Fairy Tales from the Arabian Nights Part 17

'This refusal,' said the genie to the princess, 'sufficiently informs me of your crime.' Upon which, turning to me, 'And thou,'

said he, 'dost thou not know her?'

I should have been the most ungrateful wretch, and the most perfidious of all mankind, if I had not shown myself as faithful to the princess as she was to me who had been the cause of her misfortunes; therefore I answered the genie, 'How should I know her?'

'If it be so,' said he, 'take the scimitar and cut off her head: on this condition I will set thee at liberty, for then I shall be convinced that thou didst never see her till this very moment, as thou sayest.'

'With all my heart,' replied I, and took the scimitar in my hand.

But I did it only to demonstrate by my behaviour, as much as possible, that as she had shown her resolution to sacrifice her life for my sake, I would not refuse to sacrifice mine for hers.

The princess, notwithstanding her pain and suffering, understood my meaning, which she signified by an obliging look. Upon this I stepped back, and threw the scimitar on the ground. 'I should for ever,' said I to the genie, 'be hateful to all mankind were I to be so base as to murder a lady like this, who is ready to give up the ghost: do with me what you please, since I am in your power; I cannot obey your barbarous commands.'

'I see,' said the genie, 'that you both outbrave me, but both of you shall know, by the treatment I give you, what I am capable of doing.' At these words the monster took up the scimitar and cut off one of her hands, which left her only so much life as to give me a token with the other that she bid me adieu for ever, the sight of which threw me into a fit. When I was come to myself again, I expostulated with the genie as to why he made me languish in expectation of death. 'Strike,' cried I, 'for I am ready to receive the mortal blow, and expect it as the greatest favour you can show me.' But instead of agreeing to that, 'Look you,' said he, 'how genies treat their wives whom they suspect: she has received you here, and were I certain that she had put any further affront upon me, I would put you to death this minute: but I will be content to transform you into a dog, ape, lion, or bird. Take your choice of any of these; I will leave it to yourself.'

These words gave me some hope to mollify him. 'Oh genie,' said I, 'moderate your pa.s.sion, and since you will not take away my life, give it me generously; I shall always remember you, if you pardon me, as one of the best men in the world.'

'All that I can do for you,' said he, 'is, not to take your life: do not flatter yourself that I will send you back safe and sound; I must let you feel what I am able to do by my enchantments.' So saying, he laid violent hands on me, and carried me across the vault of the subterranean palace, which opened to give him pa.s.sage.

Then he flew up with me so high that the earth seemed to be only a little white cloud; from thence he came down like lightning, and alighted upon the ridge of a mountain.

There he took up a handful of earth, and p.r.o.nounced, or rather muttered, some words which I did not understand, and threw it upon me. 'Quit the shape of a man,' said he to me, 'and take on you that of an ape.' He vanished immediately, and left me alone, transformed into an ape, overwhelmed with sorrow in a strange country, and not knowing whether I was near or far from my father's dominions.

I went down from the top of the mountain and came into a plain, which took me a month's time to travel through, and then I came to the seaside. It happened to be then a great calm, and I espied a vessel about half a league from the sh.o.r.e. Unwilling to lose this good opportunity, I broke off a large branch from a tree, which I carried with me to the seaside, and set myself astride upon it, with a stick in each hand to serve me for oars.

I launched out in this posture, and advanced near the s.h.i.+p. When I was near enough to be known, the seamen and pa.s.sengers that were upon the deck thought it an extraordinary sight, and all of them looked upon me with great astonishment. In the meantime I got aboard, and laying hold of a rope, I jumped upon the deck, but having lost my speech, I found myself in great perplexity; and indeed the risk I ran then was nothing less than when I was at the mercy of the genie.

The merchants, being both superst.i.tious and scrupulous, believed I should occasion some mischief to their voyage if they received me; 'therefore,' said one, 'I will knock him down with a handspike'; said another, 'I will shoot an arrow through him'; said a third, 'Let us throw him into the sea.' Some of them would not have failed to do so, if I had not got to that side where the captain was. I threw myself at his feet, and took him by the coat in a begging posture. This action, together with the tears which he saw gush from my eyes, moved his compa.s.sion; so that he took me under his protection, threatening to be revenged on him that would do me the least hurt; and he himself made very much of me, while I on my part, though I had no power to speak, showed all possible signs of grat.i.tude by my gestures.

The wind that succeeded the calm was gentle and favourable, and did not change for fifty days, but brought us safe to the port of a fine city, well peopled, and of great trade, the capital of a powerful State, where we came to anchor.

Our vessel was speedily surrounded with an infinite number of boats full of people, who came to congratulate their friends upon their safe arrival, or to inquire for those they had left behind them in the country from whence they came, or out of curiosity to see a s.h.i.+p that came from a far country.

