Arabian Nights (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

“One day after dinner, when she had gone to bathe, I felt inclined to sleep, and threw myself on a sofa; two of the Queen’s women, who happened to be in the room, seated themselves, one at my head the other at my feet to fan me, as much to refresh me with the cool air, as to keep off the flies, which might have disturbed my slumbers. These two women, supposing me asleep, began to talk in whispers; but my eyes were only closed, and I overheard their whole conversation.

“ ‘Is it not a pity,’ said one of them to the other, ‘that the Queen does not love our King, who is such an amiable prince?’ ‘Surely it is;’ replied the other, ‘and I cannot conceive why she goes out every night and leaves him; does he not perceive it?’ ‘How should he perceive it?’ resumed the first; ‘every night she mixes in his drink the juice of a certain herb, which makes him sleep all night so profoundly, that she has time to go wherever she likes; and when at break of day she returns to him, she awakes him by passing a particular scent under his nose.’

“Presently the Queen returned from the bath; we supped together, and before we went to bed she presented me with the cup of water, which it was usual for me to take; but instead of drinking it, I approached a window that was open, and threw it out unperceived by her. I then returned the cup into her hands, that she might suppose I had drunk the contents. We soon retired to rest; and shortly afterwards, supposing that I was asleep, she got up with very little precaution, and even said aloud: ‘Sleep, and I would thou mightest never wake more.’ She dressed herself quickly, and left the chamber.

“So soon as the Queen was gone I rose up and threw on my clothes as quickly as possible; and taking my scimitar, I followed her so closely, that I heard her footsteps just before me. I regulated my steps by hers, walking softly for fear of being heard. She passed through several doors, which opened by virtue of some magic words she pronounced; the last she opened was that of the garden, which she entered. I stopped at this door that she might not see me, while she crossed a lawn; and following her with my eyes, as well as the obscurity of the night would permit, I remarked that she went into a little wood, which was bounded by a thick hedge. I repaired thither by another way; and hiding myself behind the hedge that skirted one of the paths, I perceived that she was walking with a man.

“I did not fail to listen attentively to their discourse, when I heard what follows: ‘I do not,’ said the Queen to her companion, ‘deserve your reproaches for my want of diligence; you well know the reason of it; but if all the tokens of love which I have hitherto given you are not sufficient to persuade you of my sincerity, I am ready to give you still more convincing proofs; you have only to command, you know my power. I will if you wish it, before the sun rises, change this great city and this beautiful palace into frightful ruins, which shall be inhabited only by wolves, and owls, and ravens. Shall I transport all the stones, with which these walls are so strongly built, beyond Mount Caucasus, and farther than the boundaries of the habitable world? You have only to speak, and all this place shall be transformed.’

“Although her lover’s wound was mortal, she yet contrived by her magic art to preserve in him a kind of existence, which can be called neither death nor life. As I traversed the garden to return to the palace, I heard the Queen weeping bitterly; and judging of her grief by her cries, I was not sorry to have left him alive. When I reached my chamber I returned to bed; and satisfied with the punishment I had inflicted on the wretch who had offended me, I fell asleep. On waking the next morning, I found the Queen by my side; I cannot say whether she was in a real or a feigned sleep, but I got up without disturbing her, and retired to my closet, where I finished dressing. I afterwards attended the council; and, on my return, the Queen, dressed in mourning, with her hair dishevelled and torn, presented herself before me. ‘My Lord,’ said she, ‘I come to entreat your Majesty not to be displeased at the state in which you now see me. I have just received intelligence of three events, which occasion the grief I so strongly feel, that I can scarcely express it.’ ‘What are these events, madam?’ I inquired. ‘The death of the Queen my beloved mother,’ replied she; ‘that of the King, my father, who was killed in battle; and of my brother, who fell down a precipice.’

