The Arabian Nights (New Deluxe Edition)

by Muhsin Mahdi

  But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said, “Sister, what an amazing and entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night if the king spares me and lets me live!”

  THE FIFTY-FIRST NIGHT

  The following night Dinarzad said to her sister Shahrazad, “Sister, if you are not sleepy, tell us the rest of the story.” Shahrazad replied, “With the greatest pleasure”:

  I heard, O King, that the second dervish said to the girl:

  O lady, the rooster, glad to see the seed, rushed to pick it, when it rolled into the fountain, became a fish, and dove into the water. The rooster turned immediately into a bigger fish and plunged after it, and the two disappeared into the bottom of the fountain for a very long time. Then we heard loud shouts, shrieks, and howls, which made us tremble, and a while later the demon came out as a burning flame, followed by the girl, who was also a burning flame. The demon blew fire and sparks from his mouth, nostrils, and eyes and battled the girl for a long time until their flames engulfed them, and the smoke filled the palace until we were resigned to suffocate, as we stood stricken by fear for our lives, certain of disaster and perdition, and, as the fire raged and became more intense, we cried, “There is no power and no strength save in God, the Almighty, the Magnificent.” Suddenly, before we could notice, the demon darted as a flame out of the fire, and with one leap stood in the hall before us, blowing fire in our faces, and the girl pursued him, with a loud cry. As the demon blew fire at us, the sparks flew, and, as I stood there in the semblance of an ape, one of them hit my right eye and destroyed it. A second spark hit the king, burning half of his face, including his beard and chin, and knocking out a row of his teeth. A third spark hit the servant in the chest and killed him instantly. At that moment, as we felt certain of destruction and gave ourselves up for lost, we heard a cry, “God is great, God is great! He has conquered and triumphed; He has defeated the infidel.” It was the cry of the king’s daughter, who had at that very moment defeated the demon. We looked and saw a heap of ashes.

  Then the girl came up to us and said, “Bring me a bowl of water,” and crying, “In the name of the Almighty God and His covenant, be yourself again,” she sprinkled me with the water, and I shook and stood “a full-fledged man.” Then she cried out, “The fire! The fire! O father, I am going to miss you, for I have been wounded by one of the demon’s arrows, and I shall not live much longer. Although I am not used to fighting demons, I had no trouble until the pomegranate broke to pieces and I became a rooster. I picked all the seeds but overlooked the one that contained the very soul of the demon. Had I picked it up, he would have died instantly, but I overlooked it. I fought him under the earth and I fought him in the sky, and every time he initiated a domain of magic, I countered with a greater domain and foiled him until I opened the domain of fire. Few open it and survive, but I exceeded him in cunning, and with God’s help I killed him. God will protect you in my place.” Then she implored again, “The fire! The fire!”

  But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said, “Sister, what an entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night if I stay alive!”

  THE FIFTY-SECOND NIGHT

  The following night Dinarzad said to her sister Shahrazad, “Sister, if you are not sleepy, tell us one of your little tales.” Shahrazad replied, “Very well”:

  I heard, O King, that the second dervish said to the girl:

  When the king’s daughter implored, “The fire! The fire!” her father said, “Daughter, it would be a wonder if I too do not perish, for this your servant died instantly, and this young man has lost an eye.” Then he wept and made me weep with him. Soon the girl implored again, “The fire! The fire!” as a spark shot at her legs and burned them, then flew to her thighs, then to her bosom, while she kept crying out, “The fire! The fire!” until all of her body burned to a heap of ashes. By God, mistress, I grieved sorely for her, wishing to have been a dog, an ape, or even a dead man, instead of seeing that girl fight, suffer, and burn to ashes. When the father saw that his daughter was dead, he beat his face, and as I did likewise and cried, the statesmen and the servants came in and were amazed to see two heaps of ashes and the king in a bad way. Then they attended him, and when he regained consciousness and told them about his daughter’s calamity, their grief grew greater and they mourned for her for seven days. Then the king bade a vaulted tomb be built over his daughter’s ashes, but the demon’s ashes he bade be scattered to the wind.

  Then the king lay ill for a full month, but when God granted him recovery and he regained his health and his beard grew again, he summoned me before him and said, “Young man, listen to what I have to say to you, and don’t disobey me, lest you perish.” I replied, “My lord, tell me, for I shall never disobey an order of yours.” He said, “We have enjoyed the happiest of lives, safe from misfortunes of the world, until you came with your black face and brought disaster with you. My daughter died for your sake, my servant perished, and I myself barely escaped destruction. You were the cause of all this, for ever since we laid eyes on you, we have been unfortunate. Would that we never saw you, for we have paid for your deliverance with our destruction. Now I want you to leave our city and depart in peace, but if I ever see you again, I will kill you.” Then he yelled at me, and I went forth from his presence, dumbfounded and deaf and blind to everything.

