{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_51432/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_51432","id":"gutenberg_51432","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51432","summary":null,"tags":["Arabs -- Folklore","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Short Stories","Fairy tales","Tales -- Arab countries"],"text":"Stories from\n\nThe Arabian Nights\n\nRetold by Laurence Housman\n\n[Illustration]\n\nWith Drawings by Edmund Dulac\n\nHodder and Stoughton\n\nPublishers, London\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: Scheherazad\u00e8, the heroine of the Thousand and One\nNights.]\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\nScheherazad\u00e8, the heroine of the Thousand and one Nights, ranks among\nthe great story-tellers of the world much as does Penelope among the\nweavers. Procrastination was the basis of her art; for though the\ntask she accomplished was splendid and memorable, it is rather in\nthe quantity than the quality of her invention--in the long spun-out\nperformance of what could have been done far more shortly--that she\nbecomes a figure of dramatic interest. The idea which binds the stories\ntogether is greater and more romantic than the stories themselves;\nand though, both in the original and in translation, the diurnal\ninterruption of their flow is more and more taken for granted, we\nare never quite robbed of the sense that it is Scheherazad\u00e8 who is\nspeaking--Scheherazad\u00e8, loquacious and self-possessed, sitting up\nin bed at the renewed call of dawn to save her neck for the round\nof another day. Here is a figure of romance worth a dozen of the\nprolix stories to which it has been made sponsor; and often we may\nhave followed the fortunes of some shoddy hero and heroine chiefly to\ndetermine at what possible point of interest the narrator could have\nleft hanging that frail thread on which for another twenty-four hours\nher life was to depend.\n\nYes, the idea is delightful; and, with the fiction of Scheherazad\u00e8 to\ncolour them, the tales acquire a rank which they would not otherwise\ndeserve; their prolixity is then the crowning point of their art, their\nsententious truisms have a flavour of ironic wit, their repetitions\nbecome humorous, their trivialities a mark of light-hearted courage;\neven those deeper indiscretions, which Burton has so faithfully\nrecorded, seem then but a wise adaptation of vile means to a noble\nend. And yet we know that it is not so; for, as a matter of fact,\nthe \"Arabian Nights Entertainment\" is but a miscellany gathered from\nvarious sources, of various dates, and passing down to us, even in its\ncollocated form, under widely differing versions. None but scholars\ncan know how little of the unadulterated originals has come into our\npossession; and only those whose pious opinions shut their eyes to\nobvious facts can object in principle to the simplification of a form\nwhich, from the point of view of mere story-telling, can so easily be\nbettered. Even the more accurate of the versions ordinarily available\nare full of abridgement, alteration, and suppression; and if you have\nto eliminate Scheherazad\u00e8 and select your stories mainly with a view\nto illustration, then you have very largely done away with the reasons\nfor treating tenderly that prolixity which in an impatient age tends to\ndebar readers from an old classic.\n\nAnd so, in the present version, whoever shall care to make comparison\nwill find that the original material has been treated with considerable\nfreedom in the direction of brevity, and with an almost uniform\ndeparture from the exact text, save where essentials of plot or\ncharacter or local colour required a closer, accuracy. In the case\nalso of conflicting versions, there has been no reluctance to choose\nand combine in order to secure a livelier result; and a further\nfreedom has sometimes been taken of giving to an incident more meaning\nand connexion than has been allowed to it in the original. That is,\nperhaps, the greatest licence of all, but it is the one that does\nleast harm in formal result; for no one can read the majority of the\ntales in their accepted versions without perceiving that, as regards\nconstruction and the piecing of event with event, they are either\nincredibly careless or discreditably perfunctory. We have to reckon\nwith them as the product of a race keenly alive to the value of colour\nand pictorial description, but a race whose constructive imagination\nwas feeble and diffuse, lacking almost entirely that great essential\nfor the development of art in its finer forms--the economy of means\ntoward ends.\n\nBut because they contain, though at a low pressure, the expression\nof so much life, habit and custom, so many coloured and secluded\ninteriors, so quaint a commingling of crowds, so brilliant and moving\na pageantry of Eastern medi\u00e6valism, because of all these things the\n\"Arabian Nights\" will still retain their perennial charm. Those of\nus who read are all travellers; and never is our travelling sense so\nawakened perhaps, as when we dip into a book such as this where the\nincredible and the common-place are so curiously blended, and where\nJinn and Efreet and Magician have far less interest for us now than the\nsilly staring crowds, and the bobbing camels in the narrow streets, and\nScheherazad\u00e8 spinning her poor thin yarn of wonders that she may share\nfor another night the pillow of a homicidal maniac.\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nThe Fisherman and the Genie\n\nThe Story of the King of the Ebony Isles\n\nAli Baba and the Forty Thieves\n\nThe Story of the Magic Horse\n\nThe Story of the Wicked Half-Brothers\n\nThe Story of the Princess of Deryabar\n\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n 1. Scheherazad\u00e8, the heroine of the Thousand and One\n    Nights.\n\n 2. And there in its midst stood a mighty Genie.\n\n 3. When having brought into submission all the rest of my race.\n\n 4. No sooner had the monarch seen them, so strange of form and so\n    brilliant and diverse in hue.\n\n 5. Thereupon the damsel upset the pan into the fire.\n\n 6. Recalling the fisherman by a swift messenger.\n\n 7. He arrived within sight of a palace of shining marble.\n\n 8. The Queen of the Ebony Isles.\n\n 9. Supposing me asleep, they began to talk.\n\n10. The cup of wine which she gives him each night contains a\n    sleeping-draught.\n\n11. She went on to vent her malice upon the city and islands.\n\n12. Began to heap upon me terms of the most violent and shameful\n    abuse.\n\n13. Thus by her wicked machinations the city became a lake.\n\n14. Great was the astonishment of the Vizier and the Sultan's escort.\n\n15. Their chief in a low but distinct voice uttered the two words\n   \"Open Sesame!\".\n\n16. Ali Baba departed for the town a well satisfied man.\n\n17. As soon as he came in she began to jeer at him.\n\n18. Greater still was the exultation of a greedy nature like that\n    of Cassim's.\n\n19. Mustapha doubted much of his ability to refrain from question.\n\n20. This way and that she led him blindfold.\n\n21. Having transformed himself by disguise.\n\n22. \"Sir,\" said he, \"I have brought my oil a great distance to sell\n     to-morrow\".\n\n23. She poured into each jar in turn a sufficient quantity of the\n    boiling oil to scald its occupant to death.\n\n24. When Morgiana, who had remained all this time on the watch.\n\n25. Then for the last figure of all she drew out the dagger.\n\n26. At so arrogant a claim all the courtiers burst into loud\n    laughter.\n\n27. As he descended, the daylight in which hitherto he had been\n    travelling faded from view.\n\n28. He saw black eunuchs lying asleep.\n\n29. She gave orders for a rich banquet to be prepared.\n\n30. Till the tale of her mirror contented her.\n\n31. She cried: \"O miserable man, what sorry watch is this that thou\n    hast kept\".\n\n32. All this time the Princess had been watching the combat from\n    the roof of the palace.\n\n33. In the garden of the summer palace all was silence and solitude.\n\n34. Sat by the lake and solaced themselves sweetly with love.\n\n35. It was in vain that all the wisest physicians in the country\n    were summoned into consultation.\n\n36. For many months he travelled without clue.\n\n37. And ever with the tears falling down from her eyes she sighed\n    and sang.\n\n38. There appeared before him an old man of venerable appearance.\n\n39. Pirouz\u00e8, the fairest and most honourably born.\n\n40. Reaching his farthest wounded the giant in the knee.\n\n41. The lady advanced to meet him.\n\n42. A city among the Isles named Deryabar.\n\n43. Presently in the distance he perceived a light.\n\n44. The ship struck upon a rock.\n\n45. And presently, feeling myself lifted by men's hands.\n\n46. The Princess of Deryabar.\n\n47. She found to her grief the place where Codadad had lain left\n    vacant.\n\n48. She and her companion arrived at the city of Harran.\n\n49. And taking her hand he led her to the apartments of the Queen\n    Pirouz\u00e8.\n\n50. After these, maidens on white horses, with heads unveiled,\n    bearing in their hands baskets of precious stones.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FISHERMAN AND THE GENIE\n\nThere was once an old fisherman who lived in great poverty with a wife\nand three children. But though poorer than others he ever toiled in\nhumble submission to the decrees of Providence, and so, at the same\nhour each day, he would cast his net four times into the sea, and\nwhatever it brought up to him therewith he rested content.\n\nOne day, having cast for the first time, he found his net so heavy that\nhe could scarcely draw it in; yet when at last he got it to shore all\nthat it contained was the carcase of an ass.\n\nHe cast a second time, and found the draught of the net even heavier\nthan before. But again he was doomed to disappointment, for this time\nit contained nothing but a large earthenware jar full of mud and sand.\nHis third attempt brought him only a heap of broken old bottles and\npotsherds: fortune seemed to be against him. Then, committing his hope\nto Providence, he cast for the fourth and last time; and once more the\nweight of the net was so great that he was unable to haul it. When at\nlast he got it to land, he found that it contained a brazen vessel, its\nmouth closed with a leaden stopper, bearing upon it the seal of King\nSolomon.\n\nThe sight cheered him. \"This,\" thought he, \"I can sell in the market,\nwhere I may get for it enough to buy a measure of corn; and, if one is\nto judge by weight, what lies within may prove yet more valuable.\"\n\n[Illustration: And there in its midst stood a mighty Genie.]\n\nThus reckoning, he prised out the stopper with his knife, and turning\nthe vessel upside down looked for the contents to follow. Great was\nhis astonishment when nothing but smoke came out of it. The smoke rose\nin a thick black column and spread like a mist between earth and sky,\ntill presently, drawing together, it took form; and there in its midst\nstood a mighty Genie, whose brows touched heaven while his feet rested\nupon ground. His head was like a dome, his hands were like flails, and\nhis legs like pine trees; his mouth was black as a cavern, his nostrils\nwere like trumpets, his eyes blazed like torches, and his wings whirled\nround and over him like the simoom of the desert.\n\nAt so fearful a sight all the fisherman's courage oozed out of him;\nbut the Genie, perceiving him, cried with a loud voice, \"O, Solomon,\nProphet of God, slay me not, for never again will I withstand thee in\nword or deed!\"\n\n\"Alas!\" said the fisherman, \"I am no prophet; and as for Solomon, he\nhas been dead for nearly two thousand years. I am but a poor fisherman\nwhom chance has knocked by accident against thy door.\"\n\n\"In that case,\" answered the Genie, \"know that presently thou wilt have\nto die.\"\n\n\"Heaven forbid!\" cried the fisherman; \"or, at least, tell me why!\nSurely it might seem that I had done thee some service in releasing\nthee.\"\n\n\"Hear first my story,\" said the Genie, \"then shalt thou understand.\"\n\n\"Well, if I must!\" said the fisherman, resigning himself to the\ninevitable; \"but make it short, for truly I have small stomach left in\nme now for the hearing of tales.\"\n\n\"Know, then,\" said the Genie, \"that I am one of those spirits which\nresisted the power and dominion of Solomon; and when, having brought\ninto submission all the rest of my race, he could not make me yield to\nhim either reverence or service, he caused me to be shut up in this\nbottle, and sealing it with his own seal cast it down into the depths\nof the sea.\n\n[Illustration: When having brought into submission all the rest of my\nrace.]\n\n\"Now when I had lain there prisoner for a hundred years, I swore in\nmy heart that I would give to the man that should release me all the\ntreasures attainable in heaven or earth. But when none came to earn so\ngreat a reward in all the hundred years that followed, then I swore\nthat I would give to my liberator earthly riches only; and when this\ngift also had lain despised for yet another hundred years, then would\nI promise no more than the fulfilment of three wishes. But thereafter\nfinding that all promises and vows were vain, my heart became consumed\nwith rage, and I swore by Allah that I would only grant to the fool\nthat should release me his own choice of the most cruel form of death\nby which he should die. Now therefore accept that mercy which I still\noffer and choose thy penalty!\"\n\nWhen the fisherman heard this he gave himself up for lost, yet he\ndid not the less continue by prayer and supplication to entreat the\nGenie from his purpose. But when he found that there was no heart left\nin him to be moved, then for the first time he bestirred his wits,\nand remembering how that which is evil contains far less wisdom than\nthat which is good, and so falls ever the more readily into the trap\nprepared for it, he spoke thus: \"O Genie, since thou art determined\non my death, there is yet a certain thing touching thine honour that\nI would first know. So, by the Ineffable Name, which is the seal of\nSolomon, I will ask thee one question, and do thou swear to answer it\ntruly.\"\n\nThe Genie was ready enough to give the oath as desired. Then said\nthe fisherman, \"How is it that one so great as thou art, whose feet\no'er-step the hills and whose head out-tops the heaven--how can such\nan one enter into so small a vessel to dwell in it? Truly, though mine\neyes tell me I have seen it, I cannot any longer believe so great a\nmarvel.\"\n\n\"What?\" cried the Genie, \"dost thou not believe what I have already\ntold thee?\"\n\n\"Not till I have seen it done can I believe it,\" said the fisherman.\n\nThereupon, without more waste of words, the Genie, drawing his limbs\ntogether and folding himself once more in a thick veil of smoke,\ndescended from his vast altitude into the narrow neck of the brazen\nvessel till not one shred or film of him remained to view. Then the\nfisherman with a quick hand replaced the leaden stopper, and laughing,\ncried to the Genie, \"Choose now, thou in thy turn, by what manner of\ndeath thou wilt die.\"\n\nThe Genie, hearing himself thus mocked, made violent efforts to escape;\nbut the power of the seal of Solomon held him fast, and the fisherman,\nceasing not all the while to revile him for the treachery and baseness\nwhich were now to receive their due reward, began to carry the vessel\nback to the sea's brink. \"Now,\" said he, \"thou shalt return to the\nplace whence I drew thee! And here on the shore I will build myself a\nhut, and to every fisherman that comes near I will say, 'Look that you\nfish not in these waters, for herein lies bound a wicked genie that has\nsworn to put to a cruel death whoever dares to release him.'\"\n\n\"Nay, nay,\" cried the Genie, \"I did not mean what I said! Ask of me\nnow, and I will give you all the treasures that the world contains, or\nthat your heart can find in it to desire, if only you will set me free!\"\n\nThe fisherman, being of a mild spirit and with no heart for revenge,\nsat down to consider what he should do, and all the while the\nimprisoned Genie continued to appeal to him for compassion with loud\npromise and lamentation. So at last, the fisherman, having the fear\nof God before his eyes, after he had extracted from the Genie a most\nsolemn vow to leave him unharmed, drew out the stopper of lead and\nreleased him.\n\nNo sooner was he out and restored to his true form than the Genie,\nturning himself about, lifted his foot and with his full strength smote\nthe brazen vessel far out to sea; and the fisherman, beholding that\nact, began to repent him of his mercy and to tremble again for dear\nlife.\n\nBut the Genie, seeing his fear, broke into huge laughter, and striding\non ahead of him cried, \"Come, fisherman, and follow me, for now I will\nlead you to fortune!\"\n\nMeekly at his heels went the old fisherman, and leaving behind them\nthe habitations of men they ascended a mountain and entered upon a\ndesert tract guarded by four hills, in the centre of which lay a broad\nlake. Here the Genie stopped, and pointing to a place where fish were\nswimming in abundance bade the fisherman cast in his net. The fisherman\ndid as he was told, and when he drew in his net he found that it\ncontained four fish each of a different colour, a red, a white, a blue,\nand a yellow: never in his life had he seen the like of them. The Genie\nbade him take and offer them to the Sultan, assuring him that if he did\nso they should bring him both fortune and honours. Then he struck the\nground with his foot, and immediately the earth opened its mouth and\nswallowed him as the dry desert swallows the rain.\n\nThe fisherman, wondering no less at his safe deliverance than at the\nmarvel of these occurrences, made his way in haste to the city; and\nthere presenting himself at the palace he begged that the four fish\nmight be laid at the Sultan's feet, as a humble offering from the\npoorest of his subjects.\n\nNo sooner had the monarch seen them, so strange of form and so\nbrilliant and diverse in hue, than his longing to taste of them became\nstrongly awakened; so, by the hand of his Vizier, he sent them to\nthe cook to be prepared forthwith for the royal table. As for the\npoor fisherman, he received no fewer than four hundred pieces of gold\nfrom the Sultan's bounty, and returned to his family rejoicing in an\naffluence which surpassed his utmost expectations.\n\n[Illustration: No sooner had the monarch seen them, so strange of form\nand so brilliant and diverse in hue.]\n\nThe cook meanwhile, proud of an opportunity to exhibit her culinary\nskill on dainties so rare, scaled and cleaned the fish and laid them\nin a frying-pan over the fire. But scarcely had she done so when the\nwall of the kitchen divided, and there issued forth from it a damsel\nof moon-like beauty richly apparelled, holding a rod of myrtle in her\nhand. With this she struck the fish that lay in the frying-pan, and\ncried--\n\n     \"O fish of my pond,\n      Are ye true to your bond?\"\n\nAnd immediately the four fishes lifted their heads from the frying fat\nand answered--\n\n     \"Even so, the bond holds yet;\n      Paid by thee, we pay the debt.\n     With give and take is the reckoning met.\"\n\nThereupon the damsel upset the pan into the fire and retired through\nthe wall in the same way that she had come, leaving the four fish all\ncharred to a cinder.\n\n[Illustration: Whereupon one upset the pan into the fire.]\n\nThe cook, beholding her labour thus brought to naught, began to weep\nand bewail herself, expecting no less than instant dismissal, and was\nstill loud in her lamentations when the Vizier arrived to see if the\nfish were ready.\n\n[Illustration: Recalling the fisherman by a swift messenger.]\n\nOn hearing her account of what had occurred, the Vizier was greatly\nastonished, but feared to bring so strange a report to the Sultan's\nears while the cravings of the royal appetite were still unsatisfied;\nso recalling the fisherman by a swift messenger, he bade him procure\nin all haste four more fish of the same kind, promising to reward him\naccording to the speed with which he accomplished the task. So spurred,\nand by the additional favour of fortune, the fisherman fulfilled his\nmission in an astonishingly short space of time; but no sooner was the\nsecond lot of fish placed upon the fire in the Vizier's presence than\nonce again the wall opened, and the damsel, appearing as before, struck\nthe frying-pan with her rod, and cried--\n\n     \"O fish of my pond,\n      Are ye true to your bond?\"\n\nAnd immediately the fish stood up on their tails in the frying fat and\nreplied--\n\n     \"Even so, the bond holds yet;\n      Paid by thee, we pay the debt.\n      With give and take is the reckoning met.\"\n\nWhereupon she upset the pan into the fire and departed as she had come.\n\nThe Vizier, perceiving that so strange an event might no longer be\nkept from the royal knowledge, went and informed the Sultan of all\nthat had occurred; and the monarch, as soon as he had heard the tale,\nnow rendered more eager for the satisfaction of his eyes than he had\npreviously been for the indulgence of his appetite, sent for the\nfisherman, and promised him yet another four hundred pieces of gold if\nhe could within a given time procure four more fishes similar to those\nhe had already brought on the previous occasions.\n\nIf the fisherman had been prompt at the Vizier's bidding, he made even\ngreater speed to fulfil the royal command, and before the day was\nover--this time in the presence of the Sultan himself--four fish, of\nfour diverse colours like to the first, were cleaned and laid into the\npan ready for frying. But scarcely had they touched the fat when the\nwall opened in a clap like thunder, and there came forth with a face of\nrage a monstrous negro the size of a bull, holding in his hand the rod\nof myrtle. With this he struck the frying-pan, and cried in a terrible\nvoice--\n\n     \"O fish from the pond,\n      Are ye true to your bond?\"\n\nAnd when the fish had returned the same answer that the others had made\nbefore them, without more ado the negro overturned the pan upon the\nfire and departed as he had come.\n\nWhen the Sultan's eyes had seen that marvel, he said to his Vizier,\n\"Here is mystery set before us! Surely these fish that talk have a past\nand a history. Never shall I rest satisfied until I have learned it.\"\nSo causing the fisherman to be brought before him, he inquired whence\nthe fish came. The fisherman answered, \"From a lake between four hills\nupon the mountain overlooking the city.\" The Sultan inquired how many\ndays' journey it might be, and the fisherman replied that it was but a\nmatter of a few hours going and returning. Then to the Sultan and his\ncourt it seemed that the old man was mocking them, for none had heard\ntell of any lake lying among the hills so near to that city; and the\nfisherman, seeing his word doubted, began to fear that the Genie was\nplaying him a trick; for if the lake were now suddenly to vanish away,\nhe might find his fortunes more undone at the end than at the beginning.\n\nYet the Sultan, though his Vizier and all his court sought to dissuade\nhim, was firmly resolved on putting the matter to the proof; so he\ngave orders that an escort and camping tents should be immediately got\nready, and, with the fisherman to guide, set forth to find the place\nthat was told of.\n\nAnd, sure enough, when they had ascended the mountain which all knew,\nthey came upon a desert tract on which no man had previously set eyes;\nand there in its midst lay the lake filled with four kinds of fish, and\nbeyond it stretched a vast and unknown country.\n\n[Illustration: He arrived within sight of a palace of shining marble.]\n\nAt this sight, so mysterious and unaccountable, of a strange region\nlying unbeknownst at the gates of his own capital, the monarch was\nseized with an overwhelming desire to press forward in solitary\nadventure to the discovery of its secret. To the cautious counsels of\nhis Vizier he turned a deaf ear; but since it would not be safe for\nhis subjects to know of his departure on an errand so perilous, it was\ngiven out that he had been stricken by sudden sickness. The door of the\nroyal tent was closed, and at the dead of night the Sultan, admitting\nnone but the Vizier into his confidence, set out secretly on his\nadventure.\n\nJourneying by night and resting by day, he arrived on the third morning\nwithin sight of a palace of shining marble which, with its crowd of\ndomes and minarets, stood solitary among the hills. No sign of life\nwas about it, and when he drew near and knocked at the gates none came\nto answer him. Then, finding the doors unfastened, he took courage and\nentered; and advancing through chambers where gold lay as dust, and\nby fountains wherein pearls lay poured out like water, he found only\nsolitude to greet him.\n\nWandering without aim among innumerable treasures unguarded and left\nto waste, the Sultan grew weary, and sat down in an embrasure to rest.\nThen it seemed to him that not far off he could hear a sorrowful\nvoice chant verses of lamentation. Following the sounds with wonder\nhe came to a curtained doorway, and passing through found himself in\nthe presence of a fair youth richly dressed, seated upon a couch and\nbearing upon his countenance tokens of extreme grief and despondency.\nTo the Sultan's proffered greeting the youth returned salutation, but\ndid not stir from his seat. \"Pardon me,\" he said, \"for not rising; but\nmy miserable condition makes it impossible.\" Having said this he again\nbroke into doleful lamentation; and when the Sultan inquired as to the\ncause of so many tears, \"See for yourself,\" he cried, \"what I am now\nmade into!\" And lifting the skirt of his robe he revealed himself all\nstone from his waist to the soles of his feet, while from the waist\nupwards he was as other men. Then as he observed upon his visitor's\ncountenance the expression of a lively curiosity and astonishment,\n\"Doubtless,\" he went on, \"as you now know the secret of my miserable\ncondition you will wish also to hear my story.\" And he related it as\nfollows:--\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF THE KING OF THE EBONY ISLES\n\n[Illustration: The Queen of the Ebony Isles.]\n\n\"My father was king of the city which once stood about this palace.\nHe was lord also of the Ebony Isles that are now the four hills which\nyou passed on your way hither. When I succeeded to the throne upon his\ndeath, I took to wife my own cousin, the daughter of my uncle, with\nwhom I lived for five years in the utmost confidence and felicity,\ncontinually entertained by the charm of her conversation and the beauty\nof her person, and happy in the persuasion that she found in me an\nequal satisfaction.\n\n[Illustration: Supposing me asleep they began to talk.]\n\n\"One day, however, it chanced, in the hour before dinner when the\nqueen was gone to bathe and adorn herself, that I lay upon a couch\nbeside which two female slaves sat fanning me; and they, supposing me\nto be asleep, began to talk concerning me and their mistress. 'Ah!'\nsaid one, 'how little our lord knows where our mistress goes to amuse\nherself every night while he lies dreaming!' 'How should he know?'\nreturned the other, 'seeing that the cup of wine which she gives him\neach night contains a sleeping-draught, that causes him to sleep sound\nhowever long she is absent. Then at daybreak when she returns she\nburns perfumes under his nostrils, and he waking and finding her there\nguesses nothing. Pity it is that he cannot know of her treacherous\nways, for surely it is a shame that a king's wife should go abroad and\nmix with base people.'\n\n[Illustration: The cup of wine which she gives him each night contains\na sleeping-draught.]\n\n\"Now when I heard this the light of day grew dark before my eyes; but\nI lay on and made no sign, awaiting my wife's return. And she coming\nin presently, we sat down and ate and drank together according to\ncustom; and afterwards, when I had retired and lain down, she brought\nme with her own hands the cup of spiced wine, inviting me to drink.\nThen I, averting myself, raised it to my lips, but instead of drinking,\npoured it by stealth into my bosom, and immediately sank down as though\novercome by its potency, feigning slumber. Straightway the queen rose\nup from my side, and having clothed herself in gorgeous apparel and\nanointed herself with perfumes, she made her way secretly from the\npalace, and I with equal secrecy followed her.\n\n\"Soon, passing by way of the narrower streets, we arrived before the\ncity gates; and immediately at a word from her the chains fell and the\ngates opened of their own accord, closing again behind us as soon as\nwe had passed. At last she came to a ruined hut, and there entering I\nsaw her presently with her veil laid aside, seated in familiar converse\nwith a monstrous negro, the meanest and most vile of slaves, offering\nto him in abject servility dainties which she had carried from the\nroyal table, and bestowing upon him every imaginable token of affection\nand regard.\n\n\"At this discovery I fell into a blind rage, and drawing my sword I\nrushed in and struck the slave from behind a blow upon the neck that\nshould have killed him. Then believing that I had verily slain him, and\nbefore the queen found eyes to realize what had befallen, I departed\nunder cover of night as quickly as I had come, and returned to the\npalace and my own chamber.\n\n\"On awaking the next morning I found the queen lying beside me as\nthough nothing had happened, and at first I was ready to believe it had\nall been an evil dream; but presently I perceived her eyes red with\nweeping, her hair dishevelled, and her face torn by the passion of a\ngrief which she strove to conceal. Having thus every reason to believe\nthat my act of vengeance had not fallen short of its purpose, I held my\ntongue and made no sign.\n\n\"But the same day at noon, while I sat in council, the queen appeared\nbefore me clad in deep mourning, and with many tears informed me how\nshe had received sudden news of the death of her father and mother and\ntwo brothers, giving full and harrowing details of each event. Without\nany show of incredulity I heard her tale; and when she besought my\npermission to go into retirement and mourn in a manner befitting so\ngreat a calamity, I bade her do as she desired.\n\n\"So for a whole year she continued to mourn in a privacy which I left\nundisturbed; and during that time she caused to be built a mausoleum or\nTemple of Lamentation--the same whose dome you see yonder--into which\nshe withdrew herself from all society; while I, believing the cause\nof my anger removed and willing to humour the grief which my act had\ncaused her, waited patiently for her return to a sane and reasonable\nstate of mind.\n\n\"But, as I learned too late, matters had not so fallen: for though in\ntruth the negro was grievously wounded, being cut through the gullet\nand speechless, it was not the will of Heaven that he should die; and\nthe queen having by her enchantments kept him in a sort of life, no\nsooner was the mausoleum finished than she caused him to be secretly\nconveyed thither, and there night and day tended him, awaiting his full\nrecovery.\n\n\"At length, when two years were over and her mourning in no wise\nabated, my curiosity became aroused; so going one day to the Temple of\nLamentation I entered unannounced, and placing myself where I might\nsee and not be seen, there I discovered her in an abandonment of fond\nweeping over her miserable treasure whose very life was a dishonour to\nus both. But no sooner in my just resentment had I started to upbraid\nher, than she--as now for the first time realizing the cause of her\ncompanion's misfortune--began to heap upon me terms of the most violent\nand shameful abuse; and when, carried beyond myself, I threatened her\nwith my sword, she stood up before me, and having first uttered words\nof unknown meaning she cried,--\n\n     'Be thou changed in a moment's span;\n      Half be marble, and half be man!'\n\n[Illustration: She went on to vent her malice upon the city and\nislands.]\n\nAnd at the word I became even as you see me now--dead to the waist, and\nabove living yet bound. Yet even so her vengeance was not satisfied.\nHaving reduced me to this state she went on to vent her malice upon\nthe city and islands over which I ruled, and the unfortunate people\nwho were my subjects. Thus by her wicked machinations the city became\na lake, and the islands about it the four hills which you have seen;\nas for the inhabitants, who were of four classes and creeds, Moslems,\nChristians, Jews, and Persians, she turned them into fish of four\ndifferent colours: the white are the Moslems, the red are Persian\nfire-worshippers, the yellow are Jews, and the blue Christians. And\nnow having done all this she fails not every day to inflict upon me a\nhundred lashes with a whip which draws blood at every stroke: and when\nthese are accomplished she covers my torn flesh with hair-cloth and\nlays over it these rich robes in mockery. Of a surety it is the will of\nHeaven that I should be the most miserable and despised of mortals!\"\n\n[Illustration: Began to heap upon me terms of the most violent and\nshameful abuse.]\n\nThus the youth finished his story, nor when he had ended could he\nrefrain from tears. The Sultan also was greatly moved when he heard\nit, and his heart became full of a desire to avenge such injuries upon\nthe doer of them. \"Tell me,\" he said, \"where is now this monster of\niniquity?\" \"Sir,\" answered the youth, \"I doubt not she is yonder in the\nmausoleum with her companion, for thither she goes daily so soon as she\nhas measured out to me my full meed of chastisement: and as for this\nday my portion has been served to me, I am quit of her till to-morrow\nbrings, the hour of fresh scourgings.\"\n\n[Illustration: Thus by her wicked machinations the city became a lake.]\n\nNow when this was told him the Sultan saw his way plain. \"Be of good\ncheer,\" he said to the youth, \"and endure with a quiet spirit yet once\nmore the affliction she causes thee; for at the price of that single\nscourging I trust, by the will of Heaven, to set thee free.\"\n\nSo on the morrow the Sultan lay in close hiding until sounds reached\nhim which told that the whippings had begun; then he arose and went in\nhaste to the mausoleum, where amid rich hangings and perfumes and the\nillumination of a thousand candles, he found the black slave stretched\nmute upon a bed awaiting in great feebleness the recovered use of his\nsawn gullet. Quickly, with a single sword-stroke, the avenger took\nfrom him that poor remnant of life which enchantment alone had made\npossible: then having thrown the body into a well in the courtyard\nbelow, he lay down in the dead man's place, drawing the coverlet well\nover him. Soon after, fresh from her accustomed task of cruelty, the\nenchantress entered, and falling upon her knees beside the bed she\ncried, \"Has my lord still no voice wherewith to speak to his servant?\nSurely, for lack of that sound, hearing lies withered within me!\" Then\nthe Sultan, taking to himself the thick speech of a negro, said, \"There\nis no strength or power but in God alone!\"\n\nOn hearing those words, believing that her companion's speech was at\nlast restored to him, the queen uttered a cry of joy! But scarcely\nhad she begun to lavish upon him the tokens of her affection when the\npretended negro broke out against her in violent abuse. \"What!\" he\ncried, \"dost thou expect favour at my hands, when it is because of thee\nthat for two years I have lain dumb and prostrate? How darest thou\nspeak to me or look for any recompense save death! Nay!\" he went on in\nanswer to her astonished protests, \"have not the cries and tears and\ngroans of thy husband kept me continually from rest: and has not Heaven\nsmitten me for no other reason than because thou wouldst not cease from\nsmiting him? So has the curse which thou didst seek to lay upon him\nfallen doubly upon me.\"\n\n\"Alas!\" cried the enchantress, \"have I unknowingly caused thee so great\nan ill? If it be so, then let my lord give command, and whatever be his\ndesire it shall be satisfied.\"\n\nThen said the Sultan, \"Go instantly and release thy husband from spell\nand torment: and when it is done, return hither with all speed.\"\n\nThus compelled, in great fear and bewilderment and sorely against her\nwill, the queen sped to the chamber in the palace where her husband lay\nspell-bound. Taking a vessel of water she pronounced over it certain\nwords which caused it instantly to boil as though it had been set on a\nfire: then throwing the water over him, she cried--\n\n     \"Spell be loosed, and stone grow warm,\n      Yield back flesh to the human form.\"\n\nAnd immediately on the word his nature came to him again, and he leaped\nand stood upon his feet. But the queen's hatred towards him was by no\nmeans abated. \"Go hence quickly,\" she cried, \"since a better will than\nmine releases thee! But if thou tarry or if thou return, thou shalt\nsurely die!\" Thankful for his deliverance the youth stayed not to\nquestion, but departing went and hid himself without, while the queen\nreturned in haste to the mausoleum where her supposed lover awaited\nher. There, eager for restoration to favour, she informed him of what\nshe had done, supposing that to be all.\n\n\"Nay,\" said the other, still speaking with the thick voice of a negro;\n\"though thou hast lopped the branch of the evil thou hast not destroyed\nthe root. For every night I hear a jumping of fishes in the lake that\nis between the four hills, and the sound of their curses on thee and me\ncomes to disturb my rest. Go instantly and restore all things to their\nformer state, then come back and give me thy hand and I shall rise up a\nsound man once more.\"\n\n[Illustration: Great was the astonishment of the Vizier and the\nSultan's escort.]\n\nRejoicing in that promise and the expectations it held out to her of\nfuture happiness, the queen went with all speed to the border of the\nlake. There taking a little water into her hand, and uttering strange\nwords over it, she sprinkled it this way and that upon the surface of\nthe lake and the roots of the four hills, and immediately where had\nbeen the lake a city appeared, and instead of fishes inhabitants, and\nin place of the four hills four islands. As for the palace it stood no\nlonger removed far away into the desert but upon a hill overlooking the\ncity.\n\nGreat was the astonishment of the Vizier and the Sultan's escort\nwhich had lain encamped beside the lake to find themselves suddenly\ntransported to the heart of a populous city, with streets and walls and\nthe hum of reawakened life around them; but a greater and more terrible\nshock than this awaited the queen upon her return to the mausoleum to\nenjoy the reward of her labours. \"Now,\" she cried, \"let my lord arise,\nsince all that he willed is accomplished!\"\n\n\"Give me thy hand!\" said the Sultan, still in a voice of disguise;\n\"come nearer that I may lean on thee!\" And as she approached he drew\nforth his sword which had lain concealed beside him in the bed, and\nwith a single blow cleft her wicked body in twain.\n\nThen he rose and went quickly to where in hiding lay the young king\nher husband, who learned with joy of the death of his cruel enemy. He\nthanked the Sultan with tears of gratitude for his deliverance, and\ninvoked the blessings of Heaven upon him and his kingdom. \"On yours\ntoo,\" said the Sultan, \"let peace and prosperity now reign! And since\nyour city is so near to mine, come with me and be my guest that we may\nrejoice together in the bonds of friendship.\"\n\n\"Nay,\" answered the young king, \"that would I do willingly, but your\ncountry lies many a day's journey from my own. I fear the breaking of\nthe spell which held me and my subjects has brought you further than\nyou wished.\"\n\nIt was in fact true that the Ebony Isles had now returned to the place\nfrom which they had originally come. The Sultan put a smiling face upon\nthe matter: \"I can well put up with the tedium of my journey,\" said\nhe, \"if only you will be my companion. Nay, let me speak frankly to\none whose demeanour in affliction has won my heart; I am childless and\nhave no heir. Come with me and be my son, and when I am dead unite our\ntwo kingdoms under a single ruler.\" The young king, who had conceived\nfor his deliverer an equal affection, could not withstand so noble and\ngenerous an offer: and so with a free exchange of hearts on both sides\nthe matter was arranged.\n\nAfter a journey of some months the Sultan arrived again at his own\ncapital, where he was welcomed with great rejoicings by the people, who\nhad long mourned over his strange and unexplained absence.\n\nAs for the old fisherman who had been the immediate cause of the young\nking's deliverance the Sultan loaded him with honours and gave his\ndaughters in marriage to sons of the blood royal, so that they all\ncontinued in perfect happiness and contentment to the end of their days.\n\n\n\n\n\nALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES\n\nIn a town in Persia lived two brothers named Cassim and Ali Baba,\nbetween whom their father at his death had left what little property he\npossessed equally divided. Cassim, however, having married the heiress\nof a rich merchant, became soon after his marriage the owner of a fine\nshop, together with several pieces of land, and was in consequence,\nthrough no effort of his own, the most considerable merchant in the\ntown. Ali Baba, on the other hand, was married to one as poor as\nhimself, and having no other means of gaining a livelihood he used to\ngo every day into the forest to cut wood, and lading therewith the\nthree asses which were his sole stock-in-trade, would then hawk it\nabout the streets for sale.\n\nOne day while he was at work within the skirts of the forest, Ali Baba\nsaw advancing towards him across the open a large company of horsemen,\nand fearing from their appearance that they might be robbers, he left\nhis asses to their own devices and sought safety for himself in the\nlower branches of a large tree which grew in the close overshadowing of\na precipitous rock.\n\n[Illustration: Their chief in a low but distinct voice uttered the two\nwords \"Open Sesame!\"]\n\nAlmost immediately it became evident that this very rock was the goal\ntoward which the troop was bound, for having arrived they alighted\ninstantly from their horses, and took down each man of them a sack\nwhich seemed by its weight and form to be filled with gold. There could\nno longer be any doubt that they were robbers. Ali Baba counted forty\nof them.\n\nJust as he had done so, the one nearest to him, who seemed to be their\nchief, advanced toward the rock, and in a low but distinct voice\nuttered the two words, \"Open, Sesam\u00e9!\" Immediately the rock opened like\na door, the captain and his men passed in, and the rock closed behind\nthem.\n\nFor a long while Ali Baba waited, not daring to descend from his\nhiding-place lest they should come out and catch him in the act; but\nat last, when the waiting had grown almost unbearable, his patience\nwas rewarded, the door in the rock opened, and out came the forty men,\ntheir captain leading them. When the last of them was through, \"Shut,\nSesam\u00e9!\" said the captain, and immediately the face of the rock closed\ntogether as before. Then they all mounted their horses and rode away.\n\nAs soon as he felt sure that they were not returning, Ali Baba came\ndown from the tree and made his way at once to that part of the rock\nwhere he had seen the captain and his men enter. And there at the word\n\"Open, Sesam\u00e9!\" a door suddenly revealed itself and opened.\n\nAli Baba had expected to find a dark and gloomy cavern. Great was his\nastonishment therefore when he perceived a spacious and vaulted chamber\nlighted from above through a fissure in the rock; and there spread out\nbefore him lay treasures in profusion, bales of merchandise, silks,\ncarpets, brocades, and above all gold and silver lying in loose heaps\nor in sacks piled one upon another. He did not take long to consider\nwhat he should do. Disregarding the silver and the gold that lay loose,\nhe brought to the mouth of the cave as many sacks of gold as he thought\nhis three asses might carry; and having loaded them on and covered them\nwith wood so that they might not be seen, he closed the rock by the\nutterance of the magic words which he had learned, and departed for the\ntown, a well-satisfied man.\n\nWhen he got home he drove his asses into a small court, and shutting\nthe gates carefully he took off the wood that covered the bags and\ncarried them in to his wife. She, discovering them to be full of gold,\nfeared that her husband had stolen them, and began sorrowfully to\nreproach him; but Ali Baba soon put her mind at rest on that score, and\nhaving poured all the gold into a great heap upon the floor he sat down\nat her side to consider how well it looked.\n\n[Illustration: Ali Baba departed for the town a well satisfied man.]\n\nSoon his wife, poor careful body, must needs begin counting it over\npiece by piece. Ali Baba let her go on for awhile, but before long the\nsight set him laughing. \"Wife,\" said he, \"you will never make an end\nof it that way. The best thing to do is to dig a hole and bury it,\nthen we shall be sure that it is not slipping through our fingers.\"\n\"That will do well enough,\" said his wife, \"but it would be better\nfirst to have the measure of it. So while you dig the hole I will go\nround to Cassim's and borrow a measure small enough to give us an exact\nreckoning.\" \"Do as you will,\" answered her husband, \"but see that you\nkeep the thing secret.\"\n\nOff went Ali Baba's wife to her brother-in-law's house. Cassim was from\nhome, so she begged of his wife the loan of a small measure, naming for\nchoice the smallest. This set the sister-in-law wondering. Knowing Ali\nBaba's poverty she was all the more curious to find out for what kind\nof grain so small a measure could be needed. So before bringing it she\ncovered all the bottom with lard, and giving it to Ali Baba's wife told\nher to be sure and be quick in returning it. The other, promising to\nrestore it punctually, made haste to get home; and there finding the\nhole dug for its reception she started to measure the money into it.\nFirst she set the measure upon the heap, then she filled it, then she\ncarried it to the hole; and so she continued till the last measure was\ncounted. Then, leaving Ali Baba to finish the burying, she carried back\nthe measure with all haste to her sister-in-law, returning thanks for\nthe loan.\n\nNo sooner was her back turned than Cassim's wife looked at the bottom\nof the measure, and there to her astonishment she saw sticking to the\nlard a gold coin. \"What?\" she cried, her heart filled with envy, \"is\nAli Baba so rich that he needs a measure for his gold? Where, then, I\nwould know, has the miserable wretch obtained it?\"\n\n[Illustration: As soon as he came in she began to jeer at him.]\n\nShe waited with impatience for her husband's return, and as soon as he\ncame in she began to jeer at him. \"You think yourself rich,\" said she,\n\"but Ali Baba is richer. You count your gold by the piece, but Ali Baba\ndoes not count, he measures it! In comparison to Ali Baba we are but\ngrubs and groundlings!\"\n\nHaving thus riddled him to the top of her bent in order to provoke his\ncuriosity, she told him the story of the borrowed measure, of her own\nstratagem, and of its result.\n\nCassim, instead of being pleased at Ali Baba's sudden prosperity, grew\nfuriously jealous; not a wink could he sleep all night for thinking of\nit. The next morning before sunrise he went to his brother's house.\n\"Ali Baba,\" said he, \"what do you mean by pretending to be poor when\nall the time you are scooping up gold by the quart?\" \"Brother,\" said\nAli Baba, \"explain your meaning.\" \"My meaning shall be plain!\" cried\nCassim, displaying the tell-tale coin. \"How many more pieces have you\nlike this that my wife found sticking to the bottom of the measure\nyesterday?\"\n\nAli Baba, perceiving that the intervention of wives had made further\nconcealment useless, told his brother the true facts of the case, and\noffered him, as an inducement for keeping the secret, an equal share of\nthe treasure.\n\n\"That is the least that I have the right to expect,\" answered Cassim\nhaughtily. \"It is further necessary that you should tell me exactly\nwhere the treasure lies, that I may, if need be, test the truth of\nyour story, otherwise I shall find it my duty to denounce you to the\nauthorities.\"\n\nAli Baba, having a clear conscience, had little fear of Cassim's\nthreats; but out of pure good nature he gave him all the information he\ndesired, not forgetting to instruct him in the words which would give\nhim free passage into the cave and out again.\n\nCassim, who had thus secured all he had come for, lost no time in\nputting his project into execution. Intent on possessing himself of all\nthe treasures which yet remained, he set off the next morning before\ndaybreak, taking with him ten mules laden with empty crates. Arrived\nbefore the cave, he recalled the words which his brother had taught\nhim; no sooner was \"Open, Sesam\u00e9!\" said than the door in the rock lay\nwide for him to pass through, and when he had entered it shut again.\n\n[Illustration: Greater still was the exultation of a greedy nature like\nthat of Cassim's.]\n\nIf the simple soul of Ali Baba had found delight in the riches of\nthe cavern, greater still was the exultation of a greedy nature like\nCassim's. Intoxicated with the wealth that lay before his eyes, he had\nno thought but to gather together with all speed as much treasure as\nthe ten mules could carry; and so, having exhausted himself with heavy\nlabour and avaricious excitement, he suddenly found on returning to the\ndoor that he had forgotten the key which opened it. Up and down, and\nin and out through the mazes of his brain he chased the missing word.\nBarley, and maize, and rice, he thought of them all: but of sesam\u00e9\nnever once, because his mind had become dark to the revealing light of\nheaven. And so the door stayed fast, holding him prisoner in the cave,\nwhere to his fate, undeserving of pity, we leave him.\n\nToward noon the robbers returned, and saw, standing about the rock, the\nten mules laden with crates. At this they were greatly surprised, and\nbegan to search with suspicion amongst the surrounding crannies and\nundergrowth. Finding no one there, they drew their swords and advanced\ncautiously toward the cave, where, upon the captain's pronouncement of\nthe magic word, the door immediately fell open. Cassim, who from within\nhad heard the trampling of horses, had now no doubt that the robbers\nwere arrived and that his hour was come. Resolved however to make one\nlast effort at escape, he stood ready by the door; and no sooner had\nthe opening word been uttered than he sprang forth with such violence\nthat he threw the captain to the ground. But his attempt was vain;\nbefore he could break through he was mercilessly hacked down by the\nswords of the robber band.\n\nWith their fears thus verified, the robbers anxiously entered the\ncave to view the traces of its late visitant. There they saw piled\nby the door the treasure which Cassim had sought to carry away; but\nwhile restoring this to its place they failed altogether to detect\nthe earlier loss which Ali Baba had caused them. Reckoning, however,\nthat as one had discovered the secret of entry others also might know\nof it, they determined to leave an example for any who might venture\nthither on a similar errand; and having quartered the body of Cassim\nthey disposed it at the entrance in a manner most calculated to strike\nhorror into the heart of the beholder. Then, closing the door of the\ncave, they rode away in the search of fresh exploits and plunder.\n\nMeanwhile Cassim's wife had grown very uneasy at her husband's\nprolonged absence; and at nightfall, unable to endure further\nsuspense, she ran to Ali Baba, and telling him of his brother's secret\nexpedition, entreated him to go out instantly in search of him.\n\nAli Baba had too kind a heart to refuse or delay comfort to her\naffliction. Taking with him his three asses he set out immediately for\nthe forest, and as the road was familiar to him he had soon found his\nway to the door of the cave. When he saw there the traces of blood\nhe became filled with misgiving, but no sooner had he entered than\nhis worst fears were realized. Nevertheless brotherly piety gave him\ncourage. Gathering together the severed remains and wrapping them\nabout with all possible decency, he laid them upon one of the asses;\nthen bethinking him that he deserved some payment for his pains, he\nloaded the two remaining asses with sacks of gold, and covering them\nwith wood as on the first occasion, made his way back to the town\nwhile it was yet early. Leaving his wife to dispose of the treasure\nborne by the two asses, he led the third to his sister-in-law's house,\nand knocking quietly so that none of the neighbours might hear, was\npresently admitted by Morgiana, a female slave whose intelligence and\ndiscretion had long been known to him. \"Morgiana,\" said he, \"there's\ntrouble on the back of that ass. Can you keep a secret?\" And Morgiana's\nnod satisfied him better than any oath. \"Well,\" said he, \"your master's\nbody lies there waiting to be pieced, and our business now is to bury\nhim honourably as though he had died a natural death. Go and tell your\nmistress that I want to speak to her.\"\n\nMorgiana went in to her mistress, and returning presently bade Ali\nBaba enter. Then, leaving him to break to his sister-in-law the news\nand the sad circumstances of his brother's death, she, with her\nplan already formed, hastened forth and knocked at the door of the\nnearest apothecary. As soon as he opened to her she required of him\nin trembling agitation certain pillules efficacious against grave\ndisorders, declaring in answer to his questions that her master had\nbeen taken suddenly ill. With these she returned home, and her plan\nof concealment having been explained and agreed upon much to the\nsatisfaction of Ali Baba, she went forth the next morning to the same\napothecary, and with tears in her eyes besought him to supply her in\nhaste with a certain drug that is given to sick people only in the last\nextremity. Meanwhile the rumour of Cassim's sickness had got abroad;\nAli Baba and his wife had been seen coming and going, while Morgiana by\nher ceaseless activity had made the two days' pretended illness seem\nlike a fortnight: so when a sound of wailing arose within the house all\nthe neighbours concluded without further question that Cassim had died\na natural and honourable death.\n\nBut Morgiana had now a still more difficult task to perform, it being\nnecessary for the obsequies that the body should be made in some way\npresentable. So at a very early hour the next morning she went to the\nshop of a certain merry old cobbler, Baba Mustapha by name, who lived\non the other side of the town. Showing him a piece of gold she inquired\nwhether he were ready to earn it by exercising his craft in implicit\nobedience to her instructions. And when Baba Mustapha sought to know\nthe terms, \"First,\" said she, \"you must come with your eyes bandaged;\nsecondly, you must sew what I put before you without asking questions;\nand thirdly, when you return you must tell nobody.\"\n\n[Illustration: Mustapha doubted much of his ability to refrain from\nquestion.]\n\nMustapha, who had a lively curiosity into other folk's affairs,\nboggled for a time at the bandaging, and doubted much of his ability\nto refrain from question; but having on these considerations secured\nthe doubling of his fee, he promised secrecy readily enough, and taking\nhis cobbler's tackle in hand submitted himself to Morgiana's guidance\nand set forth. This way and that she led him blindfold, till she had\nbrought him to the house of her deceased master. Then uncovering his\neyes in the presence of the dismembered corpse, she bade him get out\nthread and wax and join the pieces together.\n\n[Illustration: This way and that she led him blindfold.]\n\nBaba Mustapha plied his task according to the compact, asking no\nquestion. When he had done, Morgiana again bandaged his eyes and led\nhim home, and giving him a third piece of gold the more to satisfy him,\nshe bade him good-day and departed.\n\nSo in seemliness and without scandal of any kind were the obsequies\nof the murdered Cassim performed. And when all was ended, seeing that\nhis widow was desolate and his house in need of a protector, Ali Baba\nwith brotherly piety took both the one and the other into his care,\nmarrying his sister-in-law according to Moslem rule, and removing with\nall his goods and newly acquired treasure to the house which had been\nhis brother's. And having also acquired the shop where Cassim had\ndone business, he put into it his own son, who had already served an\napprenticeship to the trade. So, with his fortune well established, let\nus now leave Ali Baba and return to the robbers'cave.\n\nThither, at the appointed time, came the forty robbers, bearing in\nhand fresh booty; and great was their consternation to discover that\nnot only had the body of Cassim been removed, but a good many sacks\nof gold as well. It was no wonder that this should trouble them, for\nso long as any one could command secret access, the cave was useless\nas a depository for their wealth. The question was, What could they\ndo to put an end to their present insecurity? After long debate it\nwas agreed that one of their number should go into the town disguised\nas a traveller, and there, mixing with the common people, learn from\ntheir report whether there had been recently any case in their midst of\nsudden prosperity or sudden death. If such a thing could be discovered,\nthen they made sure of tracking the evil to its source and imposing a\nremedy.\n\nAlthough the penalty for failure was death, one of the robbers at once\nboldly offered himself for the venture, and having transformed himself\nby disguise and received the wise counsels and commendations of his\nfellows, he set out for the town.\n\n[Illustration: Having transformed himself by disguise.]\n\nArriving at dawn he began to walk up and down the streets and watch the\nearly stirring of the inhabitants. So, before long, he drew up at the\ndoor of Baba Mustapha, who, though old, was already seated at work upon\nhis cobbler's bench. The robber accosted him. \"I wonder,\" said he, \"to\nsee a man of your age at work so early. Does not so dull a light strain\nyour eyes?\" \"Not so much as you might think,\" answered Baba Mustapha.\n\"Why, it was but the other day that at this same hour I saw well enough\nto stitch up a dead body in a place where it was certainly no lighter.\"\n\"Stitch up a dead body!\" cried the robber, in pretended amazement,\nconcealing his joy at this sudden intelligence. \"Surely you mean in its\nwinding sheet, for how else can a dead body be stitched?\" \"No, no,\"\nsaid Mustapha; \"what I say I mean; but as it is a secret, I can tell\nyou no more.\" The robber drew out a piece of gold. \"Come,\" said he,\n\"tell me nothing you do not care to; only show me the house where lay\nthe body that you stitched.\" Baba Mustapha eyed the gold longingly.\n\"Would that I could,\" he replied; \"but alas! I went to it blindfold.\"\n\"Well,\" said the robber, \"I have heard that a blind man remembers his\nroad; perhaps, though seeing you might lose it, blindfold you might\nfind it again.\" Tempted by the offer of a second piece of gold, Baba\nMustapha was soon persuaded to make the attempt. \"It was here that I\nstarted,\" said he, showing the spot, \"and I turned as you see me now.\"\nThe robber then put a bandage over his eyes, and walked beside him\nthrough the streets, partly guiding and partly being led, till of his\nown accord Baba Mustapha stopped. \"It was here,\" said he. \"The door by\nwhich I went in should now lie to the right.\" And he had in fact come\nexactly opposite to the house which had once been Cassim's, where Ali\nBaba now dwelt.\n\nThe robber, having marked the door with a piece of chalk which he had\nprovided for the purpose, removed the bandage from Mustapha's eyes, and\nleaving him to his own devices returned with all possible speed to the\ncave where his comrades were awaiting him.\n\nSoon after the robber and cobbler had parted, Morgiana happened to go\nout upon an errand, and as she returned she noticed the mark upon the\ndoor. \"This,\" she thought, \"is not as it should be; either some trick\nis intended, or there is evil brewing for my masters house.\" Taking a\npiece of chalk she put a similar mark upon the five or six doors lying\nto right and left; and having done this she went home with her mind\nsatisfied, saying nothing.\n\nIn the meantime the robbers had learned from their companion the\nsuccess of his venture. Greatly elated at the thought of the vengeance\nso soon to be theirs, they formed a plan for entering the city in a\nmanner that should arouse no suspicion among the inhabitants. Passing\nin by twos and threes, and by different routes, they came together to\nthe market-place at an appointed time, while the captain and the robber\nwho had acted as spy made their way alone to the street in which the\nmarked door was to be found. Presently, just as they had expected, they\nperceived a door with the mark on it. \"That is it!\" said the robber;\nbut as they continued walking so as to avoid suspicion, they came upon\nanother and another, till, before they were done, they had passed six\nin succession. So alike were the marks that the spy, though he swore he\nhad made but one, could not tell which it was. Seeing that the design\nhad failed, the captain returned to the market-place, and having passed\nthe word for his troop to go back in the same way as they had come, he\nhimself set the example of retreat.\n\nWhen they were all reassembled in the forest, the captain explained\nhow the matter had fallen, and the spy, acquiescing in his own\ncondemnation, kneeled down and received the stroke of the executioner.\n\nBut as it was still necessary for the safety of all that so great a\ntrespass and theft should not pass unavenged, another of the band,\nundeterred by the fate of his comrade, volunteered upon the same\nconditions to prosecute the quest wherein the other had failed. Coming\nby the same means to the house of Ali Baba, he set upon the door, at a\nspot not likely to be noticed, a mark in red chalk to distinguish it\nclearly from those which were already marked in white. But even this\nprecaution failed of its end. Morgiana, whose eye nothing could escape,\nnoticed the red mark at the first time of passing, and dealt with it\njust as she had done with the previous one. So when the robbers came,\nhoping this time to light upon the door without fail, they found not\none but six all similarly marked with red.\n\nWhen the second spy had received the due reward of his blunder, the\ncaptain considered how by trusting to others he had come to lose two of\nhis bravest followers, so the third attempt he determined to conduct\nin person. Having found his way to Ali Baba's door, as the two others\nhad done by the aid of Baba Mustapha, he did not set any mark upon it,\nbut examined it so carefully that he could not in future mistake it.\nHe then returned to the forest and communicated to his band the plan\nwhich he had formed. This was to go into the town in the disguise of an\noil-merchant, bearing with him upon nineteen mules thirty-eight large\nleather jars, one of which, as a sample, was to be full of oil, but\nall the others empty. In these he purposed to conceal the thirty-seven\nrobbers to which his band was now reduced, and so to convey his full\nforce to the scene of action in such a manner as to arouse no suspicion\ntill the signal for vengeance should be given.\n\nWithin a couple of days he had secured all the mules and jars that\nwere requisite, and having disposed of his troop according to the\npre-arranged plan, he drove his train of well-laden mules to the gates\nof the city, through which he passed just before sunset. Proceeding\nthence to Ali Baba's house, and arriving as it fell dark, he was about\nto knock and crave a lodging for the night, when he perceived Ali\nBaba at the door enjoying the fresh air after supper. Addressing him\nin tones of respect, \"Sir,\" said he, \"I have brought my oil a great\ndistance to sell to-morrow in the market; and at this late hour,\nbeing a stranger, I know not where to seek for a shelter. If it is\nnot troubling you too much, allow me to stable my beasts here for the\nnight.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"Sir,\" said he, \"I have brought my oil a great distance\nto sell to-morrow.\"]\n\nThe captain's voice was now so changed from its accustomed tone\nof command, that Ali Baba, though he had heard it before, did not\nrecognize it. Not only did he grant the stranger's request for bare\naccommodation, but as soon as the unlading and stabling of the mules\nhad been accomplished, he invited him to stay no longer in the outer\ncourt but enter the house as his guest. The captain, whose plans this\nproposal somewhat disarranged, endeavoured to excuse himself from a\npretended reluctance to give trouble; but since Ali Baba would take no\nrefusal he was forced at last to yield, and to submit with apparent\ncomplaisance to an entertainment which the hospitality of his host\nextended to a late hour.\n\nWhen they were about to retire for the night, Ali Baba went into the\nkitchen to speak to Morgiana; and the captain of the robbers, on the\npretext of going to look after his mules, slipped out into the yard\nwhere the oil jars were standing in line. Passing from jar to jar he\nwhispered into each, \"When you hear a handful of pebbles fall from the\nwindow of the chamber where I am lodged, then cut your way out of the\njar and make ready, for the time will have come.\" He then returned to\nthe house, where Morgiana came with a light and conducted him to his\nchamber.\n\nNow Ali Baba, before going to bed, had said to Morgiana, \"To-morrow\nat dawn I am going to the baths; let my bathing-linen be put ready,\nand see that the cook has some good broth prepared for me against my\nreturn.\" Having therefore led the guest up to his chamber, Morgiana\nreturned to the kitchen and ordered Abdallah the cook to put on the pot\nfor the broth. Suddenly while she was skimming it, the lamp went out,\nand, on searching, she found there was no more oil in the house. At so\nlate an hour no shop would be open, yet somehow the broth had to be\nmade, and that could not be done without a light. \"As for that,\" said\nAbdallah, seeing her perplexity, \"why trouble yourself? There is plenty\nof oil out in the yard.\" \"Why, to be sure!\" said Morgiana, and sending\nAbdallah to bed so that he might be up in time to wake his master on\nthe morrow, she took the oil-can herself and went out into the court.\nAs she approached the jar which stood nearest, she heard a voice within\nsay, \"Is it time?\"\n\nTo one of Morgiana's intelligence an oil-jar that spoke was an object\nof even more suspicion than a chalk-mark on a door, and in an instant\nshe apprehended what danger for her master and his family might lie\nconcealed around her. Understanding well enough that an oil-jar which\nasked a question required an answer, she replied quick as thought and\nwithout the least sign of perturbation, \"Not yet, but presently.\" And\nthus she passed from jar to jar, thirty-seven in all, giving the same\nanswer, till she came to the one which contained the oil.\n\nThe situation was now clear to her. Aware of the source from which her\nmaster had acquired his wealth, she guessed at once that, in extending\nshelter to the oil-merchant, Ali Baba had in fact admitted to his house\nthe robber captain and his band. On the instant her resolution was\nformed. Having filled the oil-can she returned to the kitchen; there\nshe lighted the lamp, and then, taking a large kettle, went back once\nmore to the jar which contained the oil. Filling the kettle she carried\nit back to the kitchen, and putting under it a great fire of wood had\nsoon brought it to the boil. Then taking it in hand once more, she\nwent out into the yard and poured into each jar in turn a sufficient\nquantity of the boiling oil to scald its occupant to death.\n\nShe then returned to the kitchen, and having made Ali Baba's broth, put\nout the fire, blew out the lamp, and sat down by the window to watch.\n\n[Illustration: She poured into each jar in turn a sufficient quantity\nof the boiling oil to scald its occupant to death.]\n\nBefore long the captain of the robbers awoke from the short sleep\nwhich he had allowed himself, and finding that all was silent in the\nhouse, he rose softly and opened the window. Below stood the oil-jars;\ngently into their midst he threw the handful of pebbles agreed on as\na signal; but from the oil-jars came no answer. He threw a second and\na third time; yet though he could hear the pebbles falling among the\njars, there followed only the silence of the dead. Wondering whether\nhis band had fled leaving him in the lurch, or whether they were all\nasleep, he grew uneasy, and descending in haste, made his way into the\ncourt. As he approached the first jar a smell of burning and hot oil\nassailed his nostrils, and looking within he beheld in rigid contortion\nthe dead body of his comrade. In every jar the same sight presented\nitself till he came to the one which had contained the oil. There, in\nwhat was missing, the means and manner of his companions' death were\nmade clear to him. Aghast at the discovery and awake to the danger\nthat now threatened him, he did not delay an instant, but forcing the\ngarden-gate, and thence climbing from wall to wall, he made his escape\nout of the city.\n\nWhen Morgiana, who had remained all this time on the watch, was assured\nof his final departure, she put her master's bath-linen ready, and went\nto bed well satisfied with her day's work.\n\nThe next morning Ali Baba, awakened by his slave, went to the baths\nbefore daybreak. On his return he was greatly surprised to find that\nthe merchant was gone, leaving his mules and oil-jars behind him. He\ninquired of Morgiana the reason. \"You will find the reason,\" said\nshe, \"if you look into the first jar you come to.\" Ali Baba did so,\nand, seeing a man, started back with a cry. \"Do not be afraid,\" said\nMorgiana, \"he is dead and harmless; and so are all the others whom you\nwill find if you look further.\"\n\n[Illustration: When Morgiana who had remained all this time on the\nwatch.]\n\nAs Ali Baba went from one jar to another, finding always the same sight\nof horror within, his knees trembled under him; and when he came at\nlast to the one empty oil-jar, he stood for a time motionless, turning\nupon Morgiana eyes of wonder and inquiry. \"And what,\" he said then,\n\"has become of the merchant?\" \"To tell you that,\" said Morgiana, \"will\nbe to tell you the whole story; you will be better able to hear it if\nyou have your broth first.\"\n\nBut the curiosity of Ali Baba was far too great: he would not be kept\nwaiting. So without further delay she gave him the whole history, so\nfar as she knew it, from beginning to end; and by her intelligent\nputting of one thing against another, she left him at last in no\npossible doubt as to the source and nature of the conspiracy which her\nquick wits had so happily defeated. \"And now, dear master,\" she said\nin conclusion, \"continue to be on your guard, for though all these are\ndead, one remains alive; and he, if I mistake not, is the captain of\nthe band, and for that reason the more formidable and the more likely\nto cherish the hope of vengeance.\"\n\nWhen Morgiana had done speaking Ali Baba clearly perceived that he owed\nto her not merely the protection of his property but life itself. His\nheart was full of gratitude. \"Do not doubt,\" he said, \"that before I\ndie I will reward you as you deserve; and as an immediate proof from\nthis moment I give you your liberty.\"\n\nThis token of his approval filled Morgiana's heart with delight, but\nshe had no intention of leaving so kind a master, even had she been\nsure that all danger was now over. The immediate question which next\npresented itself was how to dispose of the bodies. Luckily at the far\nend of the garden stood a thick grove of trees, and under these Ali\nBaba was able to dig a large trench without attracting the notice of\nhis neighbours. Here the remains of the thirty-seven robbers were laid\nside by side, the trench was filled again, and the ground made level.\nAs for the mules, since Ali Baba had no use for them, he sent them, one\nor two at a time, to the market to be sold.\n\nMeanwhile the robber captain had fled back to the forest. Entering the\ncave he was overcome by its gloom and loneliness. \"Alas!\" he cried, \"my\ncomrades, partners in my adventures, sharers of my fortune, how shall I\nendure to live without you? Why did I lead you to a fate where valour\nwas of no avail, and where death turned you into objects of ridicule?\nSurely had you died sword in hand my sorrow had been less bitter! And\nnow what remains for me but to take vengeance for your death and to\nprove, by achieving it without aid, that I was worthy to be the captain\nof such a band!\"\n\nThus resolved, at an early hour the next day, he assumed a disguise\nsuitable to his purpose, and going to the town took lodging in a khan.\nEntering into conversation with his host he inquired whether anything\nof interest had happened recently in the town; but the other, though\nfull of gossip, had nothing to tell him concerning the matter in which\nhe was most interested, for Ali Baba, having to conceal from all the\nsource of his wealth, had also to be silent as to the dangers in which\nit involved him.\n\nThe captain then inquired where there was a shop for hire; and hearing\nof one that suited him, he came to terms with the owner, and before\nlong had furnished it with all kinds of rich stuffs and carpets and\njewelry which he brought by degrees with great secrecy from the cave.\n\nNow this shop happened to be opposite to that which had belonged to\nCassim and was now occupied by the son of Ali Baba; so before long the\nson and the new-comer, who had assumed the name of Cogia Houssain,\nbecame acquainted; and as the youth had good looks, kind manners, and\na sociable disposition, it was not long before the acquaintance became\nintimate.\n\nCogia Houssain did all he could to seal the pretended friendship, the\nmore so as it had not taken him long to discover how the young man and\nAli Baba were related; so, plying him constantly with small presents\nand acts of hospitality, he forced on him the obligation of making some\nreturn.