Arabian Nights tales part -2

  

   There was an elderly physician known as Duban the sage, who had studied the books of the Greeks, the Persians, the Arabs and the Syrians.

 

   He was a master of medicine and of astronomy and was conversant with the fundamental principles of his subject, with a knowledge of what was useful and what was harmful. He knew the herbs and plants that were hurtful and those that were helpful, as well as having a mastery of philosophy, together with all branches of medicine and other sciences.

 

    When this man arrived at the city, within a few days he had heard that the king was suffering from leprosy and that no doctor or man of learning had been able to cure him. He spent the night thinking over the problem, and when dawn broke he put on his most splendid clothes and went to the king, kissing the ground before him and calling eloquently for the continuance of his glory and good fortune. After introducing himself, he went on: `I have heard, your majesty, of the disease that has himself, he went on: `I have heard, your majesty, of the disease that has afflicted you and that, although you have been treated by many doctors, they have been unable to remove it. I shall cure you without giving you any medicine to drink or applying any ointments.'

 

    Yunan was amazed to hear what he had to say and asked how he was going to do that, promising to enrich him and his children's children. `I shall shower favours on you,' he said, `and grant you all your wishes, taking you as a boon companion and a dear friend.' He then presented Duban with a robe of honour and treated him with favour, before asking: `Are you really going to cure my leprosy without medicines or ointment?' Duban repeated that he would and the astonished king asked when this would be, urging him to be quick. `To hear is to obey,' replied Duban, promising to do this the very next day.

 

    Duban now went to the city, where he rented a house in which he deposited his books, his medicines and his drugs. He took some of the latter and placed them in a polo stick, for which he made a handle, and he used his skill to design a ball. The next day, after he had finished, he went into the presence of the king, kissed the ground before him, and told him to ride out to the polo ground and play a game. The king was accompanied by the emirs, chamberlains, viziers and officers of state, and before he had taken his seat on the ground, Duban came up to him and handed him the stick. `Take this,' he said. `Hold it like this and when you ride on to the field, hit the ball with a full swing until the palm of your hand begins to sweat, together with the rest of your body. The drug will then enter through your palm and spread through the rest of you.

When you have finished and the drug has penetrated, go back to your palace, wash in the baths and then go to sleep, for you will have been cured. That is all.'

    At that, the king took the stick from him and mounted, holding it in his hand. He threw the ball ahead of him and rode after it, hitting it as hard as he could when he caught up with it, and then following it up and hitting it again until the palm of his hand and the rest of his body became sweaty because of his grip on the stick. When Duban saw that the drug had penetrated into the king's body, he told him to go back to his palace and bathe immediately. The king went back straight away and ordered that the baths be cleared for him. This was done, and house boys and mamluks hurried up to him and prepared clothes for him tow ear. He then entered the baths, washed himself thoroughly and dressed before coming out, after which he rode back to his palace and fell asleep.

 

    So much for him, but as for Duban the sage, he returned to spend the night in his house, and in the morning he went to ask permission to see the king. On being allowed to enter, he went in, kissed the ground before him and addressed him with these verses which he chanted:

 

    Virtues are exalted when you are called their father, A title that none other may accept.

    The brightness shining from your face removes The gloom that shrouds each grave affair.

    This face of yours will never cease to gleam,   Although the face of Time may frown.

    Your liberality has granted me the gifts

    That rain clouds shower down on the hills.

    Your generosity has destroyed your wealth, Until you reached the heights at which you aimed.

    Until you reached the heights at which you aimed.

 

    When Duban had finished these lines, the king stood up and embraced him, before seating him by his side and presenting him with splendid robes of honour. This was because when he had left the baths he had looked at his body and found it, to his great delight and relief, pure and silver white, showing no trace of leprosy. In the morning, he had gone to his court and taken his seat on his royal throne, the chamberlains and officers of state all standing up for him, and it was then that Duban had come in. The king had risen quickly for him, and after the sage had been seated by his side, splendid tables of food were set out and he ate with the king and kept him company for the rest of the day. The king then made him a present of two thousand dinars, in addition to the robes of honour and other gifts, after which he mounted hum on his own horse.

 

    Duban went back to his house, leaving the king filled with admiration for what he had done and saying: `This man treated me externally without using any ointment. By God, that is skill of a high order! He deserves gifts and favours and I shall always treat him as a friend and companion.' The king passed a happy night, gladdened by the soundness of his body and his freedom from disease. The next day, he went out and sat on his throne, while his state officials stood and the emirs and viziers took their seats on his right and his left. He asked for Duban, who entered and kissed the ground before him, at which the king got up, greeted him, seated him by his side and ate with him. He then presented him with more robes of honour as well as gifts, and talked with him until nightfall, when he gave him another five robes of honour together with a thousand dinars, after which Duban went gratefully home. with a thousand dinars, after which Duban went gratefully home.