  Before leaving the city, I went to the bath and shaved off my beard and eyebrows, and when I came out, I put on a black woolen robe and departed. I left the king’s capital in dismay and tears, not knowing where I should go, and when I recalled everything that had happened to me, how I had entered the city and in what condition I was leaving it, my grief grew worse. O mistress, every day I ponder my misfortune, the loss of my eye and the death of the two girls. I weep bitterly and repeat these verses:

  The Lord of Mercy sees me stand perplexed,

  Beset by ills, whence came I cannot see.

  I will endure until I patience tire

  And God fulfills my wish by His decree.

  I will endure until God sees that I

  Bitterness worse than aloes have endured.

  Nor would I have tasted such bitterness,

  Had my weak patience such a teste endured.

  Nor would I have endured such bitterness,

  Had my weak patience endured such decree.

  He who says that life is made of sweetness

  A day more bitter than aloes will see.

  Then I journeyed through many regions and visited many countries, with the intention of reaching Baghdad and the hope of finding someone there who would help me to the presence of the Commander of the Faithful, so that I might tell him my tale and acquaint him with my misfortune. I arrived here this very night and found this man my brother standing about. I greeted him and asked, “Are you a stranger?” and he replied, “Yes, I am a stranger.” Soon this other man joined us and said, “I am a stranger,” and we replied, “We too are strangers like you.” Then the three of us walked on, as night descended on us, until God brought us to your house. Such then is the cause of losing my eye and shaving off my beard.

  The girl said to him, “Stroke your head and go,” but he replied, “By God, I will not leave until I hear the tales of the others.” Then the black men untied him, and he stood by the side of the first dervish.

  But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then her sister said, “Sister, what a strange and entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night if I stay alive!”

  THE FIFTY-THIRD NIGHT

  The following night Dinarzad said, “Please, sister, if you are not sleepy, tell us a tale to while away the night.” The king added, “Finish the dervishes’ tale.” Shahrazad replied, “Very well”:

  It is related, O King, that the third dervish said
:

  5. The scripts named are all calligraphic varieties of the cursive, curvilinear Arabic script.

  6. See n. 2, p. 47.

  7. The rectilinear Arabic script characteristic of the early Qurans.

  [The Third Dervish’s Tale]

  O GREAT LADY, the story behind the shaving off of my beard and the loss of my eye is stranger and more amazing than theirs, yet it is unlike theirs, for their misfortune took them by surprise, whereas I knowingly brought misfortune and sorrow upon myself. My father was a great and powerful king, and when he died, I inherited the kingdom. My name is ’Ajib ibn-Khasib, and my city stood on the shore of a vast sea that contained many islands. My fleet numbered fifty merchantmen, fifty small pleasure boats, and one hundred and fifty ships fitted for battle and holy war. One day I decided to go on an excursion to the islands, and I carried with me a month’s supply and went there, enjoyed myself, and came back. A while later, driven by a desire to give myself to the sea, I fitted ten ships, carried two months’ supply, and set out on my voyage. We sailed for forty days, but on the night of the forty-first, the wind blew from all directions, the sea raged with fury, buffeting our ships with huge waves, and a dense darkness descended upon us. We gave ourselves up for lost and said, “‘Even if he escapes, the foolhardy deserves no praise.’” We prayed to the Almighty God and implored and supplicated, but the blasts continued to blow and the sea continued to rage till dawn. Then the wind died down, the waves subsided, and the sea became calm and peaceful, and when the sun shone on us, the sea lay before us like a smooth sheet.

  Soon we came to an island, where we landed and cooked and ate some food. We rested for two days and we set out again and sailed for ten days, but as we sailed, the sea kept expanding before us and the land kept receding behind us. The captain was puzzled and said to the lookout man, “Climb to the masthead and look.” The lookout man climbed, and after he looked for a while, came down and said, “I looked to my right and saw nothing but sky and water, and I looked to my left and saw something black looming before me. That is all I saw.” When the captain heard what the lookout man said, he threw his turban to the deck, plucked out his beard, beat his face, and said, “O King, I tell you that we are all going to perish. There is no power and no strength save in God, the Almighty, the Magnificent,” and he began to weep and made us weep with him. Then we said to him, “Captain, explain the matter.” He replied, “My lord, we lost our course on the night of the storm, and we can no longer go back. By midday tomorrow, forced by the currents, we will reach a black mountain of a metal called the magnetic stone. As soon as we sail below the mountain, the ship’s sides will come apart and every nail will fly out and stick to the mountain, for the Almighty God has endowed the magnetic stone with a mysterious virtue that makes the iron love it. For this reason and because of the many ships that have been passing by for a long time, the mountain has attracted so much iron that most of it is already covered with it. On the summit facing the sea, there is a dome of Andalusian brass, supported by ten brass pillars, and on top of the dome there is a brass horse with a brass horseman, bearing on his breast a lead tablet inscribed with talismans. O King, it is none but this rider who destroys the people, and they will not be safe from him until he falls from his horse.” Then, O my lady, the captain wept bitterly, and certain that we would perish, we too wept for ourselves with him. We bade each other good-bye, and each of us charged his friend with his instructions, in case he was saved.