\n\nAli Baba's son, however, had not at his lodging sufficient\naccommodation for entertainment; he therefore told his father of the\ndifficulty in which Cogia Houssain's favours had placed him, and Ali\nBaba with great willingness at once offered to arrange matters. \"My\nson,\" said he, \"to-morrow being a holiday, all shops will be closed;\nthen do you after dinner invite Cogia Houssain to walk with you; and\nas you return bring him this way and beg him to come in. That will\nbe better than a formal invitation, and Morgiana shall have a supper\nprepared for you.\"\n\nThis proposal was exactly what Ali Baba's son could have wished, so on\nthe morrow he brought Cogia Houssain to the door as if by accident, and\nstopping, invited him to enter.\n\nCogia Houssain, who saw his object thus suddenly attained, began by\nshowing pretended reluctance, but Ali Baba himself coming to the door,\npressed him in the most kindly manner to enter, and before long had\nconducted him to the table, where food stood prepared.\n\nBut there an unlooked-for difficulty arose. Wicked though he might be\nthe robber captain was not so impious as to eat the salt of the man\nhe intended to kill. He therefore began with many apologies to excuse\nhimself; and when Ali Baba sought to know the reason, \"Sir,\" said\nhe, \"I am sure that if you knew the cause of my resolution you would\napprove of it. Suffice it to say that I have made it a rule to eat of\nno dish that has salt in it. How then can I sit down at your table if I\nmust reject everything that is set before me?\"\n\n\"If that is your scruple,\" said Ali Baba, \"it shall soon be satisfied,\"\nand he sent orders to the kitchen that no salt was to be put into\nany of the dishes presently to be served to the newly arrived guest.\n\"Thus,\" said he to Cogia Houssain, \"I shall still have the honour, to\nwhich I have looked forward, of returning to you under my own roof the\nhospitality you have shown to my son.\" Morgiana, who was just about\nto serve supper, received the order with some discontent. \"Who,\" she\nsaid, \"is this difficult person that refuses to eat salt? He must be a\ncuriosity worth looking at.\" So when the saltless courses were ready to\nbe set upon the table, she herself helped to carry in the dishes. No\nsooner had she set eyes on Cogia Houssain than she recognized him in\nspite of his disguise; and observing his movements with great attention\nshe saw that he had a dagger concealed beneath his robe. \"Ah!\" she said\nto herself, \"here is reason enough! For who will eat salt with the man\nhe means to murder? But he shall not murder my master if I can prevent\nit.\"\n\nNow Morgiana knew that the most favourable opportunity for the robber\ncaptain to carry out his design would be after the courses had been\nwithdrawn, and when Ali Baba and his son and guest were alone together\nover their wine, which indeed was the very project that Cogia Houssain\nhad formed. Going forth, therefore, in haste, she dressed herself as\na dancer, assuming the headdress and mask suitable for the character.\nThen she fastened a silver girdle about her waist, and hung upon it a\ndagger of the same material. Thus equipped, she said to Abdallah the\ncook, \"Take your tabor and let us go in and give an entertainment in\nhonour of our master's guest.\"\n\nSo Abdallah took his tabor, and played Morgiana into the hall. As soon\nas she had entered she made a low curtsey, and stood awaiting orders.\nThen Ali Baba, seeing that she wished to perform in his guest's honour,\nsaid kindly, \"Come in, Morgiana, and show Cogia Houssain what you can\ndo.\"\n\n[Illustration: Then for the last figure of all she drew out the dagger.]\n\nImmediately Abdallah began to beat upon his tabor and sing an air for\nMorgiana to dance to; and she, advancing with much grace and propriety\nof deportment, began to move through several figures, performing them\nwith the ease and facility which none but the most highly practised can\nattain to. Then, for the last figure of all, she drew out the dagger\nand, holding it in her hand, danced a dance which excelled all that\nhad preceded it in the surprise and change and quickness and dexterity\nof its movements. Now she presented the dagger at her own breast, now\nat one of the onlookers; but always in the act of striking she drew\nback. At length, as though out of breath, she snatched his instrument\nfrom Abdallah with her left hand, and, still holding the dagger in her\nright, advanced the hollow of the tabor toward her master, as is the\ncustom of dancers when claiming their fee. Ali Baba threw in a piece of\ngold; his son did likewise. Then advancing it in the same manner toward\nCogia Houssain, who was feeling for his purse, she struck under it, and\nbefore he knew had plunged her dagger deep into his heart.\n\nAli Baba and his son, seeing their guest fall dead, cried out in horror\nat the deed. \"Wretch!\" exclaimed Ali Baba, \"what ruin and shame hast\nthou brought on us?\" \"Nay,\" answered Morgiana, \"it is not your ruin but\nyour life that I have thus secured; look and convince yourself what man\nwas this which refused to eat salt with you!\" So saying, she tore off\nthe dead robbers disguise, showing the dagger concealed below, and the\nface which her master now for the first time recognized.\n\nAli Baba's gratitude to Morgiana for thus preserving his life a second\ntime, knew no bounds. He took her in his arms and embraced her as a\ndaughter. \"Now,\" said he, \"the time is come when I must fulfil my\ndebt; and how better can I do it than by marrying you to my son?\" This\nproposition, far from proving unwelcome to the young man, did but\nconfirm an inclination already formed. A few days later the nuptials\nwere celebrated with great joy and solemnity, and the union thus\nauspiciously commenced was productive of as much happiness as lies\nwithin the power of mortals to secure.\n\nAs for the robbers'cave, it remained the secret possession of Ali\nBaba and his posterity; and using their good fortune with equity and\nmoderation, they rose to high office in the city and were held in great\nhonour by all who knew them.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF THE MAGIC HORSE\n\nIn the land of the Persians there lived in ancient times a King who had\nthree daughters and an only son of such beauty that they drew the eyes\nof all beholders like moonrise in a clear heaven. Now it was the custom\nin that country for a great festival to be held at the new year, during\nwhich people of all grades, from the highest to the lowest, presented\nthemselves before the King with offerings and salutations. So it\nhappened that on one of these days there came to the King as he sat in\nstate three sages, masters of their craft, bringing gifts for approval.\nThe first had with him a peacock of gold which was so constructed that\nat the passing of each hour it beat its wings and uttered a cry. And\nthe King, having proved it, found the gift acceptable and caused the\ninventor thereof to be suitably rewarded. The second had made a trumpet\nso that if placed over the gates of a city it blew a blast against any\nthat sought to enter; and thus was the city held safe from surprise by\nan enemy. And when the King had found that it possessed that property,\nhe accepted it, bestowing on its maker a rich reward.\n\nBut the gift of the third sage, who was an Indian, appeared more\nprodigious than all, for he had brought with him a horse of ivory and\nebony, for which he claimed that, at the will of its owner, or of any\none instructed in the secret, it would rise above the earth and fly,\narriving at distant places in a marvellously short space of time. The\nKing, full of wonder at such a statement, and eager to test it, was\nin some doubt as to how he might do so, for the Indian was unwilling\nto part with the secret until secure of the reward which in his own\nmind he had fixed on. Now it happened that at a distance of some three\nleagues from the city there stood a mountain the top of which was\nclearly discernible to all eyes; so, in order that the Indian's word\nmight be proved, the King, pointing to it, said, \"Go yonder, and bring\nback to me while I wait the branch of a palm-tree which grows at the\nfoot of that mountain; then I shall know that what you tell me is true.\"\n\nInstantly the Indian set foot in the stirrup and vaulted upon his\ncharger, and scarcely had he turned a small peg which was set in the\npommel of the saddle, when the horse rose lightly into the air and bore\nhim away at wondrous speed amid the shouts of the beholders; and while\nall were still gazing, amazed at so sudden a vanishing, he reappeared\nhigh overhead, bearing the palm branch, and descending into their\nmidst alighted upon the very spot from which he had started, where,\nprostrating himself, he laid the branch at the King's feet.\n\n[Illustration: At so arrogant a claim all the courtiers burst into loud\nlaughter.]\n\nThe King was so delighted when the wonderful properties of the horse\nhad been thus revealed to him, that, eager to possess it, he bade the\nIndian name his own reward, declaring that no price could be too great.\nThen said the sage, \"Since your Majesty so truly appreciates the value\nof my invention, I do not fear that the reward I ask for will seem\ntoo high. Give me in marriage the hand of the fairest of your three\ndaughters, and the horse shall be yours.\"\n\nAt so arrogant a claim all the courtiers burst into loud laughter;\nthe King alone, consumed with the desire of possessing the wonderful\ntreasure, hesitated as to what answer he should give. Then the King's\nson, Prince Firouz Schah, seeing his father lend ear to so shameful\na proposal, became moved with indignation. Determined to defend his\nsister's honour and his own, he addressed the King. \"Pardon me, Sire,\"\nsaid he, \"if I take the liberty of speaking. But how shall it be\npossible for one of the greatest and most powerful monarchs to ally\nhimself to a mere nobody? I entreat you to consider what is due not\nto yourself alone but to the high blood of your ancestors and of your\nchildren.\"\n\n\"My son,\" replied the King of Persia, \"what you say is very true, so\nfar as it goes; but you do not sufficiently consider the value of so\nincomparable a marvel as this horse has proved itself to be, or how\ngreat would be my chagrin if any other monarch came to possess it.\nAnd though I have not yet agreed to the Indian's proposal, I cannot\nincontinently reject it. But first I must be satisfied that the horse\nwill obey other hands besides those of its inventor, else, though I\nbecome its possessor, I may find it useless.\"\n\nThe Indian, who had stood aside during this discussion, was now full\nof hope, for he perceived that the King had not altogether rejected\nhis terms, and nothing seemed likelier than that the more he became\nfamiliar with the properties of the magic horse the more would he wish\nto possess it. When, therefore, the King proposed that the horse should\nbe put to a more independent trial under another rider, the Indian\nreadily agreed; the more so when the prince himself, relinquishing his\napparent opposition, came forward and volunteered for the essay.\n\nThe King having consented, the prince mounted, and eager in his design\nto give his father opportunity for cooler reflection, he did not wait\nto hear all the Indian's instructions, but turning the peg, as he\nhad seen the other do when first mounting, caused the horse to rise\nsuddenly in the air, and was carried away out of sight in an easterly\ndirection more swiftly than an arrow shot from a bow.\n\nNo sooner had the horse and its rider disappeared than the King became\ngreatly concerned for his son's safety; and though the sage could\njustly excuse himself on the ground that the young prince's impatience\nhad caused him to cut short the instructions which would have insured\nhis safe return, the King choose to vent upon the Indian the full\nweight of his displeasure; and cursing the day wherein he had first set\neyes on the magic horse, he caused its maker to be thrown into prison,\ndeclaring that if the prince did not return within a stated time the\nlife of the other should be forfeit.\n\nThe Indian had now good cause to repent of the ambition which had\nbrought him to this extremity, for the prince, of whose opposition to\nhis project he had been thoroughly informed, had only to prolong his\nabsence to involve him in irretrievable ruin. But on the failure of\narrogant pretensions the sympathy of the judicious is wasted; let us\nreturn therefore to Prince Firouz Schah, whom we left flying through\nthe air with incredible swiftness on the back of the magic steed.\n\nFor a time, confident of his skill as a rider and undismayed either\nby the speed or altitude of his flight, the prince had no wish to\nreturn to the palace; but presently the thought of his father's anxiety\noccurred to him, and being of a tender and considerate disposition he\nimmediately endeavoured to divert his steed from its forward course.\nThis he sought to do by turning in the contrary direction the peg\nwhich he had handled when mounting, but to his astonishment the horse\nresponded by rising still higher in the air and flying forward with\nredoubled swiftness. Had courage then deserted him, his situation might\nhave become perilous; but preserving his accustomed coolness he began\ncarefully to search for the means by which the speed of the machine\nmight be abated, and before long he perceived under the horse's mane\na smaller peg, which he had no sooner touched than he felt himself\ndescending rapidly toward the earth, with a speed that lessened the\nnearer he came to ground.\n\n[Illustration: As he descended, the daylight in which hitherto he had\nbeen travelling faded from view.]\n\nAs he descended, the daylight in which hitherto he had been travelling\nfaded from view, and he passed within a few minutes from sunset into an\nobscurity so dense that he could no longer distinguish the nature of\nhis environment, till, as the horse alighted, he perceived beneath him\na smooth expanse ending abruptly on all sides at an apparent elevation\namong the objects surrounding it.\n\nDismounting he found himself on the roof of a large palace, with marble\nbalustrades dividing it in terraces, and at one side a staircase which\nled down to the interior. With a spirit ever ready for adventure\nPrince Firouz Schah immediately descended, groping his way through the\ndarkness till he came to a landing on the further side of which an open\ndoor led into a room where a dim light was burning.\n\n[Illustration: He saw black eunuchs lying asleep.]\n\nThe prince paused at the doorway to listen, but all he could hear\nwas the sound of men breathing heavily in their sleep. He pushed\nthe door and entered; and there across an inner threshold he saw\nblack eunuchs lying asleep, each with a drawn sword in his hand.\nImmediately he guessed that something far more fair must lie beyond;\nso, undeterred by the danger, he advanced, and stepping lightly across\ntheir swords passed through silken hangings into the inner chamber.\nHere he perceived, amid surroundings of regal magnificence, a number\nof couches, one of which stood higher than the rest. Upon each of\nthese a fair damsel lay asleep; but upon that which was raised above\nits fellows lay a form of such perfect and enchanting beauty that\nthe prince had no will or power to turn away after once beholding\nit. Approaching the sleeper softly, he kneeled down and plucked her\ngently by the sleeve; and immediately the princess--for such if rank\nand beauty accorded she needs must be--opened to him the depths of her\nlustrous eyes and gazed in quiet amazement at the princely youth whose\nhandsome looks and reverent demeanour banished at once all thought of\nalarm.\n\nNow it so happened that a son of the King of India was at that time\nseeking the hand of the princess in marriage; but her father, the King\nof Bengal, had rejected him owing to his ferocious and disagreeable\naspect. When therefore the princess saw one of royal appearance\nkneeling before her she supposed he could be no other than the suitor\nwhom she knew only by report, and shedding upon him the light of her\nregard, \"By Allah,\" she said, smiling, \"my father lied in saying that\ngood looks were lacking to thee!\"\n\nPrince Firouz Schah, perceiving from these words and the glance which\naccompanied them, that her disposition towards him was favourable,\nno longer feared to acquaint her with the plight in which he found\nhimself; while the princess, for her part, listened to the story of\nhis adventures with lively interest, and learned, not without secret\nsatisfaction, that her visitor possessed a rank and dignity equal to\nher own.\n\n[Illustration: She gave orders for a rich banquet to be prepared.]\n\nMeanwhile the maidens who were in attendance on the princess had\nawakened in dismay to the unaccountable apparition of a fair youth\nkneeling at the feet of their mistress, and, dreading discovery by the\nattendants, were all at a loss what to do. The princess however, seeing\nthat they were awake, called them to her with perfect composure and\nbade them go instantly and prepare an inner chamber where the prince\nmight sleep and recover from the fatigues of his journey; at the same\ntime she gave orders for a rich banquet to be prepared against the time\nwhen he should be ready to partake of it. Then when her visitor had\nretired, she arose and began to adorn herself in jewels and rich robes\nand to anoint her body with fragrance, giving her women no rest till\nthe tale of her mirror contented her; and when all had been done many\ntimes over, and the last touch of art added to her loveliness, she sent\nto inquire whether the prince had yet awaked and were ready to receive\nher.\n\n[Illustration: Till the tale of her mirror contented her.]\n\nUpon the receipt of that message the prince rose eagerly, and dressing\nin haste, although it was scarcely yet day, heard everywhere within the\npalace sounds of preparation for the feast that was being got ready in\nhis honour.\n\nBefore long the princess herself entered to inquire how he had slept,\nand being fully assured on that score, she gave orders for the banquet\nto be served. Everything was done in the greatest magnificence, but the\nprincess was full of apologies, declaring the entertainment unworthy of\nso distinguished a guest. \"You must pardon me, prince,\" she said, \"for\nreceiving you with so little state, and after so hasty a preparation;\nbut the chief of the eunuchs does not enter here without my express\npermission, and I feared that elsewhere our conversation might be\ninterrupted.