The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights: Volume 2

by Penguin; Robert Irwin; Malcolm Lyons; Ursula Lyons

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  ‘I have also heard,’ the sixth vizier continued, ‘that a certain man used to wish that in his lifetime he might witness the Night of Power,’ AND HE WENT ON:

  One night, while he was gazing up at the sky, he caught sight of the angels, and there were the doors of heaven standing open, as all things, wherever they were, prostrated themselves in worship. On seeing that, he told his wife: ‘God has shown me the Night of Power and I have been promised that three wishes of mine will be granted, so I need your advice.’ His wife told him to pray to God to enlarge his penis, but when he had uttered the prayer, his penis became as big as the stalk of a gourd and he was hardly able to stand up with it; if he wanted to make love to his wife, she would run from place to place to avoid him. ‘What am I to do?’ he asked, adding: ‘This was your wish because of your lasciviousness.’ ‘I don’t want it to stay as big as this,’ she told him, and so he raised his head towards the heavens and said: ‘O my God, rescue me from this affair and free me from it.’ He then found himself with a smooth surface and no penis at all. When she saw him, his wife exclaimed: ‘As that’s what you are like now, I’ve no need of you!’ ‘This was all thanks to your disastrous advice and your mismanagement,’ he replied. ‘God granted me three wishes, through which I could have had everything that is good for me in this world and the next, but now I have wasted two and there is only one left.’ She said: ‘I pray that Almighty God may restore your penis to the size that it was before.’ He prayed, and this is what then happened.

  This, your majesty, was caused by the woman’s bungling, and I have mentioned it to convince you that this is a characteristic of women, coupled with foolishness and feeble-mindedness. Pay no attention to what the girl has said to you, and don’t kill your son, your heart’s blood, for that would ensure that your fame will not live on after you.

  The king rescinded the order for his son’s execution, but on the seventh day the girl arrived shrieking, having kindled a large fire, and the attendants brought her into his presence, holding her by the arms. ‘Why have you done this?’ he asked, and she said: ‘Unless you avenge me on your son, I shall throw myself into this fire. I have no wish to live, and before coming here I wrote my will and gave away all my wealth as alms, for I am determined to die and then you will be as sorry as the king who tortured the female bath attendant.’ ‘How was that?’ asked the king, and SHE SAID:

  I have heard, O king, that there was once a pious, devout and ascetic woman who used to go to the palace of a certain king where her reputation was such that people would ask for her blessing. One day, when she entered as usual and sat beside the queen, the queen handed her a necklace worth a thousand dinars, telling her to take it and look after it until she herself had come out of the baths, when she would take it back again. The baths were in the palace itself, and when the woman had taken the necklace she sat in the royal apartment waiting for the queen to go to them and return. She put the necklace under her prayer mat before getting up to pray, but just then a bird flew in and carried it off, putting it in a crack in one of the corners of the palace. The woman had gone out to relieve herself, and when she came back she didn’t realize what had happened. On her return, the queen asked her for the necklace, but the woman for her part couldn’t find it and, although she hunted, she could discover no trace nor any news of it. ‘By God, my daughter,’ she said, ‘nobody came to visit me. After I took the necklace, I put it under the prayer mat, but I don’t know whether one of the servants saw it and took it without my noticing while I was praying. The truth about this is known to Almighty God.’

  When the king heard of that, he ordered his wife to torture the woman with fire and to give her a severe beating…

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the five hundred and ninety-seventh night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that THE GIRL SAID:

  The king ordered his wife to torture the attendant with fire and to give her a severe beating, but in spite of the various tortures that were applied to her, she neither confessed nor accused anyone else. On the king’s orders she was imprisoned and placed in fetters. It then happened one day that as he was seated on an island in a pool in the middle of the palace grounds, with his wife at his side, he noticed a bird that was pulling the necklace from a crack in the corner of the palace. He called out to a slave girl who was there, and she caught up with the bird and took the necklace away from it. Realizing that the accused woman had been wronged, the king was filled with regret, and when she was brought before him on his orders, he started to kiss her head, weeping and asking her forgiveness, repenting what he had done to her. He ordered her to be given a large sum of money, but, although she forgave him, she refused to accept the money and when she left the palace she swore to herself that she would never again enter anyone’s house. Instead, she wandered in mountains and valleys worshipping Almighty God until she died.

  As another example of masculine wiles, I have heard, O king, that a pair of doves, one male and one female, had collected a store of wheat and barley in their nest as provision for winter. In the summer the grains shrivelled and diminished and the male dove accused his mate of having eaten them. She kept protesting: ‘No, I swear by God that I didn’t eat any of them,’ but he refused to believe her and beat her with his wings as well as pecking her with his beak until he had killed her. Then, when the weather turned cold, the grains expanded to their former size and the male dove realized that he had killed his mate unjustly, regretting this when regret was of no use. So he lay down beside her, weeping and wailing over her in sorrow and neither eating nor drinking until he fell ill and later died.