“I was not sorry that she had invented this pretext to conceal the true cause of her affliction; and I concluded that she did not suspect me of having been the murderer of her lover. ‘Madam,’ said I, ‘I do not blame your sorrow; on the contrary, I assure you that I sympathize in the cause. I should be much surprised if you were not affected by such a loss; weep, for your tears are an undoubted proof of the kindness of your heart. I hope, nevertheless, that time and philosophy will restore to you your wonted cheerfulness.’

“She retired to her apartments, and, abandoning herself to her grief, she passed a whole year there, weeping and bewailing the death of her lover. At the expiration of that time, she requested my permission to build for herself, in the centre of the palace, a mausoleum, in which, she said, she designed to pass the remainder of her days. I did not refuse; and she erected a magnificent palace, with a dome, which may be seen from this place; and she called it the Palace of Tears.

“Moved by curiosity, I went one day to the Palace of Tears, to know how the Queen passed her time there; and concealing myself in a place where I could see and hear what passed, I heard her speak these words to her lover: ‘Oh, what a heavy affliction to me to see you in this state! I share with you all the agonies you endure. But, dearest Life, I am always speaking to you, and yet you return no answer; how long will this distressing silence continue? Speak but once, and I am satisfied. Alas! these moments, that I pass with you, endeavouring to mitigate your sufferings, are the happiest of my life. I cannot exist away from you, and I should prefer the pleasure of seeing you continually to the empire of the whole universe.’

“This speech, which was frequently interrupted by tears and sobs, at length exhausted my patience. I could no longer remain in concealment; but approaching her, exclaimed, ‘Madam, you have wept enough; it is now time to have done with a grief which dishonours us both; you forget what you owe to me, as well as what you owe to yourself.’ ‘Sir,’ replied she, ‘if you still retain any regard for me, I entreat you to leave me to my sorrows, which time can neither diminish nor relieve.’

“I went a second time to the Palace of Tears while she was there. I hid myself as before, and heard her say: ‘It is now three years since you have spoken to me; nor do you return the tokens of affection and fondness which I offer you in my complaints and sighs. Is it from insensibility or disdain? Hast thou, O Tomb, destroyed that excess of tenderness which he bore me? Hast thou closed for ever those dear eyes, which beamed with love, and were all my delight? Ah, no, I cannot think it; rather let me say, thou art become the depository of the rarest treasure the world ever saw.’

“I confess to you, my Lord, that I was enraged at these words; and indeed this cherished lover, this adored mortal, was not the kind of man you would imagine. He was a black Indian, one of the original inhabitants of this country. I was, as I have said, so enraged at this speech, that I suddenly showed myself; and apostrophizing the tomb as my wife had done, I said, ‘Why dost thou not, O Tomb, swallow up this monster, who is disgusting to human nature? Or rather, why dost thou not consume both the lover and his mistress?’

“So soon as I had spoken these words, the Queen, who was seated near the Black, started up like a fury. ‘Ah, wretch!’ cried she to me, ‘it is you who have been the cause of my grief; think not that I am ignorant of your doings. I have already dissembled too long. It was your barbarous hand which reduced the object of my affection to the miserable state he now is in. And have you the cruelty to come and insult my despair?’ ‘Yes,’ exclaimed I, confronting her, transported with anger; ‘I have chastised the monster as he deserved, and I ought to treat thee in the same manner. I repent that I have not already done it, for thou hast too long abused my goodness.’ As I said this I drew my scimitar, and raised my arm to punish her. ‘Moderate thy rage,’ said she to me, with a disdainful smile; she looked upon me with an air of indifference. After a moment she pronounced some words, which I did not understand, and added, ‘By virtue of my enchantments, I command thee, from this moment, to become half marble, and half man.’ Immediately, my Lord, I was changed to what you see, already dead among the living, and still living among the dead.

“As soon as this cruel enchantress—for she is unworthy of the title of Queen—had thus transformed me, and by means of her magic had conveyed me to this apartment, she destroyed my capital, which had been flourishing and well inhabited; she annihilated the palaces, public places, and markets; turned the whole region into a lake or pond, and rendered the country, as you may perceive, quite a desert. The four sorts of fish, which are in the lake, are four different classes of inhabitants, who professed different religions, and inhabited the capital. The white were Mussulmen; the red, Persians and fire-worshippers; the blue, Christians; and the yellow, Jews. The four little hills were four islands, which originally gave the kingdom its name. I was informed of all this by the enchantress, who herself related to me the effects of her rage. Nor was even this all. Her fury is not satiated by the destruction of my empire, and the enchantment of myself; for she comes every day and gives me a hundred blows upon my shoulders, with a thong made of a bull’s hide, drawing blood at every stroke. As soon as she has finished this punishment, she covers me with a coarse stuff, made of goat’s hair, and puts a robe of rich brocade over it, not for the sake of honouring me, but to mock my despair.”—As he said this, the young King of the Black Isles could not refrain from tears; and the Sultan’s heart was so oppressed, he could offer him no consolation. The young King then, lifting up his eyes towards heaven, exclaimed, ‘I submit, O powerful Creator of all things, to thy judgments, and to the decrees of thy providence. Since it is thy pleasure, I patiently suffer every evil; yet I trust thy infinite goodness will one day recompense me.’

“The Sultan was much affected by the recital of this strange story, and felt eager to revenge the unfortunate King’s injuries. ‘Inform me,’ cried he, ‘where this perfidious enchantress resides; and also where is this infamous paramour, whom she has entombed before his death.’ ‘My Lord,’ answered the Prince, ‘he, as I have before mentioned, is at the Palace of Tears in a tomb, formed like a dome; and the building has a communication with the castle, in the direction of the entrance. I cannot exactly tell you to what spot the enchantress has retired; but she visits her lover every day at sunrise, after having inflicted on me the cruel punishment I have described; and you may easily judge, that I cannot defend myself from such inhumanity. She always brings with her a sort of liquor, which is the only thing that can keep him alive; and she never ceases to complain of the silence which he has kept unbroken since he was wounded.’

“ ‘No one, Prince,’ replied the Sultan, ‘deserves greater commiseration than yourself; nor can any one sympathize more in your misfortune than I do. A more extraordinary fate never happened to any man; and they, who may hereafter compose your history, will be able to relate an event more surprising than anything yet recorded. One thing only is wanting to complete it, and that is your revenge; nor will I leave anything untried to accomplish this end.’ The Sultan having first informed the Prince of his own name and rank, and of the reason of his entering the castle, consulted with him on the best means of accomplishing a just revenge; and a plan occurred to the Sultan, which he directly communicated. They agreed upon the steps it was necessary to take, in order to ensure success; and they deferred the execution of the plan till the following day. In the meantime, as the night was far advanced, the Sultan took some repose. The young Prince, as usual, passed his time in continued wakefulness, for he had been unable to sleep since his enchantment; but now the hopes, however slight, which he cherished of being soon relieved from his sufferings, constantly occupied his thoughts.

