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

by Penguin; Robert Irwin; Malcolm Lyons; Ursula Lyons

  ‘Ali then discarded his cloak, uncovering his steel coat, and then, taking a steel sword, he tightened the screw that fastened its blade to its hilt before going out alone and shouting at the lion. For its part, the lion leapt at him, but he struck it between the eyes with his sword, cutting it in half as the caravan leader and the merchants looked on. ‘Have no fear, uncle,’ he called to the leader, who replied: ‘My son, I shall for ever be your servant,’ while the chief of the merchants put his arms around him, kissed him between the eyes and presented him with a thousand dinars. Each of the other merchants gave him twenty dinars, and he deposited the whole sum with the chief.

  The next morning, they started off towards Baghdad and came to the Forest of Lions and the Valley of Dogs. Here there lurked the tribe of a recalcitrant Bedouin highwayman, who came out against them, causing them to run away. The chief of the merchants exclaimed: ‘My money is lost!’ but just then ‘Ali appeared, wearing a leather jacket hung with bells. He fitted together the sections of his spear, and mounted a horse that he had snatched from those the Bedouin had with him. He then challenged the man to a duel with spears and caused the mare he was riding to bolt as ‘Ali jingled his bells. He cut through the man’s spear and then struck off his head with a blow to the neck. When his followers saw this they closed in on ‘Ali, but with a shout of ‘God is greater!’ he charged at them and put them to flight, after which he fastened the Bedouin’s head on his spear point. The merchants rewarded him and the caravan went on to Baghdad. There he asked the chief of the merchants for the money that he had entrusted to him and this he gave to the caravan leader, saying: ‘When you get to Cairo, ask for my headquarters and give this money to my lieutenant there.’

  He entered Baghdad the next morning and went through the streets asking for the headquarters of Ahmad al-Danaf, but no one would direct him there. When he came to the square of al-Nafd he found children playing, among them a boy called Ahmad al-Laqit, and ‘Ali told himself that he would only find what he wanted by asking the children. He looked round and saw a sweet seller, some of whose wares he bought. Then he called to the children, but Ahmad al-Laqit drove them away before going up to ‘Ali himself and asking him what he wanted. ‘Ali told him: ‘I had a son who died and I saw him in a dream asking for sweetmeats, which is why I have bought some to give to every child.’ He presented Ahmad al-Laqit with a piece, and when the boy looked at it he saw a dinar sticking to it. ‘Go away,’ he said. ‘If you ask about me, you will find that I am no catamite.’ ‘Boy,’ said ‘Ali, ‘a clever fellow takes the pay and a clever fellow offers it. I’ve been going round the town asking for the headquarters of Ahmad al-Danaf, but no one will show me the way. This dinar is for you if you direct me.’ The boy said: ‘Follow me as I go on ahead until I get there, and then I shall catch up a pebble with my toes and throw it against the door so that you can see which it is.’ They went off, one after the other, until the boy caught up the pebble and threw it at the door, which ‘Ali then marked.

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that when Ahmad al-Laqit had gone ahead of ‘Ali and shown him the place, ‘Ali now laid hold of the boy and tried unsuccessfully to get the dinar back from him, before telling him to go off, adding: ‘You deserve a gift because you are sharp, intelligent and brave. If God wills that the caliph appoint me as a captain, I’ll make you one of my band.’

  When the boy had left, ‘Ali went up to the house and knocked on the door. Ahmad al-Danaf told his lieutenant to open it, saying: ‘This is the knock of ‘Ali al-Zaibaq the Cairene.’ When it had been opened, ‘Ali went in and greeted Ahmad, who embraced him, while his forty men added their own greetings. Ahmad gave him a robe and told him: ‘When the caliph appointed me captain, he gave me clothes for my followers and I kept this for you.’ ‘Ali was seated in the place of honour, and when food and drink had been provided they all ate and drank until they were drunk, keeping it up until morning. Ahmad then told ‘Ali not to go wandering through the streets of Baghdad but to stay in the house. ‘Why?’ ‘Ali asked, adding: ‘I’ve not come to be shut up, but to see the sights.’ ‘My son,’ Ahmad told him, ‘don’t imagine that Baghdad is like Cairo. This is the seat of the caliphate and there are vast numbers of tricksters, as roguery sprouts here like vegetables in the countryside.’ For three days ‘Ali stayed in the house, and Ahmad then said that he wanted to present him to the caliph so that he could be given an allowance. ‘Wait for the right moment,’ ‘Ali told him, after which Ahmad left him alone.