    The next morning, the king came to his court, where he was surrounded by his emirs, viziers and chamberlains. Among the viziers  was an ugly and ill-omened man, base, miserly and so envious that he was in love with envy. When this man saw that the king had taken Duban as an intimate and had rewarded him with favours, he was jealous and planned to do him an injury. For, as the sayings have it: `No one is free of envy' and `Injustice lurks in the soul; strength shows it and weakness hides it.'

 

    This vizier came up to King Yunan, kissed the ground before him and said: `King of the age, I have grown up surrounded by your bounty and I have some serious advice for you. Were I to conceal it from you, I would show myself to be a bastard, but if you tell me to give it to you, I shall do so.' Yunan was disturbed by this and said: `What is this advice of yours?' The vizier replied: `Great king, it was a saying of the ancients that Time was no friend to those who did not look at the consequences of their actions. I have observed that your majesty has wrongly shown favour to an enemy who is looking to destroy your kingdom. You have treated this man with generosity and done him the greatest honour, taking him as an intimate, something that fills me with apprehension.'

 

    Yunan was uneasy; his colour changed and he asked the vizier who he was talking about. `If you are asleep, wake up,' the vizier told him, and went on: `I am talking about the sage Duban.' `Damn you!'

exclaimed Yunan. `This is my friend and the dearest of people to me, for he cured me through something that I held in my hand from a disease that no other doctor could treat. His like is not to be found in this age or in this world, from west to east. You may accuse him, but today I am going to assign him pay and allowances, with a monthly income of a thousand dinars, while even if I divided my kingdom with him, this thousand dinars, while even if I divided my kingdom with him, this would be too little. I think that it is envy that has made you say this, reminding me of the story of King Sindbad.'

 

Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say.

 

When it was the fifth night, Dunyazad asked her sister to finish the story if she was not too sleepy, AND SHAHRAZAD SAID:

 

    I have heard, O fortunate king, that King Yunan accused his vizier of being jealous of Duban and wanting to have him killed. `Then after that I would regret it,' Yunan added, `as King Sindbad regretted killing his falcon.' `Excuse me, your majesty,' said the vizier, `but how was that?'

YUNAN WENT ON:

 

    You must know that there was a Persian king with a passion for enjoyment and amusement, who had a fondness for hunting. He had reared a falcon which was his constant companion by night and by day, and which would spend the night perched on his wrist. He would take it hunting with him and he had a golden bowl made for it which he hung round its neck and from which it could drink. One day the chief falconer came to where he was sitting and told him that it was time to go out hunting. The king gave the orders and went off with the falcon on his wrist until he and his party reached a wadi, where they spread out their hunting cordon. Trapped in this was a gazelle and the king threatened that anyone who allowed it to leap over his head would be put to death.

When the cordon was narrowed, the gazelle came to where the king was posted, supported itself on its hindlegs and placed its forelegs on its chest as though it was kissing the ground before him. He bent his head towards it and it then jumped over him, making for the open country.

He noticed that his men were looking at him and winking at each other and when he asked his vizier what this meant, the man explained: `They are pointing out that you said that if anyone let the gazelle jump over his head, he would be killed.'

 

    The king then swore that he would hunt it down and he rode off in pursuit, following the gazelle until he came to a mountain. There it was about to pass through a cleft when the king loosed his falcon at it and the bird clawed at its eyes, blinding and dazing it, so that the king could draw his mace and knock it over with a single blow. He then dismounted and cut its throat, after which he skinned it and tied it to his saddlebow.

As this was in the noonday heat and the region was desolate and waterless, both the king and his horse were thirsty by now. The king scouted round and discovered a tree from which what looked like liquid butter was dripping. Wearing a pair of kid gloves, he took the bowl from the falcon's neck, filled it with this liquid and set it in front of the bird, but it knocked the bowl and overturned it. The king took it and filled it again, thinking that the falcon must be thirsty, but the same thing happened when he put it down a second time. This annoyed him and he went a third time to fill the bowl and take it to his horse, but this time the falcon upset it with its wing. The king cursed it, exclaiming: `You unluckiest of birds, you have stopped me drinking, and have stopped yourself and the horse.' He then struck off its wing with a blow from his sword, but the bird raised its head as though to say by its gesture: `Look sword, but the bird raised its head as though to say by its gesture: `Look at the top of the tree.' The king raised his eyes and what he saw there was a brood of vipers whose poison was dripping down. Immediately regretting what he had done, he mounted his horse and rode back to his pavilion, bringing with him the gazelle, which he handed to the cook, telling him to take it and roast it. As he sat on his chair with the falcon on his wrist, it drew its last breath and died, leaving its master to exclaim with sorrow for having killed it, when it had saved his life. So ends the story of King Sindbad.

 

`Great king,' the vizier said, `Sindbad acted out of necessity and I can see nothing wrong in that. I myself am acting out of sympathy for you, so that you may realize that I am right, for otherwise you may meet the same fate as the vizier who schemed against the prince.' `How was that?'

the king asked, AND THE VIZIER SAID:

 

    You must know, your majesty, that there was a vizier in the service of a certain king with a son who was passionately fond of hunting. This vizier had been ordered to accompany the prince wherever he went, and so, when he went off to hunt one day, the vizier rode with him. While they were riding they caught sight of a huge beast and the vizier encouraged the prince to pursue it. The prince rode after it until he was out of sight and the beast then vanished into the desert, leaving the prince with no idea of where to go. Just then, ahead of him he saw a weeping girl and when he asked her who she was, she told him: `I am the daughter of one of the kings of India and while I was in this desert I became drowsy. Then, before I knew what was happening, I had fallen off my beast and was left alone, not knowing what to do.'

    When the prince heard this, he felt sorry for the girl and took her up behind him on the back of his horse. On his way, he passed a ruined building and the girl said she wanted to relieve herself. He set her down, but she was taking so long that he followed her, only to discover that, although he had not realized it, she was a female ghul and was telling her children: `I have brought you a fat young man today.' `Fetch him to us, mother,' they said, `so that we can swallow him down.' On hearing this, the prince shuddered, fearing for his life and certain that he was going to die. He went back and the ghula came out and, seeing him panic-stricken and shivering, she asked why he was afraid. `I have an enemy whom I fear,' he told her. `You call yourself a prince?' she asked, and when he said yes, she went on: `Why don't you buy him off with money?' `He won't accept money but wants my life,' he told her, adding:  `I am afraid of him and I have been wronged.' `In that case, if what you say is true, then ask help from God,' she said, `for He will protect you against your enemy's evil and the evil that you fear from him.' At that the prince lifted his head towards heaven and said: `God Who answers the prayers of those in distress when they call on You, and Who clears away evil, may You help me against my enemy and remove him from me, for You have power to do what You wish.'

 

    After hearing the prince's prayer, the ghula left him. He went back to his father and when he told him about the vizier's advice, his father summoned the man and had him killed. As for you, your majesty, if you put your trust in this sage, he will see to it that you die the worst of deaths, and it will be the man whom you have well treated and taken as a friend who will destroy you. Don't you see that he cured your disease externally through something you held in your hand, so how can you be sure that he won't kill you by something else you hold?

 

`What you say is right, vizier, my sound advisor,' agreed the king, `for this man has come as a spy to destroy me and if he could cure me with something I held, it may be that he can kill me with something that I smell.'

 

    Then he asked the vizier what was to be done about Duban. The vizier said: `Send for him immediately, telling him to come here, and when he does, cut off his head and then you will be safe from any harm he may intend to do you. Betray him before he betrays you.' The king agreed with the vizier, and sent for Duban, who came gladly, not knowing what God the Merciful had ordained. This was as the poet said: You who fear your fate, be at your ease;

    Entrust your affairs to Him Who has stretched out the earth.

    What is decreed by fate will come about,

   And you are safe from what is not decreed.

 

    Duban the wise came into the presence of the king and recited:

 

    If I do not show gratitude

    In accordance with part, at least, of your deserts,

    Tell me for whom I should compose my poetry and my prose.

    Before I asked, you granted me

    Favours that came with no delay and no excuse.

    Why then do I not give you your due of praise,

    Lauding your generosity in secret and in public?

    I shall record the benefits you heaped on me,

    I shall record the benefits you heaped on me,

    Lightening my cares, but burdening my back.

 

He followed this with another poem:

 

    Turn aside from cares, entrusting your affairs to fate;

    Rejoice in the good that will come speedily to you,

    So that you may forget all that is past.

    There is many a troublesome affair

    Whose aftermath will leave you in content.

    God acts according to His will;

    Do not oppose your God.

 

He also recited:

 

    Leave your affairs to God, the Gentle, the Omniscient,

    And let your heart rest from all worldly care.

    Know that things do not go as you wish;

    They follow the decree of God, the King.

 

He then recited:

 

    Be of good cheer, relax; forget your cares;

    Cares eat away the resolute man's heart.

    Planning is no help to a slave who has no power.

    Abandon this and live in happiness.

 

    The king asked him: `Do you know why I have sent for you?' `No one knows what is hidden except for God,' Duban replied. `I have sent for knows what is hidden except for God,' Duban replied. `I have sent for you,' said the king, `in order to kill you and take your life.' This astonished Duban, who said: `Why should you kill me, your majesty, and what is my crime?' `I have been told that you are a spy,' answered the king, `and that you have come to murder me. I am going to kill you before you can do the same to me.' The king then called for the executioner and said: `Cut off this traitor's head, so that we may be freed from his evil-doing.' `Spare me,' said Duban, `and God will spare you; do not kill me, lest He kill you.'

 

    He then repeated what I repeated to you, `ifrit, but you would not give up your intention to kill me. Similarly, the king insisted: `I shall not be safe unless I put you to death. You cured me with something that I held in my hand, and I cannot be sure that you will not kill me with something that I smell or in some other way.' Duban said: `My reward from you, O king, is the reward of good by evil,' but the king insisted: `You must be killed without delay.'

 

    When Duban was certain that the king was going to have him killed, he wept in sorrow for the good that he had done to the undeserving, as the poet has said:

 

    You can be sure that Maimuna has no sense,

    Though this is what her father has.

    Whoever walks on dry or slippery ground,

    And takes no thought, must fall.

 

    The executioner then came up, blindfolded him and unsheathed his sword, asking the king's permission to proceed. Duban was weeping and imploring the king: `Spare me and God will spare you; do not slay me lest God slay you.' He recited:

 

    I gave my good advice and yet had no success,

    While they succeeded, but through treachery.

    What I advised humiliated me.

    If I live, never shall I give advice again;

    If not, after my death let all advisors be accursed.

 

Then he said to the king: `If this is how you reward me, it is the crocodile's reward.' The king asked for the story of the crocodile, but Duban replied: `I cannot tell it to you while I am in this state. I conjure you by God to spare me so that God may spare you.' At that one of the king's courtiers got up and asked the king for Duban's life, pointing out: `We have not seen that he has done you any wrong, but only that he cured you of a disease that no wise doctor was able to treat.' The king said: `You do not know why I have ordered his death, but this is because, if I spare him, I shall certainly die. A man who cured me of my illness by something that I held in my hand is able to kill me by something that I smell. I am afraid that he has been bribed to murder me, as he is a spy and this is why he has come here. He must be executed, and after that I shall be safe.'

 

    Duban repeated his plea for mercy, but on realizing that he could not escape execution, he said to the king: `If I must be killed, allow me a delay so that I may return to my house, give instructions to my family and my neighbors about my funeral, settle my debts and give away my books of medicine. I have a very special book which I shall present to you to be kept in your treasury.' `What is in the book?' asked the king. `Innumerable secrets,' Duban replied, `the least of which is that, if you `Innumerable secrets,' Duban replied, `the least of which is that, if you cut off my head and then open three pages and read three lines from the left-hand page, my head will speak to you and answer all your questions.' The astonished king trembled with joy. `When I cut off your head, will you really talk to me?' he asked. `Yes,' said Duban. `This is an amazing thing!' exclaimed the king, and he sent him off under escort.

 

    Duban returned to his house and settled all his affairs, and then the next day he came back to the court, where all the viziers, chamberlains, deputies and officers of state assembled, until the place looked like a garden in flower. He entered and was brought before the king, carrying with him an old book together with a collyrium case containing powder.

He sat down and asked for a plate, which was brought. He then poured the powder on it and spread it out, after which he said: `King, take this book, but don't open it until you cut off my head. When you have done that, set the head on the plate and have it pressed into the powder. At that, the flow of blood will halt and you can then open the book.'

 

    The king took the book from him and gave orders for his execution.

The executioner cut off his head, which fell on the plate, where it was pressed down into the powder. The blood ceased to flow and Duban the wise opened his eyes and said: `O king, open the book.' The king did this, but he found the pages stuck together, so he put his finger into his mouth, wet it with his spittle, and with difficulty he opened the first, the second and the third pages. He opened six pages in all, but when he looked at them, he could find nothing written there. `Wise man,' he said, `there is no writing here.' `Open more pages,' said Duban. The king opened three more, but soon afterwards he felt the poison with which the book had been impregnated spreading through him. He was wracked by convulsions and cried out that he had been poisoned, while Duban by convulsions and cried out that he had been poisoned, while Duban  recited:

 

    They wielded power with arrogance,

    But soon it was as though their power had never been.

    If they had acted justly, they would have met with justice,

    But they were tyrants and Time played the tyrant in return,

    Afflicting them with grievous trials.