  We never slept a wink that night, and in the morning we began to approach the magnetic mountain, so that by midday, forced by the currents, we stood below the mountain. As soon as we arrived there, the planks of the ship came apart, and the nails and every iron part flew out toward the mountain and stuck together there. Some of us drowned and some escaped, but those who did escape knew nothing about the fate of the others. As for me, O my lady, God spared me that I might suffer what He had willed for me of hardship and misery. I climbed on one of the planks of the ship, and it was thrown immediately by the wind at the foot of the mountain. There I found a path leading to the summit, with steps carved out of the rock.

  But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said, “Sister, what a strange and entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night if I stay alive!”

  THE FIFTY-FOURTH NIGHT

  The following night Dinarzad said to her sister Shahrazad, “Please, sister, if you are not sleepy, tell us the rest of the story of the third dervish.” Shahrazad replied, “Very well”:

  O my lord, I heard that the third dervish said to the girl:

  When I saw the path on the side of the mountain, I invoked the name of the Almighty God, hung against the rock, and began to climb little by little. And the Almighty God bade the wind be still and helped me with the ascent, so that I reached the summit safely and went directly to the dome. Glad at my safe escape, I entered the dome, performed my ablutions, and prayed, kneeling down several times in thanksgiving to the Almighty God for my safety. Then I fell asleep under the dome overlooking the sea and heard in a dream a voice saying, “O ’Ajib, when you wake from your sleep, dig under your feet, and you will find a brass bow and three lead arrows inscribed with talismans. Take the bow and arrows and shoot at the horseman to throw him off the horse and rid mankind of this great calamity. When you shoot at him, he will fall into the sea, and the horse will drop at your feet. Take the horse and bury it in the place of the bow. When you do this, the sea will swell and rise until it reaches the level of the dome, and there will come to you a skiff carrying a man of brass (a man other than the man you will have thrown), holding in his hands a pair of paddles. Ride with him, but do not invoke the name of God. He will row you for ten days until he brings you to the Sea of Safety. Once there, you will find those who will convey you to your native land. All this will be fulfilled, providing that you do not invoke the name of God.”

  Then I awoke and eagerly sprang up to do the voice’s bidding. I shot at the horseman, and he fell from the horse into the sea, while the horse dropped at my feet, and when I buried the horse in the place of the bow, the sea swelled and rose until it came up to me. Soon I saw a skiff in the offing, coming toward me, and I praised and thanked the Almighty God. When the skiff came up to me, I saw there a man of brass, bearing on his breast a lead tablet inscribed with names and talismans. I climbed into the skiff without uttering a word, and the boatman rowed with me through the first day and the second and on to the ninth, when I happily caught sight of islands, hills, and other signs of safety. But in my excess of joy, I praised and glorified the Almighty God, crying, “There is no god but God.” No sooner had I done that than the skiff turned upside down and sank, throwing me into the sea. I swam all day until my shoulders were numb with fatigue and my arms began to fail me, and when night fell and I was in the middle of nowhere, I became resigned to drown. Suddenly there was a violent gust of wind, which made the sea surge, and a great wave as tall as a mountain swept me and with one surge cast me on dry land; for God had willed to preserve my life. I walked ashore, wrung out my clothes, and spread them to dry. Then I slept the whole night.

  In the morning I put on my clothes and went to scout and see where I was. I came to a cluster of trees, circled around them, and as I walked further, I found out that I was on a small island in the middle of the sea. I said, “There is no power and no strength save in God, the Almighty, the Magnificent,” and while I was thinking about my situation, wishing that I was dead, I suddenly saw in the distance a ship with human beings on board, making for the island. I climbed a tree and hid among the branches. Soon the ship touched land, and there came ashore ten black men, carrying shovels and baskets. They walked on until they reached the middle of the island. Then they began to dig into the ground and to shovel the earth away until they uncovered a slab. Then they returned to the ship and began to haul out sacks of bread and flour, vessels of cooking butter and honey, preser
ved meat, utensils, carpets, straw mats, couches, and other pieces of furniture—in short, all one needs for setting up house. The black men kept going back and forth and descending through the trapdoor with the articles until they had transported everything that was in the ship. When they came out of the ship again, there was a very old man in their middle. Of this man nothing much was left, for time had ravaged him, reducing him to a bone wrapped in a blue rag through which the winds whistled east and west. He was like one of whom the poet said:

  Time made me tremble; ah! how sore that was

  For with his might does time all mortals stalk.

  I used to walk without becoming tired;

  Today I tire although I never walk.

  The old man held by the hand a young man who was so splendidly handsome that he seemed to be cast in beauty’s mold. He was like the green bough or the tender young of the roe, ravishing every heart with his loveliness and captivating every mind with his perfection. Faultless in body and face, he surpassed everyone in looks and inner grace, as if it was of him that the poet said: