The Arabian Nights (New Deluxe Edition)
Page 57
He found her sitting and waiting for him, and when she saw him, she rose to greet him and welcome him. Then the maids set food before them, and they ate and washed their hands. Then they brought them wine, and she drank and plied him with wine until by midnight he was drunk and unconscious. When she saw him in this condition, she said to him, “I conjure you by God and by the god you worship, if I ask you a question, will you answer me truthfully?” He, being unconscious and not knowing what he was saying, replied, “Yes.” She said, “O my lord and my darling, when you looked and did not find me, did you not search for me until you found me in the garden in the form of a white she-bird and saw a black bird mount me, then saw me turn back into my human form?” He replied, “Yes.” She said, “That black bird was one of my officers, whom I loved, but one day he cast his eye on one of my women, and I became jealous and turned him into a bird and killed the woman. But I cannot bear to be without him, and whenever I desire him, I turn myself into a she-bird and let him possess me, as you have seen. It is because of this that you are jealous and angry at me, yet, by the fire and the night, you love me and I love you more than ever.”
But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence.
THE TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVENTH NIGHT
The following night Shahrazad said:
I heard, O happy King, that the queen said to King Badr, “You love me and I love you, for you are my lot in life.” When he heard this, he, being drunk, replied, “Yes, this is how I felt.” Then she embraced him and kissed him and, pretending to love him, lay down to sleep, and he lay beside her. In the middle of the night, she rose from bed, while Badr lay awake, pretending to be asleep, and watched with one eye to see what she was doing. She took red sand from a bag and spread it on the floor of the room, and it became a running stream. Then she took out a handful of barley and strewed it in the soil on the bank of the stream and watered it with the water from the stream, and it turned into ears of barley. Then she reaped the barley and ground it into meal. Then she laid the meal aside and, returning to bed, slept beside King Badr till the morning.
When it was morning, King Badr rose and, as soon as he washed his face, asked her leave to visit the old man. She gave him leave and he went to the old man and told him what he had seen. When the old man heard what he said, he laughed and said, “By God, this infidel is plotting mischief against you, but do not mind her.” Then he gave him a half-pound of barley meal and said, “Take this with you, and when you arrive and she sees it, she will ask you, ‘What will you do with this?’ Say to her, ‘An extra blessing is a blessing,’ and eat some of it. Then she will bring you her own meal and say to you, ‘Eat some of this.’ But pretend to be eating of hers and eat of this instead. Beware, for if you eat as much as a dirham’s weight or even a grain of hers, her spell will have power over you, and, knowing that you have eaten of her meal, she will cast her spell over you, bid you leave your human form, and turn you into any other form she pleases. But if you do not eat of it, you need not worry about her, for her magic will have no power over you and will fail to work on you. She will be abashed and tell you that she was teasing you and will make a show of affection and love, but all this will be nothing but abomination. Then make a show of love and say to her, ‘O my lady and my darling, taste of my barley meal.’ If she tastes even one grain of it, take water in your hand, throw it in her face, and bid her leave her form and turn into any form you please. Then leave her and come to me, and I will take care of you.”
Then King Badr bade the old man farewell and, returning to the palace, went in to the queen. When she saw him, she said, “Welcome!” and she rose and kissed him, saying, “O my lord, you have tarried too long from me.” He replied, “I have been with my uncle, who gave me some of this barley meal to eat.” She replied, “We have better than this.” Then she put his meal in one dish and hers in another and said to him, “Eat of this, for it is better than yours.” He pretended to eat of it, and when she thought that he had done so, she took water in her hand and sprinkled him with it, saying, “Leave this form, you vile good-for-nothing, and turn into a mean, barren, ugly, lame mule.” But he did not change, and when she saw that he did not change, she went up to him and kissed him, saying, “O my beloved, I was teasing you to see what you would say.” He replied, “My lady, as long as you love me, nothing will change me toward you.”
But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence.
THE TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY-EIGHTH NIGHT
The following night Shahrazad said:
I heard, O happy King, that King Badr said to the queen, “As long as you love me, nothing will change me toward you, for I love you even more than you love me. Eat of my barley meal.” She took a mouthful and ate it, and no sooner had it settled in her stomach than she began to convulse. Then King Badr took water in his hand and threw it in her face, saying, “Leave this form and turn into a dappled she-mule,” and she became at once a dappled she-mule. When she saw herself in this condition, the tears rolled down her face, and she began to rub her cheeks against his feet. He tried to bridle her, but she would not let him; so he left her and went to the old man and told him what had happened, and the old man took out a bridle, saying, “Bridle her with this, for, when she sees it, she will submit and let you bridle her.” King Badr took the bridle and returned to the queen, and when she saw him, she came up to him, and he set the bit in her mouth, and, mounting her, he rode from the palace to the old man’s shop. When the old man saw her, he said to her, “May God shame you, O cursed woman! Do you see what He has done to you?” Then he said to King Badr, “My son, it is time for you to leave this city. Ride her and go wherever you like, but beware of relinquishing the bridle to anyone.” King Badr thanked him and bade him farewell.
Then he rode on for three days until he came near a city, where he met an attractive gray-headed old man, who asked him, “Son, where are you coming from?” King Badr replied, “From the City of the Magicians.” The old man replied, “You are my guest,” but while they were conversing, up came an old woman, who, when she looked at the she-mule, began to cry, saying, “This she-mule resembles my son’s she-mule, which is dead, and my heart aches for her. O young man, for God’s sake, sell her to me.” King Badr replied, “Mother, by God, I cannot sell her.” She said, “For God’s sake, do not refuse me, for my son will surely die if I do not buy him this she-mule,” and she pressed him until he said to her, “I will not sell her for less than a thousand dinars.” She said to him, “Say to me, ‘She is sold to you for a thousand dinars.’” King Badr, saying to himself, “Where could this old woman get a thousand dinars? I will say that the she-mule is sold to her and see where she will get the money,” replied, “She is sold to you.” When she heard his words, she took out from her pocket a thousand dinars, and when he saw the money, he said to her, “Mother, I was joking with you, for I cannot sell her.” But the old man looked at him and said, “Son, you should know that none lies in this city, for whoever lies is put to death.” King Badr dismounted from the she-mule …
But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said to her sister, “O 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 TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY-NINTH NIGHT
The following night Shahrazad said:
I heard, O happy King, that King Badr dismounted from the she-mule and delivered her to the old woman, who, as soon as she received her, removed the bit from her mouth, took water in her hand, and sprinkled her with it, saying, “O my daughter, leave this form and return to your human form.” The queen was at once restored to, her original form, and the two women embraced and kissed each other. Then King Badr realized that the old woman was Queen Lab’s mother and that he had been tricked, and he wanted to flee, but there was nowhere to go.
Then the old woman gave a loud whistle, and there appeared before her a demon, as
huge as a mountain. She mounted on his back and placed her daughter behind her, and the demon, putting King Badr on his shoulder, flew off with them and soon brought them to the palace of Queen Lab. When the queen sat down on the throne, she looked at King Badr and said, “You worthless fellow, here I am; I have attained my wish and I will show you what I will do to you and to that wretched old fava-bean seller. O how many favors have I done him and how ill he has served me, for you succeeded with me only with his help!” Then she took water and sprinkled him with it, saying, “Leave this form and turn into the ugliest of birds, and he at once turned into an ugly bird. Then she put him in a cage and withheld from him all food and water.
But one of her women took pity on him and gave him food and water without the queen’s knowledge. Then she went to the old man and told him what had happened and informed him that the queen intended to destroy his nephew. He thought it over, pondering what to do with the queen, and finally said, “I must take this city from her.” Then he gave a loud whistle, and there appeared before him a demon with four wings, to whom he said, “O Barq, take this girl, who has pitied King Badr and given him food and water, and carry her to the city of Jullanar of the Sea and her mother Farasha, who are the most powerful magicians on the face of the earth, and tell them that King Badr is Queen Lab’s captive.”
The demon took her, and flying off with her, soon set her down on the roof of Queen Jullanar’s palace. The girl descended from the roof and, going in to the queen, kissed the ground before her and told her what had happened to her son from beginning to end. Jullanar rose and kissed her face and thanked her. Then she ordered the drums to beat in the city in celebration and informed her family that King Badr had been found. Then Jullanar and her mother Farasha and her brother Sayih summoned all the tribes of demons and the troops of the sea, for the kings of the demons obeyed them ever since the capture of King al-Shamandal. Then they all flew up into the air and, descending on the City of the Magicians, attacked the city and the palace and killed all the inhabitants in the twinkling of an eye.