  ‘A further example of men’s trickery towards women is found in a story that is more wonderful than all of these.’ ‘Tell it to me,’ the king ordered, and SHE BEGAN:

  I have heard, O king, that there was once a princess named al-Datma, unequalled in her age for beauty and grace, symmetrically formed, radiant and charming. She stole men’s hearts away, but in her pride at having no rivals, although all the princes asked for her hand, she would not take any of them, saying that she would only marry someone who could defeat her in the cut and thrust of single combat. ‘If anyone can do this,’ she would say, ‘I shall gladly marry him, but if I win, I shall take his horse, his weapons and his clothes and write on his forehead: “This is a slave freed by al-Datma.” ’

  Princes used to come from far and near, but she would defeat them and then put them to shame, taking their weapons and branding them. News of her reached a Persian prince named Bahram, who made the long journey to her court, taking with him horse and foot, as well as wealth and royal treasures. When he got there, he sent a splendid gift to the king, her father, who came to meet him and received him with the greatest courtesy. The prince then despatched his viziers with a message for him, telling him that he wanted to ask for the princess’s hand. In reply, the king replied: ‘My son, I have no authority over my daughter al-Datma, as she has sworn only to marry someone who can defeat her in single combat.’ ‘It is to fulfil this condition that I have come from my city,’ said the prince, at which the king arranged for the two of them to meet on the next day.

  When the time came, her father sent a message to al-Datma asking her to accept Bahram’s challenge, and when she heard this, she made her preparations, equipped herself for the fight and rode out to the tournament ground, as did Bahram, who was determined to face her. News of the duel had spread, and people had come from all parts to be there when al-Datma came out, fully armed and wearing a sword belt, with her face veiled. For his part, Bahram rode out to meet her, splendidly equipped and fully armed. Each charged the other, and then they spent a long time circling each other and fighting furiously. In Bahram, al-Datma found a braver and more skilful opponent than any she had met earlier. She began to be afraid that she might be put to shame before the spectators, and when she realized that he was certain to defeat her,
she decided to fall back on a trick. She unveiled her face, which shone more brightly than the moon, and the prince was so astonished when he looked at her that his strength failed him and his resolution weakened. On seeing this, the princess charged him and plucked him from his saddle, holding him in her hand like a little bird in the talons of an eagle, while for his part he was so distracted by her beauty that he did not realize what was happening to him.

  She took his horse and his arms, after which she branded him and let him go. When he had recovered his senses, he spent some days neither eating, drinking nor sleeping, both because of his defeat and because love for the girl was now firmly rooted in his heart. He sent slaves back to his father with a letter in which he said that he could not come home until he had got what he wanted or died in his quest. This message distressed his father, who wanted to send an army to help him, but was dissuaded by his viziers, who urged patience. For his part, the prince decided to use guile in order to reach his goal. He disguised himself as a feeble old man and went to the princess’s garden, which she used to visit most days. There he met the gardener and told him: ‘I am a stranger from a distant land and from my youth I have had more skill in husbandry and in the tending of plants and scented herbs than anyone else.’ The gardener was delighted to hear this and took him into the garden, where he entrusted him to the care of his assistants. The prince started on his duties, looking after the trees and tending the fruits, until one day, while he was going about his work, a party of slaves came into the garden with mules laden with carpets and various utensils. When he asked about that, they told him that the princess wanted to come and look at the garden. At that, he went off and fetched the jewellery and robes that he had brought with him from home. He took them to the garden and sat down with some of them set out in front of him, and he then started to tremble, giving the impression that this was a symptom of senility…

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the five hundred and ninety-eighth night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that the prince, in the guise of a very old man, sat in the garden with jewellery and robes set out before him, pretending to be trembling as a symptom of age and senility and weakness. THE GIRL WENT ON:

  An hour later, slave girls and eunuchs arrived, with the princess in the middle of them, like the moon among stars, and they began to walk around, picking fruits and looking at the sights. Underneath one of the trees they saw Bahram sitting, and when they went up and looked at him, he appeared to be a very old man with tremors in his hands and feet, while in front of him were treasures fit for kings. They were astonished at this and they asked him what he proposed to do with the jewellery, laughing at him when he told them: ‘I want to use it to marry one of you.’ ‘And when you marry, what will you do with your bride?’ they asked. ‘I shall give her a single kiss and then divorce her.’ ‘I hereby marry you to this girl,’ the princess said, and Bahram went up to his bride, leaning on his staff, shaking and stumbling. He then kissed her and gave her the jewellery and the robes. She was delighted and the others laughed and went back home.

  The next day they came back, and when they approached Bahram they found him sitting in the same place with even more treasures set out in front of him. They sat down with him and again asked what he was going to do with all this, to which he answered: ‘I shall use it to marry one of you, as I did yesterday.’ The princess produced another bride for him and when he had gone up to her and kissed her, he gave her the jewellery and the robes, after which they all went home.

