“Your wish is granted,” the king said and ordered the kazi to come right away so that he could marry his daughters to these sages.
Now it so happened that the princesses were behind a curtain and witnessed this entire scene. The youngest saw that her husband-to-be was at least a hundred years old. He had white hair, a drooping forehead, mangy eyebrows, cropped ears, a dyed mustache and beard, red eyes, bleached and hollow cheeks, a flabby nose, overlapping teeth, loose lips like camel’s kidneys, and a face like a cobbler’s apron. In short, he was a terror, a horror, a monster. Indeed, he was the most frightful sight of his time. In contrast, the girl was the fairest and most graceful of her time, more elegant than the finest gazelle, more tender than the gentlest breeze, and certainly more beautiful than the brightest full moon. She was made for love and walked with a graceful sway that captivated all those who saw her. In short, she was more beautiful and sweeter than her two sisters, who were splendid specimens themselves. So when she saw her suitor, she went to her room and strewed dust on her head, tore her clothes, slapped her face, and wept.
Now, her brother, Prince Kamar al-Akmar, had just returned from a journey, and when he heard her weeping like that he entered her chamber (for he loved her with more affection than his other sisters) and said, “What’s wrong with you? What’s happened to you? Tell me everything, and don’t hide a thing.”
“My brother,” she responded, “I have nothing to hide. Our father has decided to do something atrocious, and I intend to leave the palace. And I’ll do this even if he doesn’t consent, for the Lord will provide for me.”
“What’s the meaning of this talk?” her brother responded. “What’s caused all this trouble and disturbed your heart?”
And the princess answered, “Our father has promised me in marriage to a wicked magician who has brought him a horse of black wood as a gift. This magician has bewitched our father with his craft and sorcery, but as for me, I don’t want to have anything to do with him, and I wish I had never been born because of him!”
After her brother comforted her, he went to his father and said, “Who is this wizard that you’re going to wed to my youngest sister? What’s so wonderful about his present that you don’t care if your daughter is deeply distressed? Do you think what you’re doing is right?”
Now the Persian was standing nearby and heard the prince’s words, which filled him with rage. Meanwhile the king replied, “My son, if you saw this horse, you’d be amazed.” Then he ordered the slaves to bring the horse before him, and they did as he commanded. When the prince saw the horse, he was pleased, and being an accomplished cavalier, he mounted it right away and struck its sides with the stirrups. However, it did not move, and the king said to the sage, “Go and show him how it moves so that he may help you obtain your wish.”
Of course, the Persian was still holding a grudge against the prince because the young man was opposed to his marriage with the princess. So he showed him the button on the right side of the horse that would make the horse take off and said, “Push this,” and went away. Thereupon the prince pushed the button, and the horse soared with him high in the air as if it were a bird, and it kept on flying until it disappeared from everyone’s sight. The king was extremely upset by this and said to the Persian, “See to it that you get him to descend.”
“Oh lord,” the Persian responded, “there’s nothing I can do. You’ll won’t see him again until Resurrection Day, for he was too ignorant and too proud to ask me about the button for descending, and I forgot to tell him where it is.”
When the king heard this, he became extremely angry and had the sage whipped and thrown in jail, while he himself discarded his crown, slapped his face, and pounded his breast. Moreover, he closed the doors of his palace, and he was joined by his wife, his daughters, and the rest of the people of the city in weeping and mourning for the prince. Thus, their joy was turned into sorrow and their happiness into sadness.
In the meantime, the horse kept soaring with the prince until it drew near the sun. As a result, the prince gave himself up for lost and repented for having mounted the horse. “Truly,” he said, “the sage tricked me because of my youngest sister. By Allah, it seems I’m lost, but there must be a button for landing if there is one for taking off.” Now, he was a smart and clever man, so he began to feel all the parts of the horse, but he saw nothing except buttons like cock’s heads on the right and left shoulders of the horse. “That’s all there is, it seems,” he said to himself, “just these two buttons.” Then he pushed the one on the right, and the horse increased its speed and flew higher. So he stopped and pushed the button on the left, and immediately the steed’s upward motion slowed until it began to descend little by little toward the face of the earth.
