seize my wealth, and Satan made this seem right in their eyes.
They waited one night and found me sleeping by my wife’s side, whereupon they carried us up to the deck of the ship and threw us overboard. My wife awoke startled from h
er sleep, and immediately she changed into a jinnee, whereupon she lifted me up, carried me to an island, and disappeared for a short time. When she returned in the morning, she said, “Here I am, your faithful slave, who has duly repaid you for your kindness, for I have saved you from death in the deep waters. I am a jinniyah, and when I first saw you, my heart went out to you by the will of the Lord, for I am a believer in Allah. So I went to you in the condition you saw me, and you married me. But I’m angry at your brothers, and I must certainly slay them.”
When I heard her story, I was surprised and thanked her for all she had done. “But,” I said, “when it comes to slaying my brothers, you must not do this.”
Then I told her the tale of our lives from the beginning to the end, and on hearing it, she said, “Tonight I shall fly like a bird over their ship and sink it, causing them to die.”
“By Allah,” I responded, “don’t do this! Remember the proverb: Whoever helps an evildoer should let the evildoer do his own evil deeds.”
“Nothing can help them,” the jinniyah replied. “By Allah, I must slay them.”
I humbled myself before her and begged that she pardon them, whereupon she picked me up and flew away with me until she set me down on the terrace of my own house. Then I took what I had hidden in the ground, bought new merchandise, greeted various people, and reopened the doors of my shop. When night came, I went home, and there I saw these two hounds tied up. Upon seeing me, they arose, whined, and fawned upon me, and before I knew what was happening, my wife said, “These two dogs are your brothers!”
“Who has done this to them?” I asked.
“I sent a message to my sister, and it was she who transformed them into dogs. And they will not be released from their present shape until ten years have passed.”
You find me now, oh jinnee, on my way to my wife’s sister, because the time has come to release my brothers from their condition. I stopped at this place when I saw this young man, who told me all that had occurred to him, and I decided not to leave here until I saw what would happen between you and him. Such is my tale!
“This is certainly a remarkable story,” said the jinnee. “Therefore, I’ll give you a third of this man’s blood.”
Now the third sheikh, the master of the she-mule, approached the jinnee and said, “If I can tell you a tale more wondrous than these two, will you grant me the remainder of the merchant’s blood?”
“You have my word!” the jinnee answered.
Then the old man began
The Third Sheikh’s Story
I’ll have you know, oh jinnee, that this mule was my wife. Now, it so happened that I had to leave home for one year, and when I returned from my journey, it was night, and I found my wife lying with a black slave on my couch. They were talking, laughing, kissing, and playing the close-buttock game. When she saw me, she stood up and rushed over to me with a jug of water. As she ran toward me, she muttered spells over the water and sprinkled me with it. “Change your shape,” she exclaimed, “and become a dog!”
All of a sudden, I was a dog, and she drove me out of the house. I ran through the doorway and did not stop running until I came to a butcher’s stall, where I rested and began to eat what bones were there. When the butcher saw me, he grabbed me and carried me into his house, but as soon as his daughter caught sight of me, she veiled her face and cried out, “What are you doing? Why are you bringing men to me?”
“Where’s the man?” he father asked.
“This dog is a man, and his wife has enchanted him,” she replied. “If you want, I can release him from the spell.”
When her father heard her words, he said, “May Allah be with you, my daughter, release him.”
So she took a jug of water, and after uttering words over it, she sprinkled a few drops on me and said, “Leave that shape and return to your former one.”
And I returned to my natural shape. Then I kissed her hand and said, “I wish you’d transform my wife the same way you just changed me.”
Thereupon she gave me some water and said, “As soon as you see her asleep, sprinkle this liquid on her and say the words you heard me utter. Then she’ll become whatever you desire.”
I returned to my house and found my wife fast asleep, and as I sprinkled the water on her, I said, “Leave that shape and change into a mule.”
Within seconds she became a mule, and you are looking at her now, oh jinnee, with your own eyes!
Then the jinnee turned toward her and asked, “Is this true?”
And she nodded her head and replied by signs, “Indeed, it’s the truth, for such is my tale.”
The jinnee was very pleased by the old man’s extraordinary story, and he gave him a third of the merchant’s blood. Shaking with delight, he told the three sheikhs, “Thanks to you and your storytelling, the merchant is yours! You’ve saved him, and I now release him from his punishment.”