\"\n\nPrince Firouz Schah was now convinced that the inclinations of the\nprincess corresponded with his own; but though her every word and\nmovement increased the tenderness of his passion, he did not forget\nthe respect due to her rank and virtue. One of her women attendants\nhowever, seeing clearly in what direction matters were tending, and\nfearing for herself the results of a sudden discovery, withdrew\nsecretly, saying nothing to the rest, and running quickly to the chief\nof the eunuchs she cried, \"O miserable man, what sorry watch is this\nthat thou hast kept, guarding the King's honour; and who is this man or\ngenie that thou hast admitted to the presence of our mistress? Nay, if\nthe matter be not already past remedy the fault is not thine!\" At these\nwords the eunuch leapt up in alarm, and going secretly he lifted the\ncurtain of the inner chamber, and there beheld at the princess's side a\nyouth of such fair and majestical appearance that he durst not intrude\nunbidden. He ran shrieking to the King, and as he went he rent his\ngarments and threw dust upon his head. \"O sire and master,\" he cried,\n\"come quickly and save thy daughter, for there is with her a genie in\nmortal form and like a king's son to look upon, and if he have not\nalready carried her away, make haste and give orders that he be seized,\nlest thou become childless.\"\n\n[Illustration: She cried: \"O miserable man what sorry watch is this\nthat thou hast kept\".]\n\nThe King at once arose and went in great haste and fear to his\ndaughters palace. There he was met by certain of her women, who, seeing\nhis alarm, said, \"O sire, have no fear for the safety of thy daughter;\nfor this young man is as handsome of heart as of person, and as his\nconduct is chaste, so also are his intentions honourable.\"\n\nThen the King's wrath was cooled somewhat; but since much remained\nwhich demanded explanation he drew his sword and advanced with a\nthreatening aspect into the room where his daughter and the prince\nstill sat conversing. Prince Firouz Schah observing the new-comer\nadvance upon him in a warlike attitude, drew his own sword and stood\nready for defence; whereupon the King, seeing that the other was\nthe stronger, sheathed his weapon, and with a gesture of salutation\naddressed him courteously. \"Tell me, fair youth,\" he said, \"whether you\nare man or devil, for though in appearance you are human, how else than\nby devilry have you come here?\"\n\n\"Sire,\" replied the youth, \"but for the respect that is owing to the\nfather of so fair a daughter, I, whom am a son of kings, might resent\nsuch an imputation. Be assured, however, that by whatever means I\nhave chosen to arrive, my intentions now are altogether human and\nhonourable; for I have no other or dearer wish than to become your\nson-in-law through my marriage with this princess in whose eyes it is\nmy happiness to have found favour.\"\n\n\"What you tell me,\" answered the King, \"may be all very true; but it is\nnot the custom for the sons of kings to enter into palaces without the\npermission of their owners, coming, moreover, unannounced and with no\nretinue or mark of royalty about them. How, then, shall I convince my\npeople that you are a fit suitor for the hand of my daughter?\"\n\n\"The proof of honour and kingship,\" answered the other, \"does not rest\nin splendour and retinue alone, though these also would be at my call\nhad I the patience to await their arrival from that too distant country\nwhere my father is king. Let it suffice if I shall be able to prove my\nworth alone and unaided, in such a manner as to satisfy all.\" \"Alone\nand unaided?\" said the King; \"how may that be?\" \"I will prove it thus,\"\nanswered the prince. \"Call out your troops and let them surround this\npalace; tell them that you have here a stranger, of whom nothing is\nknown, who declares that if you will not yield him the hand of your\ndaughter in marriage he will carry her away from you by force. Bid them\nuse all means to capture and slay me, and if I survive so unequal a\ncontest, judge then whether or no I am fit to become your son-in-law.\"\n\nThe King immediately accepted the proposal, agreeing to abide by the\nresult; yet was he grieved that a youth of such fair looks and promise\nshould throw away his life in so foolhardy an adventure. As soon as day\ndawned he sent for his Vizier and bade him cause all the chiefs of his\narmy to assemble with their troops and companies, till presently there\nwere gathered about the palace forty thousand horsemen and the same\nnumber of foot; and the King gave them instructions, saying, \"When the\nyoung man of whom I have warned you comes forth and challenges you to\nbattle, then fall upon and slay him, for in no wise must he escape.\" He\nthen led the prince to an open space whence he could see the whole army\ndrawn up in array against him. \"Yonder,\" said the King, pointing, \"are\nthose with whom you have to contend; go forth and deal with them as\nseems best to you.\"\n\n\"Nay,\" answered the prince, \"these are not fair conditions, for yonder\nI see horsemen as well as foot; how shall I contend against these\nunless I be mounted?\" The King at once offered him the best horse in\nhis stables, but the prince would not hear of it. \"Is it fair,\" he\nsaid, \"that I should trust my life under such conditions to a horse\nthat I have never ridden? I will ride no horse but that upon which I\ncame hither.\" \"Where is that?\" inquired the King. \"If it be where I\nleft it,\" answered the prince, \"it is upon the roof of the palace.\"\n\nAll who heard this answer were filled with laughter and astonishment,\nfor it seemed impossible that a horse could have climbed to so high a\nroof. Nevertheless the King commanded that search should be made, and\nthere, sure enough, those that were sent found the horse of ebony and\nivory standing stiff and motionless. So though it still seemed to them\nbut a thing for jest and mockery, obeying the King's orders they raised\nit upon their shoulders, and bearing it to earth carried it forth into\nthe open space before the palace where the King's troops were assembled.\n\nThen Prince Firouz Schah advanced, and leaping upon the horse he cried\ndefiance to the eighty thousand men that stood in battle array against\nhim. And they, on their part, seeing the youth so hardily set on his\nown destruction, drew sword and couched spear, and came all together\nto the charge. The prince waited till they were almost upon him, then\nturning the peg which stood in the pommel of his saddle he caused the\nhorse to rise suddenly in the air, and all the foremost ranks of the\nenemy came clashing together beneath him. At that sight the King and\nall his court drew a breath of astonishment, and the army staggered and\nswung about this way and that, striking vainly up at the hoofs of the\nmagic horse as it flew over them. Then the King, full of dread lest\nthis should indeed be some evil genie that sought to carry his daughter\naway from him, called to his archers to shoot, but before they could\nmake ready their bows Prince Firouz Schah had given another turn to\nthe peg, and immediately the horse sprang upward and rose higher than\nthe roof of the palace, so that all the arrows fell short and rained\ndestruction on those that were below.\n\nThen the prince called to the King, \"O King of Bengal, have I not now\nproved myself worthy to be thy son-in-law, and wilt thou not give me\nthe hand of thy daughter in marriage?\" But the King's wrath was very\ngreat, for he had been made foolish in the eyes of his people, and\npanic had broken the ranks of his army and many of them were slain; and\nby no means would he have for his son-in-law one that possessed such\npower to throw down the order and establishment of his kingdom. So he\ncried back to the prince, saying, \"O vile enchanter, get hence as thou\nvaluest thy life, for if ever thou darest to return and set foot within\nmy dominions thy death and not my daughter shall be thy reward!\" Thus\nhe spoke in his anger, forgetting altogether the promise he had made.\n\nNow it should be known that all this time the princess had been\nwatching the combat from the roof of the palace; and as her fear and\nanxiety for the prince had in the first instance been great, so now was\nshe overjoyed when she saw him rise superior to the dangers which had\nthreatened him. But as soon as she heard her father's words she became\nfilled with fresh fear lest she and her lover were now to be parted;\nso as the prince came speeding by upon the magic horse she stretched\nup her arms to him, crying, \"O master of the flying bird, leave me not\ndesolate, for if thou goest from me now I shall die.\"\n\n[Illustration: All this time the Princess had been watching the combat\nfrom the roof of the palace.]\n\nNo sooner did Prince Firouz Schah hear those words than he checked his\nsteed in its flight, and swooping low he bore down over the palace\nroof, and catching the princess up in his arms placed her upon the\nsaddle before him; and straightway at the pressure of its rider the\nhorse rose under them and carried them away high in air, so that they\ndisappeared forthwith from the eyes of the King and his people.\n\nBut as they travelled the day grew hot and the sun burned fiercely upon\nthem; and the prince looking down beheld a green meadow by the side of\na lake; so he said, \"O desire of my heart, let us go down into yonder\nmeadow and seek rest and refreshment, and there let us wait till it\nis evening, so that we may come unperceived to my fathers palace; and\nwhen I have brought thee thither safely and secretly, then will I make\npreparation so that thou mayest appear at my fathers court in such a\nmanner as befits thy rank.\"\n\n[Illustration: In the garden of the summer palace all was silence and\nsolitude.]\n\nSo the princess consenting, they went down and sat by the lake and\nsolaced themselves sweetly with love till it was evening. Then they\nrose up and mounted once more upon the magic horse and came by night\nto the outskirts of the city where dwelt the King of Persia. Now in\nthe garden of the summer palace which stood without the walls all was\nsilence and solitude, and coming thither unperceived the King's son led\nthe princess to a pavilion, the door of which lay open, and placing\nbefore it the magic horse he bade her stay within and keep watch till\nhis messenger should come to take her to the palace which he would\ncause to be prepared for her.\n\n[Illustration: Sat by the lake and solaced themselves sweetly with\nlove.]\n\nLeaving her thus safely sheltered, the prince went in to the city to\npresent himself before the King his father; and there he found him in\ndeep mourning and affliction because of his son's absence; and his\nfather seeing him, rose up and embraced him tenderly, rejoicing because\nof his safe return, and eager to know in what way he had fared. And\nthe prince said, \"O my father, if it be thy good will and pleasure,\nI have come back to thee far richer than I went. For I have brought\nwith me the fairest princess that the eyes of love have ever looked\nupon, and she is the daughter of the King of Bengal; and because of my\nlove for her and the great service which she rendered me when I was a\nstranger in the midst of enemies, therefore have I no heart or mind or\nwill but to win your consent that I may marry her.\" And when the King\nheard that, and of all that the princess had done, and of how they had\nescaped together, he gave his consent willingly, and ordered that a\npalace should be immediately got ready for her reception that she might\non the next day appear before the people in a manner befitting her rank.\n\nThen while preparation was going forward, the prince sought news\nconcerning the sage, for he feared that the King might have slain him.\n\"Do not speak of him,\" cried the King. \"Would to Heaven that I had\nnever set eyes on him or his invention, for out of this has arisen all\nmy grief and lamentation. Therefore he now lies in prison awaiting\ndeath.\"\n\n\"Nay,\" said the prince \"now surely should he be released and suitably\nrewarded, seeing that unwittingly he hath been the cause of my fortune;\nbut do not give him my sister in marriage.\"\n\nSo the King sent and caused the Indian to be brought before him clad\nin a robe of rank. And the King said to him, \"Because my son, whom thy\nvile invention carried away from me, hath returned safe and sound,\ntherefore will I spare thy life. And for the reward of thine ingenuity\nI give thee this robe of honour; but now take thy horse, wherever it\nmay be, and go, nor ever appear in my sight again. And if thou wilt\nmarry, seek one of thine own rank, but do not aspire to the daughters\n\nof kings.\"\n\nWhen the Indian heard that, he dissembled his rage, and bowing himself\nto the earth departed from the King's presence. And, as he went,\neverywhere in the palace ran the tale how the King's son had returned\nupon the magic horse, bringing with him a princess of most marvellous\nbeauty, and how they had alighted in the gardens of the summer palace\nthat lay outside the walls.\n\nNow when this was told him the Indian at once saw his opportunity, and\ngoing forth from the city in haste he arrived at the summer palace\nbefore the messenger with the appointed retinue which the prince and\nthe King were sending. So coming to the pavilion in the garden he found\nthe princess waiting within, and before the door the horse of ivory\nand ebony. Then was his heart uplifted for joy, the more so when he\nperceived how far the damsel exceeded in loveliness all that had been\ntold of her. Entering the chamber where she sat he kissed the ground\nat her feet; and she, seeing one that wore a robe of office making\nobeisance before her, speak to him without fear, saying, \"Who art thou?\"\n\nThe sage answered, \"O moon of beauty, I am but the dust which lies\nupon the road by which thou art to travel. Yet I come as a messenger\nfrom the King's son who hath sent me to bring thee with all speed to a\nchamber in the royal palace where he now awaits thee.\"\n\nNow the Indian was of a form altogether hideous and abominable. The\nprincess looked at him, therefore, in surprise, saying, \"Could not the\nKing's son find any one to send to me but thee?\" The sage laughed, for\nhe read the meaning of her words. \"O searcher of hearts,\" he said, \"do\nnot wonder that the prince hath sent to thee a man whose looks are\nunattractive, for because of his love toward thee he is grown exceeding\njealous. Were it otherwise, I doubt not that he would have chosen the\nhighest and most honourable in the land; but, being what I am, he has\npreferred to make me his messenger.\"\n\nWhen the princess heard that, she believed him, and because her\nimpatience to be with her lover was great, she yielded herself\nwillingly into his hands. Then the sage mounted upon the horse and\ntook up the damsel behind him; and having bound her to his girdle for\nsafety, he turned the pin so swiftly that immediately they rose up into\nthe air far above the roof of the palace and in full view of the royal\nretinue which was even then approaching.\n\nNow because his desire to be with his beloved was so strong, the prince\nhimself had come forth before all others to meet her; and when he saw\nher thus carried away captive, he uttered a loud cry of lamentation,\nand stretched out his hands toward her. The cry of her lover reached\nthe ears of the princess, and looking down she saw with wonder his\ngestures of grief and despair. So she said to the Indian, \"O slave,\nwhy art thou bearing me away from thy lord, disobeying his command?\"\nThe sage answered, \"He is not my lord, nor do I owe him any duty or\nobedience. May Heaven repay on him all the grief he has brought on me,\nfor I was the maker of this horse on which he won thee, and because he\nstole it from me I was cast into prison. But now for all my wrongs I\nwill take full payment, and will torture his heart as he hath tortured\nmine. Be of good cheer, therefore, for doubt not that presently I shall\nseem a more desirable lover in thine eyes than ever he was.\"\n\nOn hearing these words the princess was so filled with terror and\nloathing that she endeavoured to cast herself from the saddle; but the\nIndian having bound her to his girdle, no present escape from him was\npossible.\n\nThe horse had meanwhile carried them far from the city of the King\nof Persia, and it was yet an early hour after dawn when they arrived\nover the land of Cashmire. Assured that he was now safe from pursuit,\nand perceiving an uninhabited country below him, the Indian caused\nthe horse to descend on the edge of a wood bordered by a stream.\nHere he made the princess dismount, and was proceeding to force upon\nher his base and familiar attentions, when the cries raised by the\nprincess drew to that spot a party of horsemen who had been hunting\nin the neighbourhood. The leader of the party, who chanced to be no\nother than the Sultan of that country, seeing a fair damsel undergoing\nill-treatment from one of brutish and malevolent aspect, rode forward\nand demanded of the Indian by what right he so used her. The sage\nboldly declared that she was his wife and that how he used her was\nno man's business but his own. The damsel, however, contradicted his\nassertion with indignation and scorn, and so great were her beauty and\nthe dignity of her bearing that her statement of the case had only to\nbe heard to be believed. The Sultan therefore ordered the Indian to be\nbound and beaten, and afterwards to be led away to the adjacent city\nand there cast into the deepest dungeon. As for the princess and magic\nhorse, he caused them to be brought to the palace; and there for the\ndamsel he provided a magnificent apartment with slaves and attendants\nsuch as befitted her rank; but the horse, whose properties remained\nsecret, since no other use for it could be discovered, was placed in\nthe royal treasury.\n\nNow though the princess was full of joy over her escape from the\nIndian, and of gratitude to her deliverer, she could not fail to read\nin the Sultan's manner towards her the spell cast by her beauty. And,\nin fact, no later than the next day, awakened by sounds throughout the\nwhole city of tumult and rejoicing, and inquiring as to the reason,\nshe was informed that these festivities were the prelude to her own\nnuptials with the Sultan which were to be celebrated that very day\nbefore sundown.\n\nAt this news her consternation was so great that she immediately\nswooned away, and remained for a long while speechless. But no sooner\nhad she recovered possession of her faculties than her resolution was\nformed, and when the Sultan entered, as is customary on such occasions,\nto present his compliments and make inquiries as to her health, she\nfell into an extravagance of attitude and speech, so artfully contrived\nthat all who beheld her became convinced of her insanity. And the more\nsurely to effect her purpose, and at the same time to relieve her\nfeelings, she made a violent attack upon the Sultan's person; nor did\nshe desist until she had brought him to recognize that all hopes for\nthe present consummation of the nuptials were useless.