  Later, while ‘Ali was sitting in the house and feeling depressed and ill at ease, he decided to cheer himself up by going out and walking through the city. So he went off and walked from street to street until in the middle of the market he came across a cookshop and went in to eat. When he got up to wash his hands he came across forty slaves wearing felt-padded tunics with steel swords marching two by two. Bringing up the rear and mounted on a mule was Dalila the wily, wearing a helmet covered with gold leaf and plated with iron, a mail coat and equipment to match. She was on her way back from the court to her khan, and, when her eye fell on ‘Ali, she looked at him closely and noted that he was of the same height and breadth as Ahmad al-Danaf. He was wearing a loose robe as well as a hooded cloak and carrying a steel blade among other things, and it was quite clear that here was a man of unimpeachable courage.

  On her return to the khan, Dalila went to her daughter, Zainab, and got out the divination table, and when she shook the sand over it she discovered that the young man was ‘Ali the Cairene and that his good fortune would eclipse hers and that of her daughter. Zainab asked her: ‘What did you see, mother, that made you turn to divination?’ to which she answered: ‘Today I saw a young man who looks like Ahmad al-Danaf, and I’m afraid that if he hears that you stripped Ahmad and his men of their clothes, he may come here in order to play a trick on us to avenge his chief and the forty men. I think he must be staying in Ahmad’s headquarters.’ ‘What are you worried about?’ Zainab asked, adding: ‘I think that you have taken his measure.’

  Zainab now put on her most splendid dress and went out to walk through the streets, captivating all who saw her, making promises, swearing oaths, listening to what they said and flaunting herself brazenly. She went from market to market until she saw ‘Ali al-Zaibaq coming towards her. She rubbed against him with her shoulder and then turned and exclaimed: ‘God preserve people of taste!’ ‘What a beautiful figure you have!’ he told her, and asked: ‘Who do you belong to?’ ‘To a fine fellow like you,’ she said, and when he went on to ask whether she was married or single, she said that she was married. ‘My place or yours?’ he asked. ‘I’m the daughter of a merchant,’ she told him, ‘and my husband is a merchant. This is the first day in my life that I have ever been outside, and that is because I had prepared food and was about to eat when I found that I had no appetite for it. Then, when I saw you, I fell in love with you. Can you bring yourself to console me and join me in a bite?’ ‘Whoever is invited must accept,’ ‘Ali replied, and as she walked on he followed her from street to street.

  As he walked behind her, ‘Ali said to himself: ‘How can you do this in a strange city? The proverb has it that those who fornicate while abroad will have their hopes dashed by God. I shall politely put her off.’ So he said: ‘Take this dinar and fix another time for me,’ but she swore by the Greatest Name of God: ‘You must come home with me now so that I can show how I love you.’ He followed her until she came to the locked door of a house with a high portal. ‘Open the lock,’ Zainab told him, but when he asked where the key was, she told him that it was lost. ‘Whoever opens a lock without a key is a robber who should be punished by the magistrate,’ he said, adding, ‘and as for me, I’ve no idea how to do it.’ She drew the veil from her face and he gave her a glance which was followed by a thousand sighs. She then let the veil hang dow
n over the lock and recited the names of the mother of Moses over it, at which it opened without a key. She went in, and ‘Ali followed and saw swords and weapons of steel.

  Zainab removed her veil and sat down with him. Saying to himself: ‘Finish off what God has decreed for you,’ he leaned towards her to kiss her cheek, but she covered it with the palm of her hand, exclaiming: ‘Pure pleasure only comes at night!’ She then produced food and drink and they ate and drank, after which she got up and filled the water jug from the well and poured it over his hands, which he washed. All of a sudden, while they were doing this, she began to beat her breast and said: ‘My husband had a ruby ring which was pledged for five hundred dinars. I put it on but it was too big and so I used wax to fix it more tightly, but when I let down the water bucket it must have fallen into the well. Turn to look at the door while I take my clothes off before going down there to recover it.’ ‘It would be a disgrace if you were to go down while I’m here,’ ‘Ali objected and added: ‘No one is going down except me.’ He stripped off his clothes and tied himself to the well rope, after which Zainab let him down into the well. The water was deep and after a time she told him: ‘I haven’t got enough rope left. Untie yourself and drop down.’ He did this, but, far as he sank into the water, he still didn’t reach the bottom. Zainab meanwhile veiled herself and, taking his clothes, she went back to her mother…

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that after ‘Ali had gone down into the well, Zainab veiled herself and, taking his clothes, she went back to her mother and told her: ‘I have taken the clothes of ‘Ali the Cairene and left him in the well of the house of the emir Hasan, from which he’s not likely to escape.’