And Scheherazade noticed that dawn was approaching, and she stopped telling her story. When the next night arrived, however, she received the king’s permission to continue her tale and said,
When the prince saw what was happening and realized that he had learned to control the horse, he was filled with joy and thanked Almighty Allah, who had delivered him from certain death. Then he began to turn the horse’s head wherever he wanted to go, and he made it soar and descend at his will until he attained complete mastery over it. Finally he made it descend, and this descent took the entire day, because the horse had carried him far from the earth. As he descended, he amused himself by viewing the different cities and countries that he had never seen before. Among them was a very beautiful city amidst a verdant countryside rich in trees and streams with gazelles gliding over the plains. Upon seeing this city he began musing to himself, “I wish I knew the name of that city and in what country it was!” And he began to circle and observe it.
By this time, the day had begun to decline, and it was near sunset. So he said to himself, “Certainly there’s no better place to spend the night than in this fine city. I might as well stay here, and early tomorrow morning I’ll return to my kith and kin and my kingdom. Then I’ll tell my father and my family what happened and what I’ve seen.” Now he began looking for a place where he might safely land, and where no one might catch sight of him. Soon he glimpsed a tall palace in the middle of the city. It was surrounded by a large wall with lofty towers and battlements and was guarded by forty black slaves clad in complete mail and armed with spears and swords and bows and arrows. “That’s a good spot,” he said, and he pushed the descent button, which made the horse fly down like a weary bird, and he landed gently on the terrace roof of the palace.
After the prince dismounted and gave his praise to Allah, he inspected the horse and said, “Whoever invented and built you so perfectly was a clever craftsman, and if the Almighty grants me a long life and reunites me with my father and family safe and sound, I’ll certainly bestow on him all kinds of gifts and treat him with the utmost generosity.” By this time, night had come, and he sat on the roof until he was certain that everyone in the palace was asleep. Indeed, he was extremely hungry and thirsty, for he had not eaten or drunk anything since he had been separated from his father. So he said to himself, “I’m sure that there’s plenty to eat and drink in this palace.”
So he left the horse above and went down into the palace in search of something to eat. Soon he came to a staircase, and after he went down to the bottom, he found himself in a court paved with white marble and alabaster, which shone in the light of the moon. He was astounded by the place and the fine architecture, but there was not a single sign of a living soul, and he was surprised and perplexed. After he looked to the right and the left, he could not decide which way to go and said to himself, “Perhaps it would be better if I returned to where I left my horse and spent the night by its side. Then, as soon as day dawns, I’ll mount it and ride away.”
* * *
And Scheherazade noticed that dawn was approaching, and she stopped telling her story. When the next night arrived, however, she received the king’s permission to continue her tale and said,
As he
was talking to himself, he spotted a light inside the palace, and after heading in that direction, he found that it came from a candle that stood in front of a door to the harem. Next to the candle was a huge eunuch, who was asleep. He looked like one of the ifrits of Solomon or a tribesman of the jinn, as long and as broad as a tree. As he lay on the floor, the pommel of his sword gleamed in the flame of the candle, and at his head was a bag of leather hanging from a granite column. When the prince saw the eunuch, he was frightened and said, “May Allah help me! Oh Holy One, just as you saved me in the sky, please let me escape safe and sound from this adventure!”
After saying this he reached for the leather bag, and after grabbing hold of it, he carried it to the side, opened it, and found some very good food. Thereupon, he ate his fill and refreshed himself. Afterward he returned the bag to its place and drew the eunuch’s sword from its sheath while the slave kept sleeping.
Then the prince continued exploring the harem until he came to a second door with a curtain drawn before it. So, he lifted the curtain, and upon entering the room, he saw a couch of whitest ivory lined with pearls, jacinths, and jewels and four slave girls sleeping around it. He went up to the couch to see what was on it and found a young lady lying asleep. She looked like the full moon rising over the eastern horizon with her brow decorated by white flowers, her hair shining, her cheeks crimson and dotted by dainty moles. Indeed, he was amazed by her stunning beauty as she lay there, and he no longer was afraid of dying. So he went up to her, and trembling in every nerve and shuddering with pleasure, he kissed her on the right cheek, whereupon she awoke right away and opened her eyes. Seeing the prince standing before her, she said, “Who are you, and where have you come from?”
“I’m your slave and lover,” he said.
“And who brought you here?” she asked.
“My Lord and my destiny,” he replied.
“Then,” said Shams al-Nahar, for that was her name, “perhaps you’re the one who asked my father yesterday for my hand in marriage and was rejected by him because he thought you were atrocious. By Allah, if that’s the case, my sire lied through his teeth when he said this, for you’re quite handsome.”
Now the son of the king of Hind had wanted to marry her, and her father had rejected him because he was indeed ugly and uncouth, and the princess thought the prince was the rejected suitor. So, when she saw how handsome and elegant he was (for he was clearly more radiant than the moon), she was ignited by the flaming fire of love, and they began to converse and talk. Suddenly, her waiting women awoke, and upon seeing the prince with their mistress, they said to her, “My lady, who is this man?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I found him sitting by me when I woke up. Perhaps he’s the prince who sought my hand in marriage from my father.”
“By Allah,” they cried out, “this man is not the one who sought your hand in marriage, for the other was hideous, and this one is handsome. Indeed, the other man is not even fit to be his servant.”
Then the slave girls ran out to the eunuch, and after they waked him from his slumber, he jumped up in alarm.
“How is it that you’re supposed to be on guard in the palace,” they said, “and yet men come into our chamber when we are asleep?”
When the black heard this, he quickly grabbed for his sword but could not find it, and he was seized by fear. Totally confused by what was happening, he rushed to his mistress, and upon seeing the prince sitting and talking to her, he said, “My lord, are you a man or a jinnee?”
“Woe to you, you unluckiest of slaves!” the prince replied. “How dare you compare a son of the royal Chosroës with one of those pagan devils!” And he became like a raging lion, took the eunuch’s sword in his hand, and said, “I am the king’s son-in-law, and he’s married me to his daughter and commanded me to go and see her.”
When the eunuch heard these words, he replied, “My lord, if you are indeed the man you say you are, she’s only fit for you, and you are worthier of her than anyone else.”
Thereupon the eunuch ran to the king, shrieking aloud, tearing his garments, and tossing dust on his head. When the king heard this outcry, he said, “What’s happened to you? Speak quickly, and be brief, for you’ve sent chills up my spine!”
“Oh king,” answered the eunuch, “go and rescue your daughter, for a devil of the jinn, who’s taken on the guise of a king’s son, has got possession of her. Get up at once!”
When the king heard this, he would have liked to kill the eunuch for being so careless and letting a demon get hold of his daughter. Instead, he stood up and rushed to his daughter’s chamber, where he found her slave women awaiting him.
“What’s happened to my daughter?” he asked.
“Your majesty,” they answered, “slumber overcame us, and when we awoke, we found a young man sitting on her couch in conversation with her. He looks like the full moon, and we’ve never seen a man as handsome as he is. So we asked him to explain everything, and he told us that you had given him your daughter in marriage. That’s all we know, nor are we sure whether he’s a man or jinnee. Whatever he is, he is certainly modest and well-bred and has done nothing disgraceful.”
Now when the king heard these words, his wrath cooled, and he raised the curtain little by little, and as he looked in, he saw his daughter talking with a handsome prince whose face glistened like the moon. Yet he felt he must protect his daughter’s honor and could not control his feelings. So he brushed the curtain aside, rushed in, and drew his sword like a furious ghoul.
When the prince saw him, he asked the princess, “Is this your sire?”
And she replied, “Yes.”
And Scheherazade noticed that dawn was approaching and stopped telling her story. When the next night arrived, however, she received the king’s permission to continue her tale and said,
All at once, the prince sprang to his feet, seized his sword, and shouted at the king with such a terrible cry that the king became utterly confused. Indeed, the prince would have attacked the king with his sword, but the king realized that the young man was more stalwart than he was, so he sheathed his scimitar and dropped his arms until the prince came up to him. Then the king said, “Young man, are you a human or a jinnee?”
“If I did not respect your right as my host and cherish your daughter’s honor,” said the prince, “I’d seal your fate right here and now! How dare you associate me with devils, me, a prince of the royal Chosroës, who, if they wished to take your kingdom, could make you tremble, and you’d feel as if an earthquake had hit you and consumed your realm!”
Now, when the king heard his words, he was overcome with fear and awe, and he replied, “If you are indeed the son of kings, as you claim, how come you’ve entered my palace without my permission and besmirched my honor by making your way to my daughter and pretending that I’ve given her to you as your wife? I’ll have you know that I’ve slain kings and sons of kings who sought her hand in marriage! Even now, who could save you from my might and majesty if I were to order my slaves and servants to put you to the vilest of deaths? Who could save you from my power?”
When the prince heard the king’s speech, he answered, “Truly, I’m surprised by you and your lack of sense! Tell me, do you think you could possibly find a husband for your daughter more handsome than I am? Have you ever encountered a man with a stouter heart or one better suited for a sultan or more glorious in rank than I?”
“Nay, by Allah!” responded the king. “Still, you should have acted according to the custom of kings and asked me whether you could be her husband before witnesses so that I might have wed her to you in a public ceremony. Yet, even now, if I were to marry her to you in private, you’ve dishonored me in front of her.”
“All this is true,” the prince said, “but if you summon your slaves and soldiers, and they slay me, as you claim they can, you would but only make known your own disgrace, and the people wouldn’t know whether to believe you or me. Therefore, it seems to me that you�
�d do well to listen to my advice.”
“And what is that?” asked the king.
“I propose,” the prince declared, “that either you meet me in personal combat, and whoever slays the other shall have complete claim to the kingdom; or else leave me alone this night, and when dawn arrives, call out your cavalry, infantrymen, and servants against me. But first tell me how many there are.”
“There are forty thousand in the cavalry,” said the king, “and just as many in my infantry.”
“When day breaks,” the prince said, “you can set them against me and say to them: ‘This man is a suitor for my daughter’s hand, and he may only have her if he fights you all alone and wins, for he claims that he can defeat you and put you to rout.’ After you say this, let me fight them, and if they slay me, your secret and honor will be protected forever. If I overcome them, then a king could have no better son-in-law.”
And Scheherazade noticed that dawn was approaching and stopped telling her story. When the next night arrived, however, she received the king’s permission to continue her tale and said,
After hearing this proposal, the king agreed to it. Despite the fact that he was awed by the prince’s bravery, the king was certain that he would perish in the fray, and therefore he would not have to fear being dishonored. So he called the eunuch and ordered him to go to his vizier right away and tell him to assemble the whole army and prepare for battle. The eunuch carried the king’s order to the minister, who immediately summoned the captains of the army and lords of the realm and commanded them to prepare for battle. The king himself sat for a long while conversing with the young prince and was pleased by his wise talk, good sense, and fine breeding. When it was daybreak, the king returned to his throne, commanded his merry men to mount, and ordered them to saddle one of the best of the royal steeds with handsome trappings and to bring it to the prince. But the young man said, “Your majesty, I won’t mount a horse until I review your troops.”
Arabian Nights Page 9