    It was as though here fate was telling them:

    `This is a return for that, and Time cannot be blamed.'

 

    As soon as Duban's head had finished speaking, the king fell dead.

Know then, `ifrit, that had he spared Duban, God would have spared him, but as he refused and looked to have him killed, God destroyed him. Had you spared me, God would have spared you...

 

Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the sixth night, her sister, Dunyazad, told her to finish the story and Shahrazad said: `If the king permits me.'`Go on,' he replied, AND SHE CONTINUED:

 

    I have heard, O fortunate king, that the fisherman told the `ifrit: `Had you spared me, I would have spared you, but you wanted nothing but my death and so now I am going to destroy you by throwing you into the sea here, imprisoned in this bottle.' The `ifrit cried out: `I implore you, in God's Name, fisherman, don't do this! Spare me and don't punish me for what I did. If I treated you badly, do you for your part treat me well, as the proverb says: "You who do good to the evil-doer, know that what he has done is punishment enough for him." Do not do what `Umama did to `Atika!' `What was that?' asked the fisherman, but the `ifrit said: `I cannot talk while I am imprisoned, but if you let me out, I shall tell you the story.' The fisherman said: `Stop talking like this, for I shall certainly throw you into the sea and I am never going to release you. I pleaded with you and begged you, but all you wanted to do was to kill me, although I had done nothing at all to deserve this and, far from doing you any harm, I had helped you by freeing you from your prison.

When you did that to me, I realized that you were an evil-doer. Be sure that, when I throw you into the sea, if anyone brings you out, I will tell him what you did to me and warn him, so that he may throw you back again and there you will stay until the end of time or until you perish.'

`Free me,' pleaded the `ifrit. `This is a time for generosity and I promise you that I shall never act against you again but will help you by making you rich.'

 

    At this, the fisherman made the `ifrit promise that were he freed, far from hurting his rescuer, he would help him. When the fisherman was sure of this and had made the `ifrit swear by the greatest Name of God, he opened the bottle and the smoke rose up, until it had all come out and had formed into a hideous shape. The `ifrit then picked the bottle up and hurled it into the sea, convincing the watching fisherman that he was going to be killed. The man soiled his trousers, crying: `This is not a good sign!' but then his courage came back and he said: `God Almighty has said: "Fulfil your promise, for your promise will be questioned."*

You gave me your word, swearing that you would not act treacherously to me, as otherwise God will do the same to you, for He is a jealous God Who bides His time but does not forget. I say to you what Duban the wise said to King Yunan: "Spare me and God will spare you." '

 

    The `ifrit laughed and told the fisherman to follow him as he walked ahead. This the fisherman did, scarcely believing that he was safe. The pair of them left the city, climbed a mountain and then went down into a wide plain. There they saw a pool, and after the `ifrit had waded into the middle of it, he asked the fisherman to follow him, which he did.

When the `ifrit stopped, he told the fisherman to cast his net, and the man was astonished to see that the pond contained coloured fish ­white, red, blue and yellow. He took out his net, cast it and when he drew it in he found four fish, each a different colour. He was delighted by this, and the `ifrit said: `Present these to the sultan and he will enrich you. Then I ask you in God's Name to excuse me, since at this time I know no other way to help you. I have been in the sea for eighteen hundred years and this is the first time that I have seen the face of the land.' After advising the fisherman not to fish the pool more than once a day, he took his leave, speaking words of farewell. Then he stamped his foot on the earth and a crack appeared into which he was swallowed.

 

    The fisherman returned to the city, full of wonder at his encounter.

He took the fish to his house, where he brought out an earthenware bowl, filled it with water and put them in it. As they wriggled about in the water, he placed the bowl on his head and went to the palace as the `ifrit had told him. When he came to the king and presented him with the fish, the king was astonished, for never in his life had he seen anything like them. He gave orders that they were to be handed over to a slave girl who was acting as cook but whose skill had not yet been tested, as she had been given him three days earlier by the king of Rum. The vizier told her to fry the fish, adding that the king had said that he was testing her only in the hour of need, and that he was putting his hopes in her artistry and cooking skills, for the fish had been given him as a present.

 

    After issuing these instructions, the vizier went back to the king, who told him to hand the fisherman four hundred dinars. After he had passed over the money, the man stowed it inside his clothes and set off back home at a run, falling, getting up and then stumbling again, thinking that this was all a dream. He bought what was needed for his family and then returned to his wife in joy and delight.