Thereupon, the jinnee disappeared, while the merchant embraced the old men and thanked them. Then the sheikhs wished him happiness and continued their journeys, each one heading toward the city of his destination.
And Scheherazade noticed that dawn was approaching and stopped telling her tale. Thereupon Dunazade said, “Oh sister, your tale was most wonderful, pleasant, and delightful!”
“It is nothing compared to what I could tell you tomorrow night if the king would spare my life and let me live.”
“By Allah,” the king thought to himself, “I won’t slay her until I hear some more of her wondrous tales.”
So they continued to rest in mutual embrace until daylight finally arrived. After this the king got up to perform his official duties, but he did not call upon the vizier to perform the execution. Instead, he went to his assembly hall and began holding court. He judged, appointed, and deposed, forbidding this and permitting that, the rest of the day. After the divan was adjourned, King Shahryar returned to the palace. That night he had his will of Scheherazade, as was his wont, and afterward, as they were relaxing, Dunazade came to her sister and asked her to tell another tale.
“With the king’s permission,” she said.
And Shahryar replied, “You have my permission.”
So Scheherazade resumed her storytelling.
The Fisherman and the Jinnee
There was once a poor old fisherman who had a wife and three children to support. When he went to work, he customarily cast his net four times a day, and no more than that. Now, one day he went to the seashore about noon and set his basket on the ground. After rolling up his shirt and plunging into the water, he cast his net and waited until it settled to the bottom. Then he gathered the cords together and tried to haul in the net. However, he found it too heavy, and no matter how hard he pulled, he could not bring the net up. So he carried the ends ashore, drove a stake into the ground, and tied the net to it. Afterward he stripped, dived into the water, and kept working until he had brought the net up. Filled with joy, he put on his clothes again and went to the net, in which he found a dead jackass that had torn the meshes. In his grief, he exclaimed, “By Allah, this is a strange way to earn a living!” Then he said to himself, “Up and at it! I’m sure that this must be some sort of blessing.”
Once the fisherman got the dead ass free of the cords, he wrung out the net and spread it on the shore. Then he plunged into the sea, cast the net again, and cried out, “In Allah’s name!” When he began pulling the net, it grew heavy and settled down more firmly than the first time. Now he thought that there were fish in it and tied the net to the stake again. He took off his clothes, dived into the water, and pushed and pulled until he got the net on dry land. Then he found a large clay pitcher filled with sand and mud and was very disappointed.
After throwing away the pitcher, he wrung his net, cleaned it, and cast it into the sea for a third time. Once it had sunk, he pulled at it and found potsherds and broken glass in it. Raising his eyes toward heaven, he cried out, “By Allah, don’t You know that I cast my net only four times a day?
The third is done, and thus far, You have granted me nothing. So, I beseech You, this time give me my daily bread.”
Then he cast his net again and waited for it to sink and settle. When he tried to haul it in, he found that it had become entangled at the bottom. “By Allah!” he exclaimed as he stripped again and dived down into the sea. After freeing the net, he dragged it to land and found a copper jar in the shape of a cucumber. It was evidently filled with something. The mouth was sealed by a lead cap and stamped with the signet of our Lord Solomon, son of David. Seeing this, the fisherman rejoiced and said, “If I sell it in the brass bazaar, I should be able to get ten golden dinars for it.” When he shook it, he found that it was heavy and remarked, “If only I knew what was inside! Well, I’ve got to open it, and then I’ll store it in my bag and sell it at the brass market.” Taking out his knife, he worked at the lead until he had loosened it from the jar. Then he laid the top on the ground and shook the jar, but he was astonished to find nothing in it. After a while, however, some smoke burst from the jar and soared like a spiral toward the heavens. Once the smoke reached its full height, the thick vapor condensed and became a huge jinnee, whose head touched the clouds while his feet were on the ground. His head was as large as a dome; his hands like pitchforks; his legs as long as masts; and his mouth as big as a cave. His teeth were like large stones; his nostrils, jars; his eyes, two lamps; and his look was fierce and threatening. Now, when the fisherman saw the ifrit, his entire body quivered; his teeth chattered; his spit dried up, and he was so terrified that he could not move or run away.
Arabian Nights Page 4