\n\nOn the following day also, and upon every succeeding one, the princess\nshowed the same violent symptoms whenever the Sultan approached her. It\nwas in vain that all the wisest physicians in the country were summoned\ninto consultation. While some declared that her malady was curable,\nothers, to whose word the princess by her actions lent every possible\nweight, declared that it was incurable; and in no case was any remedy\napplied that did not seem immediately to aggravate the disorder.\n\n[Illustration: It was in vain that all the wisest physicians in the\ncountry were summoned into consultation.]\n\nAnd here for a while we must leave the princess and return to Prince\nFirouz Schah, whose affliction no words can describe. Unable to\nendure the burden of his beloved one's absence in the splendours of\nhis father's palace, or to leave her the victim of fate without an\nattempt at rescue, he put on the disguise of a travelling dervish, and\ndeparting secretly from the Persian court set out into the world to\nseek for her.\n\nFor many months he travelled without clue or tidings to guide him; but\nas Heaven ever bestows favour on constancy in love, so it led him at\nlast to the land of Cashmire, and to the city of its Sultan. Now as\nhe drew near to it by the main road, he fell into conversation with\na certain merchant, and inquired of him as to the city and the life\nand conditions of its inhabitants. And the merchant looked at him in\nsurprise, saying, \"Surely you have come from a far country not to have\nheard of the strange things which have happened here, for everywhere in\nthese regions and among all the caravans goes the story of the strange\nmaiden, and the ebony horse, and the waiting nuptials.\"\n\n[Illustration: For many months he travelled without clue.]\n\nNow when the prince heard that, he knew that the end of his wanderings\nwas in sight: so looking upon the city with eyes of gladness, \"Tell\nme,\" he said, \"for I know none of these things.\" So the merchant told\nhim truly all that has here been narrated; and having ended he said,\n\"O dervish, though you are young, you have in your eyes the light of\nwisdom; and if you have also in your hands the power of healing, then I\ntell you that in this city fortune awaits you, for the Sultan will give\neven the half of his kingdom to any man that shall restore health of\nmind to this damsel.\"\n\nThen the King's son felt his heart uplifted within him, howbeit he knew\nwell that the fortune he sought would not be of the Sultan's choosing;\nso parting from the merchant, he put on the robe of a physician, and\nwent and presented himself at the palace.\n\nThe Sultan was glad at his coming, for though many physicians had\npromised healing and had all failed, still each new arrival gave him\nfresh hopes. Now as the sight of a physician seemed ever greatly to\nincrease the princess's malady, the Sultan led him to a small closet\nor balcony, that thence he might look upon her unperceived. So Prince\nFirouz Schah, having travelled so many miles in search of her, saw his\nbeloved seated in deep despondency by the side of a fountain; and ever\nwith the tears falling down from her eyes she sighed and sang. Now when\nhe heard her voice and the words, and beheld the soft grief of her\ncountenance, then the prince knew that her disorder was only feigned;\nand he went forth and said to the Sultan, \"This malady is curable; but\nfor the cure something is yet lacking. Let me go in and speak with the\ndamsel alone, and on my life I promise that if all be done according\nto my requirements, before this time to-morrow the cure shall be\naccomplished.\"\n\n[Illustration: And ever with the tears falling down from her eyes she\nsighed and sang.]\n\nAt these words the Sultan rejoiced greatly, and he ordered the doors of\nthe princess's chamber to be opened to the physician. So Firouz Schah\npassed in, and he and his beloved were alone together. Now because of\nhis grief and wanderings and the growth of his beard, the face of the\nprince was so changed that the princess did not know him; but seeing\none before her in the dress of a physician she rose up in pretended\nfrenzy and began to throw herself about with violence, until from utter\nexhaustion she fell prostrate. Thereupon the prince drew near, and\ncalled her gently by name; and immediately when she heard his voice she\nknew him, and uttered a loud cry. Then the king's son put his mouth to\nher ear and said \"O temptation of all hearts, now spare my life and\nhave patience, for surely I am come to save thee; but if the Sultan\nlearn who I am we are dead, thou and I, because his jealousy is great.\"\nSo she replied, saying, \"O thou that bringest me life, tell me what I\nshall do?\" The prince said, \"When I depart hence let it appear that\nI have restored to thee the possession of thy faculties; howbeit the\nfull cure is to come after. Therefore when the Sultan comes to thee, be\nsad and meek and do not repulse him as thou hast done aforetime. Yet\nhave no fear but that I will keep thee safe from him to the last.\" And\nso saying he left the princess and returned to the Sultan, and said\nto him, \"Go in and see whether the cure be not already at work; but\napproach not near to her, for though the genie that possessed her is\nbound he is not yet cast forth: nevertheless to-morrow before noon the\nremedy shall be complete.\"\n\nSo the Sultan went and found her even as he had been told; and with joy\nand gratitude he returned to Firouz Schah, saying, \"Truly thou art a\nhealer and the rest are but bunglers and fools. Now, therefore, give\norders and all shall be done according to thy will. Doubt not that thy\nreward shall be great.\"\n\nThen the prince said, \"Let the horse of ivory and ebony which was with\nher at the first be brought forth and set again in the place where it\nwas found, and let the damsel also be brought and put into my hand;\nand it shall be that when I have set her upon the horse, then the evil\ngenie that held her shall be suddenly loosed, passing from her into\nthat which was aforetime his place of bondage. So shall the remedy be\ncomplete, and the princess find joy in her lord before the eyes of all.\"\n\nNow when the Sultan heard that, the mystery of the ebony horse seemed\nplain to him, and its use manifest. Therefore he gave orders that with\nall speed the thing should be done as the physician of the princess\nrequired it.\n\nSo early on the morrow they brought the horse from the royal treasury,\nand the princess from her chamber, and carried them to the place where\nthey were first found; and all about, a great crowd of the populace\nwas gathered to behold the sight. Then Prince Firouz Schah took the\nprincess and set her upon the horse, and leaping into the saddle before\nher he turned the pin of ascent, and immediately the horse rose with a\ngreat sound into the air, and hung above the heads of the affrighted\npopulace. And the King's son leaned down from the saddle and cried in a\nloud voice, \"O Sultan of Cashmire, when you wish to espouse princesses\nwhich seek your protection, learn first to obtain their consent.\" And\nso saying he put the horse to its topmost speed, and like an arrow on\nthe wind he and the princess were borne away, and passed and vanished,\nand were no more seen in that land.\n\nBut in the city of the King of Persia great joy and welcome and\nthanksgiving awaited them; and there without delay the nuptials were\nsolemnized and through all the country the people rejoiced and feasted\nfor a full month. But because of the grief and affliction that it had\ncaused him the King broke the ebony horse and destroyed its motions.\nAs for the maker thereof, the Sultan of Cashmire caused him to be put\nto a cruel death: and thus is the story of the sage and his invention\nbrought to a full ending.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF THE WICKED HALF-BROTHERS\n\nIn the city of Harran there once lived a King who had every happiness\nwhich life and fortune could bestow save that he lacked an heir.\nAlthough, according to royal custom, he had in his household fifty\nwives, fair to look upon and affectionate in disposition, and though\nhe continually invoked on these unions the blessing of Heaven, still\nhe remained childless; for which cause all his joy was turned to\naffliction, and his wealth and power and magnificence became as of no\naccount.\n\n[Illustration: There appeared before him an old man of venerable\nappearance.]\n\nNow one night as he slept there appeared before him an old man of\nvenerable appearance who, addressing him in mild accents, spoke\nthus: \"The prayer of the faithful among fifty has been heard. Arise,\ntherefore and, go into the gardens of your palace and cause the\ngardener to bring you a pomegranate fully ripe. Eat as many of the\nseeds as you desire children, and your wish shall be fulfilled.\"\n\n[Illustration: Pirouz\u00e8, the fairest and most honourably born.]\n\nImmediately upon awaking the King remembered the dream, and going down\ninto the gardens of the palace he took fifty pomegranate seeds, and\ncounting them one by one ate them all. So in due course according to\nthe promise of his dream, each of his wives gave birth to a son all\nabout the same time. To this, however, there was an exception, for\none of the fifty whose name was Pirouz\u00e8, the fairest and the most\nhonourably born, she alone, as time went on, showed no sign of that\nwhich was expected of her. Then was the King's anger kindled against\nher because in her alone the promise of his dream was not fulfilled;\nand deeming such a one hateful in the eyes of Heaven he was minded\nto put her to death. His vizier, however, dissuaded him. \"Time alone\ncan show,\" said he, \"whether her demerits are so great as you now\nsuppose. Let her go back to her own people and remain in banishment\nuntil the will of Heaven shall declare itself, and if within due time\nshe give birth to a son then can she return to you with all honour.\"\nSo the King did as his vizier advised, and sent Pirouz\u00e8 back to her\nown country to the court of the Prince of Samaria; and there before\nlong she who had seemed barren had the joy of becoming a mother and\ngave birth to a son whom she named Codadad, that is to say, \"the Gift\nof God.\" Nevertheless, because the King of Harran had put upon her so\npublic a disgrace, the Prince of Samaria would send no word to him of\nthe event; so the young Prince was brought up at his uncle's court,\nand there he learned to ride and to shoot and to perform such warlike\nfeats as become a prince, and in all that country he had no equal for\naccomplishment or courage.\n\nNow one day, when Codadad had reached the age of eighteen, word came\nto him that his father the King of Harran was engaged in war and\nsurrounded by enemies; so the Prince said to his mother, \"Now is it\ntime that I should go and prove myself worthy of my birth and the equal\nof my brethren; for here in Samaria all is peace and indolence, but in\nHarran are hardship and dangers, and great deeds waiting to be done.\"\nAnd his mother said to him, \"O my son, since it seems good to thee,\ngo; but how wilt thou declare thyself to thy father, or cause him to\nbelieve thy word, seeing that he is ignorant of thy birth?\" Codadad\nanswered, \"I will so declare myself by my deeds that before my father\nknows the truth he shall wish that it were true.\"\n\nSo he departed and came in princely arms to the city of Harran, and\nthere offered his service to the King against all his enemies. Now,\nno sooner had the King looked upon the youth than his heart was drawn\ntoward him because of his beauty and the secret ties of blood, but when\nhe asked from what country he came, Codadad answered, \"I am the son of\nan emir of Cairo, and wherever there is war I go to win fame, nor do I\ncare in what cause I fight so long as I be proved worthy.\"\n\nThe Prince was not slow in making his valour known; before long he had\nrisen to the command of the whole army, not only over the heads of his\nbrethren but also of the more experienced officers. And thereafter,\nwhen peace was re-established, the King, finding Codadad as prudent as\nhe was valiant, appointed him governor to the young Princes.\n\nNow this act, though justified by merit, could not fail to increase the\nhatred and jealousy which Codadad's brethren had long felt towards him.\n\"What?\" they cried, \"shall this stranger not only steal from us the\nfirst place in the King's favour, but must we also be in obedience to\nhis ruling and judgment? Surely if we do so we are no sons of a King.\"\n\nSo they conspired together how best to be rid of him. One said, \"Let us\nfall upon him with our swords.\" \"No, no,\" said another, \"for so doing\nwe shall but bring punishment upon ourselves. But let us so arrange\nmatters as to draw on him the weight of the King's anger; thus shall\nour vengeance be made both safe and complete.\"\n\nTo this the other Princes agreed; so forming a design which seemed\nfavourable to their end they approached Codadad, and besought his\npermission to go forth together on a hunting expedition, promising\nto return the same day. Codadad, deeming the request reasonable,\nimmediately granted it: the brothers departed, but they did not return.\n\nOn the third day the King made inquiry as to the reason of their\nabsence. Codadad replied that they were gone on a hunting expedition\nbut had promised to return much sooner. Another day passed and the King\ngrew anxious; yet another, and he became furious; and all his wrath\nwas directed against Codadad. \"O traitor,\" he cried, \"why has thou\nneglected thy trust and allowed my sons to go anywhere unaccompanied by\nthee? Now go instantly and search for them, and if thou find them not\nbe assured that on thy head shall fall the penalty.\"\n\nAt these words the Prince was filled with sudden foreboding, for he\nknew that the brothers had no love for him, and well could he see now\nthe danger into which he had fallen. All he could do, however, was to\nobey; so furnishing himself with arms and a horse good for travelling,\nhe set out in search of his brethren.\n\nAfter some days employed in a fruitless quest he came to a desolate\ntract in the midst of which stood a castle of black marble. As he\napproached he beheld at an upper window a damsel of marvellous beauty,\nwith torn garments, dishevelled hair, and a countenance expressive of\nthe most lively affliction, who immediately that she set eyes on him\nwrung her hands and waived him away crying \"Oh, fly, fly from this\nplace of death and the monster which inhabits it! For here lives a\nblack giant which feeds on human flesh, seizing all he can find. Even\nnow in his dungeons you may hear the cries of those whom for his next\nmeal he will devour.\"\n\n\"Madam,\" replied the Prince, \"for my safety you need have no care. Only\nbe good enough to inform me who you are and how you came to be in your\npresent plight.\" \"I come from Cairo,\" she replied, \"where my birth\ngives me rank. And as I was travelling from thence on my road to Bagdad\nthis monstrous negro suddenly fell upon us, and having slain my escort\nbrought me hither a captive, to endure, if Heaven refuses me succour,\nthings far worse than death. But though I know my own peril I will not\nsee others perish in a vain attempt to rescue me, therefore once more I\nentreat you to fly ere it be too late!\"\n\nBut even as she spoke, the negro, a horrible and gigantic monster of\nloathsome appearance, came in sight moving rapidly toward the palace.\nNo sooner had he caught sight of the Prince than he rushed upon him\nwith growls of fury, and drawing his scimitar aimed at him a blow\nwhich, had it found him, must there and then have ended the fight. The\nPrince, however, swerved nimbly under the stroke, and reaching his\nfarthest, wounded the giant in the knee; then wheeling his charger\nabout before the negro could turn on his maimed limb he attacked him\nfrom the rear, and with one fortunate blow brought him to earth.\nInstantly, before the giant could gather up his huge length and regain\nhis vantage, Codadad spurred forward and with a single sweep of his\nsword smote off his head.\n\n[Illustration: Reaching his farthest wounded the giant in the knee.]\n\nMeanwhile, all breathless above, the lady had leaned watching the\ncontest. Now, seeing that victory was secured, she gave free vent to\nher joy and gratitude. \"O prince of men!\" she cried, \"now is revealed\nto me the high rank to which thou wast born. Finish, then, thy work;\ntake from the girdle of yonder wretch the keys of the castle and come\nquickly to the release of me and my fellow prisoners.\"\n\n[Illustration: The lady advanced to meet him.]\n\nThe Prince did according to her directions; as he opened the gates and\nentered the forecourt the lady advanced to meet him, ready, had he\npermitted it, to throw herself in gratitude at his feet. And now, as he\nbeheld near at hand the beauty which had charmed him from a distance,\nCodadad realized how great had been his fortune, and with his whole\nheart rejoiced at the deliverance of one in whose nature so much virtue\nand grace seemed blended.\n\nBut while he was thus lost in the contemplation of her loveliness there\narose from the basement of the castle a dreadful sound of crying and\nlamentation. \"What is that?\" inquired the Prince. \"It is the cry of the\nprisoners,\" replied the lady, \"to whom, I doubt not, the opening of the\ngates has betokened the monster's return. Come, therefore, quickly and\nrelieve them of their misery.\" And so saying she pointed to the door\nwhich led to the place of confinement.\n\nThither, accompanied by the lady, went Codadad with all speed.\nDescending by a dark stair he came upon a vast cavern dimly lighted,\naround the walls of which a hundred prisoners lay chained. Instantly\nhe set to work to loose their bonds, informing them at the same time\nof the death of their captor and of their freedom from all further\ndanger. At these unexpected tidings the captives raised a cry of joy\nand thanksgiving; but great as was their surprise at such unlooked-for\ndeliverance, greater still was that of the Prince when, on bringing\nthem to the light, he discovered that forty-nine of the hundred whom he\nhad released were his own brethren.\n\nThe Princes received the cordial embraces of their deliverer with\nlittle embarrassment, for the disaster into which they had fallen had\ncaused them almost entirely to forget their original intent. Satisfied\nwith expressing in proper terms their obligation and gratitude toward\nCodadad, they now joined eagerly in his survey of the castle; there\nupon examination they found an extraordinary variety and wealth of\nbooty, consisting for the most part of merchandise which the negro had\npillaged from passing caravans, some of it actually belonging to those\nwhom Codadad had so recently rescued.