  This emir was away at court at the time. When he came back, he found the door open and said to his groom: ‘Why didn’t you lock up?’ ‘I did, with my own hand,’ the man protested, and Hasan then swore that a robber must have entered. He went in and looked around but found no one there. So he told the groom to fill the water jug so that he could wash, and the groom took the bucket and lowered it into the well. When he tried to draw it up again, he found it heavy, and when he looked down, he saw something sitting in it. He let it down again and called out: ‘Master, an ‘ifrit has come out from the well.’ ‘Go and fetch four Quranic scholars to recite the Quran at it so it may go away,’ Hasan told him. When the four had come, Hasan told them to stand around the well and recite. His servant and his groom came to let down the bucket, and this time when ‘Ali took hold of it he hid himself inside it and waited until he was nearly on a level with Hasan and the others. He then jumped among the reciters, who started to hit out at each other, shouting: ‘‘Ifrit, ‘ifrit!’ Hasan could see that this was a young man and asked: ‘Are you a robber?’ ‘No,’ said ‘Ali, and Hasan went on: ‘Why did you go down into the well?’ ‘Ali replied: ‘I polluted myself in my sleep and went down to wash in the Tigris, but when I plunged into the water the current pulled me under the surface and eventually I came out in this well.’ ‘Tell the truth,’ Hasan said, and when ‘Ali had told him the whole story, Hasan sent him away dressed in some old clothes.

  When he got back to Ahmad al-Danaf’s base and told him what had happened, Ahmad said: ‘Didn’t I tell you that in Baghdad there are women who play tricks on men?’, while ‘Ali Kitf al-Jamal exclaimed: ‘By the Greatest Name of God, tell me how you can be the leader of the Cairo youngsters and still have your clothes taken by a girl.’ ‘Ali found this hard to stomach and regretted what he had done, but Ahmad gave him another robe and Hasan Shuman asked if he knew the girl. When he said no, Hasan said: ‘It must have been Zainab, the daughter of Dalila the wily, the gatekeeper of the caliph’s khan. Have you fallen into her toils?’ ‘Yes,’ said ‘Ali, and Hasan went on to tell him that it was this girl who had taken the clothes of Ahmad, their chief, and of all his company. ‘This is a disgrace for you!’ exclaimed ‘Ali, and when Hasan asked what he proposed to do, he said that he wanted to marry her. ‘You’ll never be able to do that, so forget about her,’ Hasan told him, but when ‘Ali went on to ask how to manage it, Hasan then encouraged him and said: ‘If you drink out of my hand and march under my banner, I’ll see that you get what you want from her.’

  ‘Ali agreed to this, and Hasan told him to take off his clothes. When he had done that, Hasan took a cauldron and boiled up in it something that looked like pitch, which he smeared on ‘Ali’s body, as well as on his lips and cheeks, until he looked like a black slave. He used red kohl on his eyes and dressed him in the clothes of a servant, before giving him a tray on which were kebabs and wine. He said: ‘In the khan there is a black cook and you now look like him. The only things that this man needs from the market are meat and vegetables, so approach him politely, address him in the argot of the blacks, greet him and say: “It has been a long time since I met you in the pub.” He will tell you: “I’ve been busy. I’ve forty black slaves to look after, cooking them one meal in the morning and another in the evening, as well as feeding forty dogs and preparing food for both Dalila and her daughter, Zainab.” Say to him: “Come on. Let’s eat kebabs and drink some beer,” after which go into the house with him and make him drunk. When you’ve done that, ask him how many different dishes he has to cook, what the dogs eat and where the keys of the kitchen and the pantry are kept, as a drunk man will tell you everything that he would conceal if he were sober. After that, drug him and put on his clothes, take the knives from his belt and the vegetable basket, and go to the market and buy meat and vegetables. After that you can enter both the kitchen and the pantry of the khan and cook the meal. Put it in a bowl and then take it to Dalila after you’ve added banj to it so as to drug the dogs, the slaves, and Dalila and Zainab as well. Go upstairs and fetch all the clothes you find, and if you want to marry Zainab, bring the forty carrier pigeons with you.’