Then Jullanar asked the girl, “Where is my son?” The girl brought the cage and set it before her, and Jullanar took the bird out of the cage and, taking water in her hand, sprinkled the bird with it, saying, “Leave this form and return to your human form, by the power of the God of the world,” and no sooner had she finished than King Badr changed into “a full-fledged man.” Then she embraced him and wept, as did his uncle Sayih and his grandmother Farasha and his cousins, who fell on him, kissing his hands and feet. Then Jullanar sent for ’Abd-Allah, the old fava-bean seller, and when he presented himself to her, she thanked him for his kindness to her son and married him to the girl whom he had dispatched to her with King Badr’s news.
But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence.
THE TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTIETH NIGHT
The following night Shahrazad said:
I heard, O happy King, that the old man married the girl, as Jullanar had wished.
Then King Badr said to his mother, “O mother, nothing remains, except that I should get married and unite us all.” His mother replied, “My son, this is an excellent idea, but wait until we inquire who is suitable from among the daughters of the kings.” His grandmother Farasha and his uncle Sayih and his cousins said, “O King Badr, we will endeavor at once to get you what you desire.” Then each of them went out to search throughout the country, while Jullanar sent out her waiting-women on the backs of demons, saying to them, “Leave not a province or a city or a king’s palace without noting every beautiful girl there.” When King Badr saw what his mother Jullanar had done, he said to her, “Mother, stop this, for none will satisfy me.”
But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence.
THE TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FIRST NIGHT
The following night Shahrazad said:
I heard, O happy King, that King Badr said to his mother Jullanar, “None will satisfy me, save Princess Jauhara, the daughter of King al-Shamandal, for she is, like her name, truly a jewel.” His mother replied, “Son, she is yours.” Then she sent at once for King al-Shamandal, who was immediately brought and kissed the ground before her. Then she sent for her son King Badr; informing him that al-Shamandal was in her presence. King Badr came and bade him welcome, and when he demanded his daughter Jauhara in marriage, King al-Shamandal replied, “She is your servant and at your disposal.” Then he dispatched some of his officers, bidding them go to his city, inform his daughter Jauhara that he was with King Badr, and bring her back with him. The officers flew up into the air and a while later returned with Princess Jauhara.
When she saw her father, she went up to him, embraced him, and wept. Then he turned to her and said, “O my daughter, I have given you in marriage to this gallant king and valiant lion, King Badr, for he is the best, the most handsome, and the most exalted man in this age, and none is worthy of him but you and none is worthy of you but him.” She replied, “O my father, I cannot disobey you; do as you wish.” So they summoned the legal witnesses and drew up the marriage contract. Then they beat the drums in celebration and opened the prisons and clothed the widows and orphans and bestowed robes of honor on the princes and lords of the realm. Then they held a wedding feast, giving banquets and celebrating, day and night, for ten days, at the end of which they unveiled the bride in seven different robes. Then King Badr went in to Princess Jauhara and took her virginity, and when he found that she had been a virgin, he rejoiced, and they loved one another exceedingly. Then he bestowed a robe of honor on her father King al-Shamandal, gave him riches, and sent him happy to his home and country. Then King Badr and his wife and mother and relatives continued to enjoy life until they were overtaken by the breaker of ties and destroyer of delights. And this is the completion and the end of their story.
8. Gemstones cut with round unfaceted tops.
9. A form of polo.
1. See n. 1, p. 74.
Translator’s Postscript
TRADITION HAS IT that in the course of time Shahrazad bore Shahrayar three children and that, having learned to trust and love her, he spared her life and kept her as his queen.
Acknowledgments
My thanks to John Benedict, Marian Johnson, Muhsin Mahdi, Ann Ronald, and Jennings Woods for their generous reading of the text and their valuable suggestions, and to Nomi Victor for her help with the new edition. Thanks also to Dia Azzawi and N. Ramzi for the Arabic calligraphy.
Copyright
Copyright © 1990 by W. W. Norton & Company
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First published as a Norton paperback 1995; reissued 2008
Manufacturing by Courier Westford
Book design by JAM Design
Production manager: Devon Zahn
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Arabian nights. English.
The Arabian nights / translated by Husain Haddawy based on the text of the fourteenth-century Syrian manuscript; edited by Muhsin Mahdi.
p. cm.
I. Haddawy, Husain. II. Mahdi, Muhsin. III. Title.
PJ7715.H33 1990
398.22-dc20 89-23144
ISBN 0-393-31367-0
ISBN 978-0-393-33166-0 pbk.
ISBN 978-0-393-24240-9 (e-book)
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ALSO TRANSLATED BY HUSAIN HADDAWY
Sindbad and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights
W. W. NORTON & COMPANY
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