 

    So much for him, but as for the slave girl, she took the fish and cleaned them. Then, after setting the frying pan on the fire, she put the fish in it and when one side was properly cooked, she turned them on to the other. All of a sudden, the kitchen wall split open and out came a girl, with a beautiful figure and smooth cheeks, perfect in all her attributes. Her eyes were darkened with kohl and she had on a silken kaffiyeh with a blue fringe. She was wearing earrings; on her wrists were a pair of bracelets, while her fingers were adorned with rings set with precious gems, and in her hand she held a bamboo staff. Thrusting this into the pan, she asked: `Fish, are you still faithful to your covenant?' at which the cook fainted. The girl repeated her question a second and a third time and the fish raised their heads from the pan and said: `Yes, yes,' in clear voices, and then they recited:

 

    If you return, we return;

    If you keep faith, then so do we,

    But if you go off, we are quits.

At that, the girl turned the pan upside down with her staff and left through the hole from which she had come, after which the wall closed up behind her. The cook recovered from her faint and saw the four fish burned like black charcoal. She exclaimed: `His spear was broken on his very first raid!' and fell unconscious again on the floor. While she was in this confused state, the vizier came and saw that something had gone badly wrong with her, so much so that she could not even tell what day of the week it was. He nudged her with his foot, and when she had recovered her senses, she explained to him, in tears, what had happened.

He was astonished, and exclaimed: `This is something wonderful!' He then sent for the fisherman and, when he was brought in, the vizier told him to fetch another four fish like the first ones.

 

    The fisherman went to the pool, cast his net and when he drew it in, there were four fish like the first. He took them to the vizier, who brought them to the cook and said: `Fry these in front of me so that I can see what happens.' The cook got up, prepared the fish, put the pan over the fire and threw them into it. As soon as she did, the wall split open and out came the girl, looking as she had done before, with a staff in her hand. She prodded the pan and asked: `Fish, fish, are you true to your old covenant?' At this, all the fish raised their heads and repeated the lines:

 

    If you return, we return;

    If you keep faith, then so do we,

    But if you go off, we are quits.

Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the seventh night, she continued:

 

    I have heard, O auspicious king, that, when the fish spoke, the girl overturned the pan with her staff and then left by the way she had come, with the wall closing behind her. At that, the vizier got up and said: `This is something which must not be kept from the king.' So he went to the king and told him the story, explaining what he had seen for himself.

`I must see this with my own eyes,' said the king, and at that the fisherman was sent for and told to bring another four fish like the others.

He went down to the pool with three guards as an escort and brought the fish immediately. The king ordered him to be given four hundred dinars, after which he turned to the vizier and told him: `Come and cook these fish in my presence.' The vizier did as he was told, brought the pan and, after preparing the fish, he put the pan over the fire and threw them into it. As soon as he did so, the wall split open and out came a black slave, tall as a mountain or like a survivor of the race of `Ad. In his hand was a green bough and he asked in a hectoring voice: `Fish, fish, are you true to your old covenant?' The fish raised their heads from the pan and replied: `Yes, yes, we keep to our covenant.

 

    If you return, we return;

    If you keep faith, then so do we,

    But if you go off, we are quits.'

 

    The slave came up to the pan, overturned it with the branch that he was holding, and left by the way that he had come. The vizier and the was holding, and left by the way that he had come. The vizier and the king looked at the fish and saw that they were now like charcoal. The king was amazed and said: `This is something that cannot be kept quiet and there must be some secret attached to them.' So he gave orders for the fisherman to be summoned and when the man came, the king asked him where the fish came from. `From a pool surrounded by four mountains,' replied the fisherman, `and it is under the mountain outside the city.' The king turned and asked: `How many days' journey is it?' and the fisherman told him that it was half an hour away.

 

    This astonished the king and he ordered his troops to mount and ride immediately, with the fisherman at their head, while the fisherman, in his turn, as he accompanied the king, spent his time cursing the `ifrit.

The riders climbed up the mountain and then went down into a broad plain that they had never seen before in their lives. Everyone, including the king, was filled with wonder when they looked at it and at the pool in its center, set as it was between four mountains, with its fish of four colors ­ red, white, yellow and blue. The king halted in astonishment and asked his soldiers and the others there whether they had ever seen the pool before. `King of the age,' they replied, `never in all our lives have we set eyes on it.' The elderly were asked about it, but they too said that they had never before seen the pool there.

 

    The king then swore by God: `I shall not enter my city or sit on my throne again until I find out the secret of this pool and of these fish.' He gave orders for his men to camp around the mountains, and then summoned his vizier, a learned, wise and sensible man, with a knowledge of affairs. When he came into the king's presence, the king said to him: `I am going to tell you what I want to do. It has struck me that I should go out alone tonight and investigate the secret of this pool and of these fish. I want you to sit at the entrance of my tent and to tell and of these fish. I want you to sit at the entrance of my tent and to tell the emirs, viziers, chamberlains and deputies, as well as everyone who asks about me, that I am unwell and that you have my instructions not to allow anyone to come in to see me. Don't tell anyone what I am planning to do.'