“The Sultan rose as soon as it was day; and, concealing in his chamber his robe and external dress, which might have encumbered him, he went to the Palace of Tears. He found it illuminated by a multitude of torches of white wax, and became conscious of a delicious perfume, issuing from various beautiful golden vases, regularly arranged. As soon as he perceived the bed on which the wounded man was lying, he drew his sabre, and destroyed, without resistance, the little life that remained in the wretch. He then dragged the body into the court of the castle, and threw it into a well. Having done this, he returned, and lay down in the Indian’s place, hiding his sabre under the coverlid, and there he watched to complete the revenge he meditated. The enchantress arrived soon after. Her first business was to go into the apartment in which she had immured her husband, the King of the Black Isles. She directly stripped him, and, began with horrible barbarity, to inflict upon his shoulders the accustomed number of blows. The poor prince filled the whole building with his cries, and conjured her in the most pathetic manner to have pity on him; the cruel enchantress, however, ceased not to beat him till she had completed the hundred stripes. ‘Thou hadst no compassion on my lover;’ said she, ‘therefore expect none from me.’ As soon as she had finished her cruel work, she threw over him the coarse garment made of goat-skin, covering this with the robe of brocade. She next went to the Palace of Tears; and, on entering, began to renew her lamentations. When she approached the couch, where she thought to find her lover, she exclaimed, ‘Alas! what cruelty to have thus destroyed the tranquil joy of so tender and fond a mistress as I am! Merciless Prince, thou reproachest me with being inhuman, when I make thee feel the effects of my resentment,—and has not thy barbarity far exceeded my revenge? Hast thou not, traitor, in destroying almost the existence of this adorable object, equally destroyed mine? Alas!’ added she, addressing herself to the Sultan, whom she took for her lover, ‘will you always, Light of my life, thus keep silence? Are you resolved to let me die without the consolation of hearing you again declare you love me? Utter at least one word, I conjure you.’

“Then the Sultan, pretending to awake from a profound sleep, and imitating the language of the Indians, answered the Queen in a solemn tone. ‘There is no strength or power,’ he said, ‘but in Allah alone, who is all powerful.’ At these words the enchantress, who never expected to hear her lover speak, gave a violent scream, for very joy. ‘My dear Lord,’ she exclaimed, ‘do you deceive me, is what I hear true? Is it really you who speak?’ ‘Wretched woman,’ replied the Sultan, ‘are you worthy of an answer? ’ ‘What!’ cried the Queen, ‘do you reproach me?’ ‘The cries, the tears, the groans of thy husband,’ answered the supposed Indian, ‘whom you every day torture with so much barbarity, continually disturb my rest. I should have been cured long since, and should have recovered the use of my tongue, if you had disenchanted him. This, and this only, is the cause of my silence, of which you so bitterly complain.’ ‘Then,’ said the enchantress, ‘to satisfy you I am ready to do what you command—do you wish him to be restored to his former shape?’ ‘Yes,’ replied the Sultan, ‘and hasten to set him free, that I may no longer be disturbed by his cries.’

“The Queen immediately went out from the Palace of Tears; and taking a vessel of water, she pronounced over it some words, which caused it instantly to boil, as if it had been placed on a fire. She proceeded to the apartment where the young King, her husband, was. ‘If the Creator of all things,’ said she, throwing the water over him, ‘hath formed thee, as thou now art, or if he is angry with thee, be not changed; but if thou art in this state by virtue of my enchantment, take back thy natural form, and become as thou wert before.’ She had hardly concluded, when the Prince, recovering his first shape, rose up with all possible joy, and returned thanks to God. ‘Go,’ said the enchantress, addressing him, ‘hasten from this castle, and never return, lest it should cost you your life!’ The young King yielded to necessity, and left the Queen without uttering a word. He concealed himself in a secure spot, where he impatiently waited the completion of the Sultan’s design, the commencement of which had been so successful.

“The enchantress then returned to the Palace of Tears; and on entering, said to the Sultan, whom she still mistook for the Indian: ‘I have done, my love, what you ordered me; nothing, therefore, now prevents your getting up, and affording me the satisfaction I have so long been deprived of.’ The Sultan, still imitating the language of the Blacks, answered in a somewhat severe tone: ‘What you have yet done is not sufficient for my cure. You have destroyed only a part of the evil: but you must strike at the root.’ ‘What do you mean by those words, my charming friend?’ asked she. ‘What can I mean,’ he cried, ‘but the city and its inhabitants, and the four isles, which you have destroyed by your magic?—Every day towards midnight the fish raise their heads out of the pond, and cry for vengeance against us both. This is the real cause why my recovery is so long delayed. Go quickly and re-establish everything in its former state; and on your return I will give you my hand, and you shall assist me in rising.’