Amongst the rest, some officers came on board, desiring to speak with the merchants in the name of the sultan. The merchants appearing, one of the officers told them, 'The sultan, our master, hath commanded us to acquaint you that he is glad of your safe arrival, and prays you to take the trouble, every one of you, to write some lines upon this roll of paper. You must know that we had a prime vizier who, besides having a great capacity to manage affairs, understood writing to the highest perfection. This minister is lately dead, at which the sultan is very much troubled; and since he can never behold his writing without admiration, he has made a solemn vow not to give the place to any man but to him who can write as well as he did. Many people have presented their writings, but, so far, n.o.body in all this empire has been judged worthy to supply the vizier's place.'

Those merchants that believed they could write well enough to aspire to this high dignity wrote one after another what they thought fit. After they had done, I advanced, and took the roll out of the gentleman's hand; but all the people, especially the merchants, cried out, 'He will tear it, or throw it into the sea,'

till they saw how properly I held the roll, and made a sign that I would write in my turn; then they were of another opinion, and their fear turned into admiration. However, since they had never seen an ape that could write, nor could be persuaded that I was more ingenious than other apes, they tried to s.n.a.t.c.h the roll out of my hand; but the captain took my part once more. 'Let him alone,' said he; 'suffer him to write. If he only scribbles the paper, I promise you that I will punish him on the spot. If, on the contrary, he writes well, as I hope he will, because I never saw an ape so clever and ingenious and so quick of apprehension, I do declare that I will own him as my son; I had one that had not half the wit that he has.' Perceiving that n.o.body opposed my design, I took the pen and wrote six sorts of hands used among the Arabians, and each specimen contained an extemporary verse or poem in praise of the sultan. My writing did not only excel that of the merchants, but, I venture to say, they had not before seen any such fair writing in that country. When I had done, the officers took the roll, and carried it to the sultan.

The sultan took little notice of any of the other writings, but he carefully considered mine, which was so much to his liking that he said to the officers, 'Take the finest horse in my stable, with the richest harness, and a robe of the most sumptuous brocade to put upon that person who wrote the six hands, and bring him hither to me.' At this command the officers could not forbear laughing. The sultan grew angry at their boldness, and was ready to punish them, till they told him, 'Sir, we humbly beg your majesty's pardon; these hands were not written by a man, but by an ape.'

'What do you say?' said the sultan. 'Those admirable characters, are they not written by the hands of a man?'

'No, sir,' replied the officers; 'we do a.s.sure your majesty that it was an ape, who wrote them in our presence.'

The sultan was too much surprised at this not to desire a sight of me, and therefore said, 'Bring me speedily that wonderful ape.'

The officers returned to the vessel and showed the captain their order, who answered that the sultan's commands must be obeyed.

Whereupon they clothed me with that rich brocade robe and carried me ash.o.r.e, where they set me on horseback, whilst the sultan waited for me at his palace with a great number of courtiers, whom he gathered together to do me the more honour.

The cavalcade having begun, the harbour, the streets, the public places, windows, terraces, palaces, and houses were filled with an infinite number of people of all sorts, who flocked from all parts of the city to see me; for the rumour was spread in a moment that the sultan had chosen an ape to be his grand vizier; and after having served for a spectacle to the people, who could not forbear to express their surprise by redoubling their shouts and cries, I arrived at the palace of the sultan.

I found the prince on his throne in the midst of the grandees; I made my bow three times very low, and at last kneeled and kissed the ground before him, and afterwards sat down in the posture of an ape. The whole a.s.sembly admired me, and could not comprehend how it was possible that an ape should understand so well how to pay the sultan his due respect; and he himself was more astonished than any one. In short, the usual ceremony of the audience would have been complete could I have added speech to my behaviour: but apes never speak, and the advantage I had of having been a man did not allow me that privilege.

The sultan dismissed his courtiers, and none remained by him but the chief of the chamberlains, a young slave, and myself. He went from his chamber of audience into his own apartment, where he ordered dinner to be brought. As he sat at table he gave me a sign to come near and eat with them: to show my obedience I kissed the ground, stood up, sat down at table, and ate with discretion and moderation.

Before the table was uncovered, I espied a writing-desk, which I made a sign should be brought me: having got it, I wrote upon a large peach some verses after my way, which testified my acknowledgment to the sultan, which increased his astonishment.

When the table was uncovered, they brought him a particular liquor, of which he caused them to give me a gla.s.s. I drank, and wrote upon it some new verses, which explained the state I was reduced to after many sufferings. The sultan read them likewise, and said, 'A man that was capable of doing so much would be above the greatest of men.'

The sultan caused them to bring in a chess-board, and asked me, by a sign, if I understood the game, and would play with him. I kissed the ground, and laying my hand upon my head, signified that I was ready to receive that honour. He won the first game, but I won the second and third; and perceiving he was somewhat displeased at it, I made a poem to pacify him; in which I told him that two potent armies had been fighting furiously all day, but that they made up a peace towards the evening, and pa.s.sed the remaining part of the night very peaceably together upon the field of battle.

So many circ.u.mstances appearing to the sultan far beyond whatever any one had either seen or known of the cleverness or sense of apes, he determined not to be the only witness of those prodigies himself; but having a daughter, called the Lady of Beauty, on whom the chief of the chamberlains, then present, waited, 'Go,' said the sultan to him, 'and bid your lady come hither: I am desirous she should share my pleasure.'