 

    The vizier was in no position to disobey and so the king changed his clothes and strapped on his sword. He climbed down from one of the mountains and walked on for the rest of the night until morning. He spent all the next day walking in the intense heat, and carried on for a second night until morning. At that point, he was pleased to see something black in the distance, and he said to himself: `Perhaps I shall find someone to tell me about the pool and the fish.' When he went nearer he found a palace made of black stones plated with iron, one leaf of whose gate was open and the other shut. Joyfully he stood by the door and knocked lightly; on hearing no reply, he knocked a second and a third time, and when there was still no answer, he knocked more loudly. When no one answered, he was sure that the palace must be empty and so, plucking up his courage, he went through the gate to the passage that led from it, and called out: `People of the palace, here is a passing stranger. Have you any food?'

 

    He repeated this a second and a third time, and when there was still no reply, emboldened and heartened, he went through the passage to the centre of the palace. This was furnished with silks, starry tapestries and other hangings, but there was no one there. In the centre was an open space, leading to four halls. There was a stone bench, and one hall next to another, then an ornate fountain and four lions of red gold, from whose mouths water poured, glittering like pearls or gems. Round and about were birds and over the top of the palace there was a net of gold that kept them from flying away, but the king was astonished and saddened that he had not seen anyone whom he could ask about the plain, the pool, the fish, the mountains and the palace.

 

    He was sitting between the doors, sunk in thought, when suddenly he heard a plaintive sound coming from a sorrowful heart, with a voice chanting these verses:

 

    I try to hide what I suffer at your hands, but this is clear,

    With my eyes exchanging sleep for sleeplessness.

    Time, you neither spare me nor cease your work,

    And it is between hardship and danger that my heart lies.

    Have you no mercy on one whom love's law has abased,

    Or on the wealthy who is now made poor?

    I was jealous of the breeze as it blows over you,

    But when fate pounces, then men's eyes are blind.

    What can the archer do if, as he meets the foe,

    His bow-string snaps just when he wants to shoot?

    When cares mass to assault a man,

    Where can he flee from destiny and fate?

 

    When the king heard this lament, he got up and, following the sound, he found a curtain lowered over the door of a room. He lifted it and behind it he found a handsome young man, well made, eloquent, with a bright face, ruddy cheeks and a mole on his cheek like a disc of amber. He was seated on a couch raised one cubit from the ground and he fitted the poet's description:

    There is many a slender one whose dark hair and bright forehead Have made mankind to walk in dark and light.

    Do not find fault with the mole upon his cheek: I would sell my brother in exchange for such a speck.

 

    The king was glad to see him and greeted him. He, for his part, was sitting there wearing a silk gown embroidered with Egyptian gold, and on his head was a crown studded with gems. He was showing signs of grief, but when the king greeted him, he replied with the utmost courtesy: `Your dignity deserves that I should rise for you, but I have an excuse for not doing so.' `I excuse you, young man,' said the king. `I am your guest and I am also here on an important errand. I want you to tell me about the pool, the fish, this palace, the reason why you are here alone and why you are weeping.'

 

    When the young man heard this, tears coursed down his cheeks and he wept bitterly until his breast was drenched. He then recited:

 

    Say to the one to whom Time grants sleep, How often misfortunes subside only to rise up, While you may sleep, God's eye remains sleepless.

    For whom is Time unclouded and for whom do worldly things endure?

 

He sighed deeply and continued to recite: Entrust your affair to the Lord of all mankind; Abandon care and leave aside anxious thoughts.

    Do not ask how what happened has occurred,  Do not ask how what happened has occurred, For all things come about through the decree of fate.

 

    The king, filled with wonder, asked the youth why he was weeping.

`How can I not shed tears,' he replied, `when I am in this state?' and he reached down to the skirts of his robe and raised it. It could then be seen that the lower half of his body, down to his feet, was of stone, while from his navel to the hair of his head he was human. When he saw this condition of his, the king was filled with grief and regret. He exclaimed in sorrow: `Young man, you have added another care to my cares! I was looking for information about the fish, but now I see I must ask both about them and about you.' He went on to recite the formula: `There is no power and no strength except with God, the Exalted, the Omnipotent,' and added: `Tell me at once what your story is.'

 

    `Listen and look,' said the young man. `My ears and eyes are ready,' replied the king, and the young man continued: `There is a marvellous tale attached to the fish and to me, which, were it written with needles on the corners of the eyes, would be a lesson for all who can learn.'