  ‘Ali went off, and when he saw the cook he greeted him and repeated what Hasan had told him to say. The cook told him he was busy looking after the slaves and the dogs in the khan, after which ‘Ali took him off and made him drunk before asking how many dishes he had to cook. The man told him that he cooked five different dishes in the morning and five in the evening, adding: ‘And yesterday they asked me for a sixth, rice and honey, as well as a seventh, which was cooked pomegranate seeds.’ ‘How do you serve this?’ ‘Ali asked, and the cook said: ‘First I take up Zainab’s tray and then that of Dalila, after which I give the slaves their evening meal. Then I feed the dogs, giving each one its fill of meat, and it takes at least one ratl’s weight of this to satisfy them.’

  As fate would have it, ‘Ali forgot to ask about the keys, but he managed to get the cook’s clothes, which he put on, and he took the basket and went to the market, where he bought the meat and the vegetables.

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that ‘Ali drugged the cook and took his knives, which he put in his waistband. He took the basket and went to the market to buy meat and vegetables. He then went back, and when he entered the door of the khan he saw Dalila sitting there looking at everyone who came in or went out, and he saw the forty armed slaves, but this did not daunt him. When Dalila caught sight of him, she recognized him and said: ‘Go back, you robber chief. Are you thinking of playing a trick on me in this khan?’ ‘Ali, in his disguise as a black slave, turned to her and asked: ‘What are you saying, doorkeeper?’ ‘What have you done with the cook?’ she asked. ‘Have you killed him or drugged him?’ ‘What cook are you talking about?’ said ‘Ali. ‘I’m the only cook here.’ ‘You’re lying,’ she told him. ‘You are ‘Ali al-Zaibaq from Cairo.’ Using the argot of the blacks, ‘Ali replied: ‘Doorkeeper, are Cairenes white or black? I am not going to serve here any longer.’ At that, th
e black slaves asked: ‘What’s wrong, cousin?’ and Dalila said: ‘He’s no cousin of yours. This is ‘Ali al-Zaibaq from Cairo and I think that he has drugged your cousin or killed him.’ They insisted that he was Sa‘dullah the cook, one of theirs, but she denied it again and insisted that he was ‘Ali the Cairene, who had dyed his skin. ‘Who is this ‘Ali?’ ‘Ali said. ‘I am Sa‘dullah.’ ‘I have some ointment that can test this,’ Dalila said, but when she fetched it and rubbed it on his arm, the black dye didn’t come off and the slaves said: ‘Let him cook our meal for us.’ ‘If he is really one of yours,’ Dalila told them, ‘he’ll know what you asked for yesterday and how many dishes he cooks each day.’ They asked ‘Ali about this, and he said: ‘I gave you lentils, rice, soup, ragout and rose sherbet, with rice and honey as a sixth dish, while a seventh was cooked pomegranate seeds, with the same in the evening.’ ‘True enough,’ they said, and Dalila then told them: ‘Go in with him, and if he knows where the kitchen and the pantry are, then he is indeed your cousin, but if not, kill him.’

  As it happened the cook had brought up a cat, and whenever he came to the kitchen, this cat would stand by the door and then jump up on his shoulder as he went in. When it saw ‘Ali coming, it jumped up, and when he put it down again, it walked in front of him to the kitchen. He realized that where it stopped must be the kitchen door, and so he took the keys, noticing that some feathers were still sticking to one of them. He understood that this must be the kitchen key and so he opened the door, put the vegetables inside and went out again. The cat ran on in front of him, making for another door, which he could tell must be that of the pantry, and when he took the keys he saw that one had traces of grease on it and, recognizing that this must be the right one, he used it to open the pantry door. The slaves told Dalila that, had he been a stranger, he would neither have known where the two rooms were nor have been able to pick out the right keys from the bunch. ‘This is our cousin, Sa‘dullah,’ they insisted, but she said: ‘It was the cat who showed him where the rooms were, and he picked out the keys by inference. This does not take me in.’