The chamberlain went, and immediately brought the princess, who had her face uncovered; but she had no sooner come into the room than she put on her veil, and said to the sultan, 'Sir, your majesty must needs have forgotten yourself: I am very much surprised that your majesty has sent for me to appear among men.'

'Nay, daughter,' said the sultan, 'you do not know what you say: here is n.o.body but the little slave, the chamberlain your attendant and myself, who have the liberty to see your face; and yet you lower your veil, and blame me for having sent for you hither.'

'Sir,' said the princess, 'your majesty shall soon understand that I am not in the wrong. That ape you see before you, though he has the shape of an ape, is a young prince, son of a great king; he has been metamorphosed into an ape by enchantment. A genie, the son of the daughter of Eblis, has maliciously done him this wrong, after having cruelly taken away the life of the Princess of the Isle of Ebony, daughter to the King Epitimarus.'

The sultan, astonished at this discourse, turned towards me and asked no more by signs, but in plain words if it was true what his daughter said? Seeing I could not speak, I put my hand to my head to signify that what the princess spoke was true. Upon this the sultan said again to his daughter, 'How do you know that this prince has been transformed by enchantments into an ape?'

'Sir,' replied the Lady of Beauty, 'your majesty may remember that when I was past my infancy, I had an old lady to wait upon me; she was a most expert magician, and taught me seventy rules of magic, by virtue of which I can transport your capital city into the midst of the sea in the twinkling of an eye, or beyond Mount Caucasus. By this science I know all enchanted persons at first sight. I know who they are, and by whom they have been enchanted. Therefore do not be surprised if I should forthwith relieve this prince, in spite of the enchantments, from that which hinders him from appearing in your sight what he naturally is.'

'Daughter,' said the sultan, 'I did not believe you to have understood so much.'

'Sir,' replied the princess, 'these things are curious and worth knowing, but I think I ought not to boast of them.'

'Since it is so,' said the sultan, 'you can dispel the prince's enchantment.'

'Yes, sir,' said the princess, 'I can restore him to his first shape again.'

'Do it then,' said the sultan; 'you cannot do me a greater pleasure, for I will have him to be my vizier, and he shall marry you.'

'Sir,' said the princess, 'I am ready to obey you in all that you may be pleased to command me.'

The princess, the Lady of Beauty, went into her apartment, from whence she brought in a knife, which had some Hebrew words engraven on the blade; she made the sultan, the master of the chamberlains, the little slave, and myself, go down into a private court of the palace, and there left us under a gallery that went round it. She placed herself in the middle of the court, where she made a great circle, and within it she wrote several words in Arabic characters, some of them ancient, and others of those which they call the characters of Cleopatra.

When she had finished and prepared the circle as she thought fit, she placed herself in the centre of it, where she began spells, and repeated verses out of the Koran. The air grew insensibly dark, as if it had been night and the whole world about to be dissolved; we found ourselves struck with a panic, and this fear increased the more when we saw the genie, the son of the daughter of Eblis, appear on a sudden in the shape of a lion of a frightful size.

As soon as the princess perceived this monster, 'You dog,' said she, 'instead of creeping before me, dare you present yourself in this shape, thinking to frighten me?'

'And thou,' replied the lion, 'art thou not afraid to break the treaty which was solemnly made and confirmed between us by oath, not to wrong or to do one another any hurt?'

'Oh! thou cursed creature!' replied the princess, 'I can justly reproach thee with doing so.'

The lion answered fiercely, 'Thou shalt quickly have thy reward for the trouble thou hast given me to return.' With that he opened his terrible throat, and ran at her to devour her, but she, being on her guard, leaped backward, got time to pull out one of her hairs and, by p.r.o.nouncing three or four words, changed it into a sharp sword, wherewith she cut the lion through the middle in two pieces.

The two parts of the lion vanished, and the head only was left, which changed itself into a large scorpion. Immediately the princess turned herself into a serpent, and fought the scorpion, who finding himself worsted, took the shape of an eagle, and flew away; but the serpent at the same time took also the shape of an eagle that was black and much stronger, and pursued him, so that we lost sight of them both.

Some time after they had disappeared, the ground opened before us, and out of it came forth a cat, black and white, with her hair standing upright, and mewing in a frightful manner; a black wolf followed her close, and gave her no time to rest. The cat, being thus hard beset, changed herself into a worm, and being nigh to a pomegranate that had accidentally fallen from a tree that grew on the side of a ca.n.a.l which was deep but not broad, the worm pierced the pomegranate in an instant, and hid itself. The pomegranate swelled immediately, and became as big as a gourd, which, mounting up to the roof of the gallery, rolled there for some s.p.a.ce backwards and forwards, fell down again into the court, and broke into several pieces.

The wolf, which had in the meanwhile transformed itself into a c.o.c.k, fell to picking up the seeds of the pomegranate one after another, but finding no more, he came towards us with his wings spread, making a great noise, as if he would ask us whether there were any more seeds. There was one lying on the brink of the ca.n.a.l, which the c.o.c.k perceived as he went back, and ran speedily thither, but just as he was going to pick it up, the seed rolled into the river, and turned into a little fish.