`How is that?' asked the king, AND THE YOUNG MAN REPLIED:

 

    You must know that my father was the ruler of this city. His name was Mahmud and he was the king of the Black Islands and of these four mountains. He died after a reign of seventy years and I succeeded him on the throne. I married my cousin, who loved me so deeply that, if I left her, she would neither eat nor drink until my return. She stayed with me for five years but then one day she went in the evening to the baths. I told the cook to prepare a quick supper for me and then I came to these apartments and lay down to sleep in our usual place, telling the slave girls to sit, one at my head and one at my feet. I was disturbed because of my wife's absence, and although my eyes were shut, I could not sleep and I was still alert.

 

    It was then that I heard the slave girl who was sitting at my head saying to her companion: `Mas`uda, how unfortunate our master is and how miserable are the days of his youth! What damage he suffers at the hands of that damned harlot, our mistress!' `Yes,' answered the other, `may God curse treacherous adulteresses. A man like our master is too young to satisfy this whore, who every night sleeps outside the palace.'

The girl at my head said: `Our master is dumb and deluded in that he never asks questions about her.' `Do you think that he knows about her and that she does this with his consent?' exclaimed the other, adding:

`She prepares him a drink that he takes every night before he goes to sleep and in it she puts a sleeping drug. He knows nothing about what happens or where she goes. After she has given him the drink, she puts on her clothes, perfumes herself and goes out, leaving him till dawn.

Then she comes back to him and burns something under his nose so that he wakes from his sleep.'

 

    When I heard what the girls were saying, the light became darkness in my eyes, although I could not believe that night had come. Then my wife returned from the baths; our table was spread and we ate, after which we sat for a time talking, as usual. Then she called for my evening drink and when she had given me the cup which she had poured out, I tipped the contents into my pocket, while pretending to be drinking it as usual. I lay down immediately and, pretending to be asleep, I heard her saying: `Sleep through the night and never get up. By God, I loathe you and I loathe your appearance. I am tired of living with you and I don't know when God is going to take your life.' She then got up, put on her most splendid clothes, perfumed herself and, taking my sword, she most splendid clothes, perfumed herself and, taking my sword, she strapped it on and went out through the palace gates, while for my part I got up and followed her out. She made her way through the markets until she reached the city gate. She spoke some words that I could not understand, at which the bolts fell and the gate opened.

 

    My wife went out, without realizing that I was following her, and passed between the mounds until she came to a hut with a brick dome.

As she went in through its door, I climbed on to the roof and looked down to see her enter and go up to a black slave. One of his lips looked like a pot lid and the other like the sole of a shoe ­ a lip that could pick up sand from the top of a pebble. The slave was lying on cane stalks; he was leprous and covered in rags and tatters. As my wife kissed the ground before him, he raised his head and said: `Damn you, why have you been so slow? My black cousins were here drinking, and each left with a girl, but because of you I didn't want to drink.' She said: `My master, my darling, delight of my eyes, don't you know that I am married to my cousin, whose appearance I hate and whose company I loathe? Were it not that I am afraid for you, I would not let the sun rise before the city had been left desolate, echoing to the screeches of owls and the cawing of crows, the haunt of foxes and wolves, and I would move its stones to behind Mount Qaf.' `You are lying, damn you,' said the black man. `I swear by the chivalry of the blacks ­ and don't think that our chivalry is like that of the whites ­ that if you are as late as this once more, I will never again keep company with you or join my body to yours. You are playing fast and loose with me. Am I here just to serve your lust, you stinking bitch, vilest of the whites?'

 

    As I looked on and listened to what they were saying, the world turned black for me and I didn't know where I was. My wife was turned black for me and I didn't know where I was. My wife was standing weeping, humbling herself before the slave and saying: `My darling, fruit of my heart, if you are angry with me, who will save me, and if you throw me out, who will shelter me, my darling and light of my eyes?' She went on weeping and imploring him until, to her delight, she managed to conciliate him. She then got up and took off all her clothes. `My master,' she said, `is there anything for your servant to eat?'

`Lift the pan cover,' he said. `There are some cooked rat bones beneath it that you can eat, and you can then go to this jar and drink the remains of the beer there.'

 

    After my wife had eaten and drunk, she washed her hands and her mouth before lying down naked on the cane stalks with the slave, and getting in with him beneath the rags and tatters. When I saw what she had done, I lost control of myself and, climbing down from the top of the roof, I drew the sword that I had brought with me, intending to kill them both. First I struck the neck of the slave, and thought that he was dead...

 

Morning now dawned on Shahrazad and she broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the eighth night,