  When the princess saw the treasures that he had given to her slave girls, she said to herself: ‘I have a better right to these and no harm will come to me.’ So the next morning she went out of her palace alone, disguised as a slave girl and going by hidden paths in order to meet ‘the old man’. When she came to him, she said: ‘Old man, I am the king’s daughter. Would you like to marry me?’ ‘Very willingly,’ he replied, and he produced yet more valuable and costly treasures, which he handed over to her. He then got up to kiss her. She was feeling safe and assured, but when he came to her he seized her roughly, threw her to the ground and deflowered her. ‘Don’t you know me?’ he asked. ‘Who are you?’ she said, and he then told her: ‘I am Bahram, son of the king of Persia. It was for your sake that I disguised myself and left my family and my kingdom.’ She got up from under him in silence, neither answering him nor saying anything else, because of the shock of what had happened to her. She said to herself: ‘If I kill him, it will do me no good,’ and then, after thinking it over, she decided that the only thing she could do would be to flee with him to his own country. She collected her wealth and her treasures and then sent word of this to him, so that he could get ready and collect what money he had himself. They agreed on a night on which to leave and then, mounted on excellent horses, they set off under cover of darkness, and when dawn broke they were far away.

  They continued on their way until they reached Persia and approached the city of Bahram’s father, who rode out delightedly to meet them with all his men when he heard of their coming. Some days later, he sent a splendid gift to al-Datma’s father together with a letter in which he said that al-Datma herself was with him and asked for her wedding furnishings. When the gift arrived and was received by her father, he was filled with happiness and treated the envoys who had brought it with the greatest honour. He had a banquet prepared and summoned the qadi and the notaries to have a marriage contract drawn up between Bahram and his daughter. He then distributed robes of honour to the Persian envoys and sent off all that his daughter would need. Bahram stayed with her until they were parted by death.

  ‘Look and see, O king, what wiles men employ against women, and as for me, I shall never give up my just claim until I die.’ The king then renewed the order for his son’s execution, but the seventh vizier now presented himself and, after having kissed the ground before him, he said: ‘Wait until I can advise you, your majesty, for to act patiently and slowly is the way to achieve your hopes and gain your wishes, while haste leads to regret. I have seen the shameless way in which this girl has been inciting you to commit terrible acts, and, as your servant, I, who have been overwhelmed by your gracious favours, have advice to offer since I know what no one else knows of the wiles of women. I have heard, for instance, the story of the old woman and the merchant’s son.’ ‘What was that?’ the king asked, and THE VIZIER SAID:

  I have heard that there was once a wealthy merchant with a dearly loved son. One day, the son said to his father: ‘Father, I have a wish that I would ask you to fulfil for me.’ ‘What is it, my son,’ his father asked, ‘so that I may grant it to help you get what you want, even if you ask for the light of my eyes?’ ‘I would like you to give me enough money to let me go with the merchants to Baghdad, in order to look at the palaces of the caliphs. Other merchants’ sons have described the places to me, and I would like to see for myself.’ ‘Little son,’ his father objected, ‘how could I bear to be parted from you?’ ‘I have said what I have to say,’ the boy replied, ‘and I must go to Baghdad whether you approve or not, for I feel a longing in my soul that can only be cured if I do this.’

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the five hundred and ninety-ninth night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that the boy told his father that he insisted on going to Baghdad. THE SEVENTH VIZIER WENT ON:

  When his father was sure that he meant what he said, he provided him with thirty thousand dinars’ worth of trade goods and put him in the care of some merchants, whom he trusted, after which he said goodbye and returned home. His son went on with his companions until, when they reached Baghdad, the City of Peace, he went to the market and hired for himself a pleasant and attractive house whose appearance had filled him with astonishment and amazement. In it birds twittered; its rooms faced one another; its floor was paved with coloured
marble and its ceilings were gilded with lapis lazuli. He asked the doorkeeper what its monthly rent would be, and when the man said: ‘Ten dinars,’ he asked whether he was telling the truth or joking. ‘By God,’ said the man, ‘I am serious, for no one who moves in here stays for more than one or two weeks.’ The young man asked why this was, and the doorkeeper told him: ‘All the tenants leave either as sick men or as corpses, and so the house has a bad reputation with everyone, and as no one dares live here, the rent has fallen this low.’

  The young man was astonished to hear this and said: ‘There must be something here that is responsible for this,’ but then he thought the matter over and recited the formula: ‘I take refuge with God from Satan, the accursed.’ Dismissing the matter from his mind, he moved in and set about his business, buying and selling. He stayed there for some days without being affected by any of the disasters that the doorkeeper had mentioned, but then one day, as he was seated by the house door, a grey-haired old woman like a spotted snake passed by. She kept on praising and glorifying God, and clearing away stones and obstacles from the road. She seemed surprised to see him sitting there, and he asked her: ‘Do you know me or do I remind you of someone?’ When she heard him speak she hurried up to him and, having greeted him, she asked how long he had been living there. He told her that he had been there for two months, and she said: ‘It was this that surprised me. We don’t know each other, my son, nor do you remind me of anyone. What is remarkable, however, is that everyone else who has lived in this house has either fallen sick or died, and I am certain that you are putting your young life in danger. But perhaps you have not gone up to the top and looked from the belvedere there?’