“The Queen, exulting in the expectations these words produced, joyfully exclaimed: ‘You shall soon then, my life, recover your health; for I will instantly go and do what you have commanded.’ In fact she went that very instant, and when she arrived on the border of the pond, she took a little water in her hand and scattered it about. So soon as she had done this, and pronounced certain words over the fish and the pond, the city re-appeared. The fish became men, women, and children; all arose as Mahometans, Christians, Persians, and Jews; freemen came forth, and slaves; in short, each took his former shape. The houses and shops became filled with inhabitants, who found all things in the same situation and order in which they had been previous to the change effected by the Queen’s enchantment. The officers and attendants of the Sultan, who had happened to encamp upon the site of the great square, were astonished at finding themselves on a sudden in the midst of a large, well-built, and populous city.

“But to return to the enchantress. As soon as she had completed this change she hastened back to the Palace of Tears to enjoy the reward of her labours. ‘My dear lord,’ she cried on entering, ‘I have returned to participate in the pleasure of your renewed health, for I have done all you have required of me; arise, and give me your hand.’ ‘Come near, then—,’ said the Sultan, still imitating the manner of the Indian. She did so. ‘Nearer still!’ he cried. She obeyed. Then raising himself up, he seized her so suddenly by the arms that she had no opportunity of perceiving how she had been deceived; and with one stroke of his sabre he separated her body into two parts, which fell on each side of him. Having done this, he left the corpse where it fell, and went to seek the Prince of the Black Isles, who was waiting with the greatest impatience for him. ‘Rejoice, Prince,’ said he, embracing him, ‘you have nothing more to fear, for your cruel enemy exists no longer.’

“The young Prince thanked the Sultan in a way which proved that his heart was truly penetrated with gratitude; and wished his deliverer, as a reward for the important service he had rendered him, a long life and the greatest prosperity. ‘May you too live happily and at peace in your capital! ’ replied the Sultan, ‘and should you hereafter have a wish to visit mine, which is so near, I shall receive you with the truest pleasure, and you shall be as highly honoured and respected as in your own.’ ‘Powerful monarch,’ answered the Prince, ‘to whom I am so much indebted, do you think you are very near your capital!’—‘Certainly,’ replied the Sultan; ‘I presume, at least, that I am not more than four or five hours’ journey from thence.’ ‘It is a whole year’s journey,’ said the Prince, ‘although I believe you might come here in the time you mention, because my city was enchanted; but since it has been restored all this is altered. This, however, shall not prevent my following you, were it necessary to go to the very ends of the earth. You are my liberator; and to show you every mark of my gratitude as long as I live, I shall freely accompany you, and resign my kingdom without regret.’

“The Sultan was extremely surprised to find that he was so distant from his dominions, and could not comprehend how it had happened; but the young King of the Black Isles convinced him so fully of the fact, that he no longer doubted it. ‘It matters not,’ resumed the Sultan. ‘The trouble of returning to my dominions will be sufficiently recompensed by the satisfaction of having assisted you, and of having gained a son in you; for, as you will do me the honour me to accompany me, I shall look upon you as my son; and, as I am childless, I from this moment make you my heir and successor.’ This interview between the Sultan and the King of the Black Isles was terminated by the most affectionate embraces; and the young Prince at once prepared for his journey. In three weeks he was ready to depart, greatly regretted by his Court and subjects, who received at his hands a near relation of his own as their King.

“At length the Sultan and the Prince set out, with a hundred camels laden with inestimable riches, which had been selected from the treasury of the young King, who was, moreover, accompanied by fifty handsome nobles, well mounted and equipped. Their journey was a pleasant one; and when the Sultan, who had despatched couriers to give notice of his arrival, and explain the reason of his delay, drew near to his capital, the principal officers, whom he had left there, came to receive him, and to assure him that his long absence had not occasioned any change in his empire. The inhabitants also, crowded to meet him, and welcomed him with acclamations, and every demonstration of joy; and the rejoicings were continued for several days.