\n\nThe Prince accordingly ordered the merchants each to take what he\nrecognized as his own; and this being done he divided the rest equally\nbetween them. The question then arose how they should remove their\nplunder from a place so desolately situated, where it would seem\nimpossible to procure means of conveyance; but on a further search\nthey found not only the camels of the merchants, but also the horses\non which the Princes of Harran had ridden; and as, at their approach\nthe black slaves who were in charge of the stables fell into headlong\nflight, Codadad and his companions found themselves left in undisputed\npossession. The merchants therefore loaded their camels, and with\nrenewed protestations of gratitude departed on the several roads by\nwhich their avocations called them.\n\nWhen they were gone Codadad's next care was to inquire of the lady in\nwhat direction she wished to travel, promising that he and the Princes\nwould conduct her in safety to any place she might name. The lady\nreplied, thanking him for his generous offer. \"But wherever I go,\"\nsaid she, \"it cannot be to my own country, for not only is it too far\ndistant, but cruel misfortune has separated me from it for ever. And\nsince you have put me under so great an obligation, let me now confess\nthe truth which before I thought it prudent to conceal. My dignity of\nrank is far higher than that to which I recently laid claim; in me you\nbehold a King's daughter, and if it will interest you to hear the story\nof my misfortunes, I shall be happy to recount it.\" Assured of the\nlively sympathy of her auditors she began as follows:\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF THE PRINCESS OF DERYABAR\n\n[Illustration: A city among the Isles named Deryabar.]\n\nMy father was the King of a city among the isles named Deryabar, and\nI was his only child; for, in spite of his many prayers directed to\nthat end, Heaven had not granted him a son. And for this cause, though\nhe bestowed upon my education all imaginable care, the sight of me\nremained displeasing to him. In order the better to forget his sorrow\nhe spent his days in hunting, and so he chanced on the event which\nled to all our misfortunes. For one day, as he was riding unattended\nin the forest, night overtook him and he knew not which way to turn.\nPresently in the distance he perceived a light, and advancing towards\nit he came upon a hut within which a monstrous negro stood basting an\nox that roasted before the fire. In the further corner of the hut lay\na beautiful woman with hands bound, and a face betokening the deepest\naffliction, while at her feet a young child, between two and three\nyears of age, stretched up its arms and wailed without ceasing.\n\n[Illustration: Presently in the distance he perceived a light.]\n\nAt this sight my father was filled with compassion, but his desire to\neffect her rescue was restrained for a while by fear that a failure\nmight only make matters worse. In the meantime the giant, having\ndrained a pitcher of wine, sat down to eat. Presently he turned himself\nabout and addressed the lady. \"Charming Princess,\" said he, \"why will\nyou not accept the good things which are within your reach? Only yield\nto me the love that I demand and you will find in me the gentlest\nand most considerate of lords.\" To these advances, however, the lady\nreplied with resolution and courage. \"Vile monster,\" she cried, \"every\ntime I look at you does but increase my hatred and loathing toward you.\nUnchangeable as the foulness of your appearance is the disgust with\nwhich you inspire me!\"\n\nThese words of violent provocation were no sooner uttered than the\nnegro, beside himself with rage, drew his sword, and seizing the lady\nby the hair, lifted her from the ground in preparation for the blow\nthat would have ended all. Whereupon, seeing that not a moment was\nto be lost, my father drew his bow and let fly an arrow with so good\nan aim that pierced to the heart the giant fell dead. Immediately\nentering the hut my father raised the lady from the swoon into which\nshe had fallen, and severing her bonds gave her the needed reassurance\nthat all danger was now over. Before long he learned in answer to his\ninquiries that she had been wife to a chief of the Saracens, in whose\nservice the slain giant had, on account of his great strength, occupied\na position of trust. This, however, he had shamelessly betrayed; for\nhaving conceived a violent passion for his master's wife, he first\npersuaded the chief into an expedition which terminated in his death,\nand then returning in haste carried away by force not only the lady but\nher child also. From this degrading bondage my father's act had now\nsaved her; but though thus relieved of immediate danger, the wife of\nthe Saracen chief was both solitary and friendless, for not only was\nshe too far removed from her own land to return to it unaided, but she\nhad small hope, should she ever arrive there, of securing for her son\nhis rightful inheritance. This being the case my father, moved with\ncompassion, determined to adopt the child as his own; and as the lady\ngratefully accepted his proposal, the next day as soon as it was light\nhe returned to Deryabar bringing with him mother and son.\n\nThus it came about that the son of a Saracen chief was brought up in my\nfather's palace like a Prince of the blood royal; and so, on attaining\nto manhood, having both grace and good looks to recommend him, he\ncame to forget the comparative lowliness of his origin, and aspiring\nto become my father's heir, had the presumption to demand my hand in\nmarriage.\n\nA claim so audacious merited the severest punishment, yet my father\nmerely remarked that he had other views concerning me, and with so\nlenient a rebuke would have passed the matter by. His refusal, however,\nexcited in the proud youth the liveliest resentment; seeing that he\ncould not obtain his ambition by fair means he immediately entered into\nconspiracy, and having treacherously slain my father, caused himself to\nbe made King in his place. Fresh from this monstrous crime he renewed\nhis suit for my hand, and was preparing to enforce it by violence, when\nthe vizier, who alone of all my fathers court had remained faithful\nto his memory, found means to convey me from the palace to a sailing\nvessel which was leaving harbour the same night.\n\n[Illustration: The ship struck upon a rock.]\n\nHere for a time I seemed to have reached safety, but when we had been\nonly three days at sea a violent storm arose, and the ship, driving\nhelplessly before it, struck upon a rock and went down leaving as\nsole survivor the one who least wished to be spared. How I was saved\nI know not, nor how long I lay unfriended by the desolate shore upon\nwhich I had been cast; but scarcely had the consciousness of life\nreturned to me when I heard a multitudinous sound of swift galloping;\nand presently, feeling myself lifted by men's hands, I turned and saw\nhalting near me a troop of Arab horsemen, and at their head a youth\nroyally arrayed and beautiful as the morning. Thus when my fortunes\nwere at their lowest I beheld him whom Heaven had sent not only to\nafford me that deliverance of which I stood so much in need, but\nalso to restore me to the rank due to my birth. For let me confess\nthat after this young Prince had succoured me with the most tender\nsolicitude, conducting me in all honour to his own palace and there\nlodging me under his mother's protection, I experienced towards him a\nfeeling of duty and gratitude such as would have made his lightest wish\nmy law. When therefore with an ardent and ever increasing devotion he\ndesired me to become his bride, I could not, upon the completion of my\nrecovery, refuse him the happiness he sought.\n\n[Illustration: And presently, feeling myself lifted by men's hands.]\n\nBut the festivities of our marriage were scarcely ended, when suddenly\nby night the city in which we dwelt was attacked by a band of\ntravelling marauders. The attack was so unexpected and so well planned\nthat the town was stormed and the garrison cut to pieces before any\nnews of the event had reached the palace. Under cover of darkness we\nmanaged to escape, and fleeing to the sea shore took refuge on a small\nfishing boat, in which we immediately put out to sea, hoping to find\nin the rude winds and waves a safer shelter than our own walls had\nafforded us.\n\nFor two days we drifted with wind and tide, not knowing any better\ndirection in which to turn; upon the third we perceived with relief\na ship bearing down upon us, but as we watched its approach our\nsatisfaction was soon changed to apprehension and dread, for we saw\nclearly that those on board were neither fishermen nor traders, but\npirates. With rude shouts they boarded our small bark, and seizing\nmy husband and myself carried us captive to their own vessel. Here\nthe one who was their leader advanced towards me and pulled aside my\nveil; whereupon a great clamour instantly arose among the crew, each\ncontending for the possession of me. The dispute upon this point grew\nso warm that presently they fell to fighting; and a bitter and deadly\nconflict was maintained till at last only a single pirate was left.\nThis one, who now regarded himself as my owner, proceeded to inform\nme of what was to be my fate. \"I have,\" he said, \"a friend in Cairo\nwho has promised me a rich reward if I can supply him with a slave,\nmore beautiful than any of those that his harem now contains. The\ndistinction of earning me this reward shall be yours.\" \"But tell me,\"\nhe went on, turning towards the place where my husband stood bound,\n\"who is this youth that accompanies you? Is he a lover or a brother, or\nonly a servant?\" \"Sir,\" said, I \"he is my husband.\" \"In that case\" he\nreplied, \"out of pity we must get rid of him, for I would not afflict\nhim needlessly with the sight of another's happiness.\" And so saying,\nhe took my husband, all bound as he was, and threw him into the sea.\n\nSo great was my grief at the sight of this cruel deed, that had I not\nbeen bound myself I should undoubtedly have sought the same end to my\nsufferings. But for the sake of future profit the pirate took the most\nwatchful care of me, not only so long as we were on board the ship but\nalso when, a few days later, we came to port and there joined ourselves\nto a large caravan which was about to start on the road to Cairo. While\nthus travelling in apparent safety, we were suddenly attacked by the\nterrible negro who lately owned this castle. After a long and dubious\nconflict the pirate, and all who stood by him, were slain, while I and\nthose of the merchants who had remained timorously looking on were\nseized, and brought hither as prisoners destined as it seemed for a\nfate far more lingering and terrible. The rest of my story, brave\nPrince, I need not here recount, since the shaping of it was so largely\nin your own hands, and since to you alone is owed the happiness of its\nconclusion.\n\n[Illustration: The Princess of Deryabar.]\n\n\nWhen the Princess of Deryabar had thus finished the tale of her\nwanderings, Codadad hastened to assure her how deep was his sympathy in\nall her misfortunes. \"But if you will allow yourself,\" he continued,\n\"to be guided by me, your future life shall be one of safety and\ntranquillity. You have but to come as my bride, and the King of Harran\nwill offer you an honourable welcome to his court; while, as regards\nmyself, my whole life shall be devoted to securing for you that\nhappiness which your grace and noble qualities prove that you deserve.\nAnd that you may not regard this proposal as too presumptuous, I have\nnow to inform you, and also these Princes, concerning my birth and\nrank. For I, too, am a son of the King of Harran, born to him at the\ncourt of Samaria by his wife the Princess Pirouz\u00e8, whom he had sent\nunjustly into banishment.\"\n\nThis declaration on the part of Codadad so accorded with the\ninclinations of the Princess that she at once yielded her consent,\nand as the castle was full of provisions suitable for the occasion,\npreparations were made firstto solemnize the marriage, and then for\nall together to set forth on the return journey to Harran. As for\nthe Princes, though they received Codadad's news with every outward\nprotestation of joy, they were in fact more filled with apprehension\nand jealousy than before, for they could not but fear that his favour\nwith the King would be greatly increased and become far more dangerous\nto their interests when the true facts of his birth were revealed.\nNo sooner, therefore, had Codadad and the Princess passed to their\nnuptials, than his brethren entered into a conspiracy to slay him; and\nat the first halt upon the homeward journey, taking advantage of the\nlack of protection which a tent affords, they came upon their brother\nby night, and stabbing him in a hundred places as he lay asleep, left\nhim for dead in the arms of his bride. They then broke up the camp and\nreturned with all haste to the city of Harran, where, with a falsely\ninvented tale they excused themselves to the King for their long\nabsence.\n\nIn the meantime Codadad lay so spent by loss of blood that there\nremained in him no sign of life. The Princess, his wife, distraught\nwith grief, had already given him up for dead. \"O Heaven,\" she cried,\nbathing his body with her tears, \"why am I thus ever condemned to bring\non others disaster and death, and why for a second time have I been\ndeprived of the one I was about to love?\"\n\n[Illustration: She found to her grief the place where Codadad had lain\nleft vacant.]\n\nAs thus she continued to cry in piteous lamentation, and to gaze on the\nsenseless form lying before her, she thought that she perceived on the\nlips a faint motion of breath. At once her hope revived, and springing\nto her feet she ran instantly in the direction of the nearest village,\nhoping to find there a surgeon or one that had skill in the binding of\nwounds. Returning after a time with the aid that she had summoned she\nfound to her grief the place where Codadad had lain left vacant, nor\nwas there any trace or indication of the fate which had overtaken him.\n\nOverwhelmed by this final catastrophe, and believing that some wild\nbeast must have devoured him, she suffered herself to be led away by\nthe surgeon, who, in pity for one so greatly afflicted, placed her\nunder the shelter of his own roof, and lavished upon her every mark of\nconsideration and respect. So, when she had sufficiently recovered,\nfor her griefs to find utterance he gathered from her own lips all the\ncircumstances of her story, her name and rank, the high and valiant\ndeeds of the Prince her husband, and the base ingratitude of his\nbrethren. And perceiving that her grief and sufferings had so robbed\nher of the desire of life that without some end on which to direct her\nwill she would presently pass into a decline, the surgeon endeavoured\nto arouse her to the pursuit of that just vengeance which the murder of\nher husband had earned. \"Do not\" he said, \"let the death of so noble a\nPrince become a benefit to his enemies. Let us go together to the King\nof Harran, and make known to him the guilt of these wicked brethren.\nFor surely the name of Codadad should live in story; but if you, whose\nhonour he saved, now sink under your affliction his name perishes with\nyou, and you have not retrieved your debt.\"\n\nThese words roused the Princess from her deep despondency; forming her\nresolution on the surgeon's advice, she arose instantly and prepared\nherself for the journey, and with such haste and diligence did she\npursue her project, that within two days she and her companion arrived\nat the city of Harran.\n\nHere strange news awaited them; for at all the caravanseri it was told\nhow lately there had come to the city an exiled wife of the King,\nPrincess Pirouz\u00e8 by name, enquiring for news of her lost son; and how,\nasnow appeared, this son had already been under a feigned designation\nat his father's court, and after performing many exploits and deeds of\nheroism had disappeared none knew whither. Forty-nine sons had the King\nby different wives, but all these, it was declared, he would willingly\nput to death so only that Codadad might be restored to him.\n\n[Illustration: She and her companion arrived at the city of Harran.]\n\nNow when the Princess of Deryabar heard this, she said, \"I will go\nto the Queen Pirouz\u00e8 and make known to her the fate of her son, and\nwhen we have wept together and drawn comfort from each other in our\ngrief then we will go before the King, and demand vengeance on the\nmurderers.\" But the surgeon said, \"Have a care what you do; for if the\nPrinces of Harran learn of your arrival, they will not rest till they\nhave done to you as they did to your husband. Let us therefore proceed\nwith secrecy, so as to ensure safety, and do you on no account let\nyour presence here be known till the King has been thoroughly informed\nof the whole matter.\" Then leaving the Princess in a place discreetly\nchosen he went forth into the streets and began to direct his steps\ntowards the palace. Presently he was met by a lady mounted upon a mule\nrichly caparisoned, and behind her followed a great troop of guards and\nattendants. As she approached the populace ran out of their houses and\nstood in rows to see her go by, and when she passed all bowed down with\ntheir faces to the earth. The surgeon inquired of a beggar stand-near\nwhether this was one of the King's wives. \"Yes, brother,\" replied the\nbeggar, \"and the best of them all; for she is the mother of Prince\nCodadad, whom, now that he is lost, all hold in love and reverence. And\nthus each day she goes to the mosque to hear the prayers which the King\nhas ordered for her son's safe return.\"\n\nSeeing his course now clear the surgeon went and stood at the door of\nthe mosque, waiting the Queen's departure, and when she came forth\nwith all her attendants he plucked one of them by the sleeve and said\nto him, \"If the Queen would have news of her son, Prince Codadad, let\nher send for the stranger who will be found waiting at the door of her\npalace.\" So, as soon as Pirouz\u00e8 had returned to her apartments, the\nslave went in and gave his mistress the message. Then she sent in all\nhaste and caused the surgeon to be brought before her. And the surgeon\nprostrated himself and said, \"O Queen, let not the grief of the tidings\nwhich I bear be visited upon me but on them that were the cause of it.\"\nAnd she answered him, \"Have peace, and say on!\" So he told her, as has\nbeen here set forth, the full story of all the courage and prowess\nof Codadad, and of his generosity towards his brethren, also of his\nmarriage to the Princess of Deryabar and of what followed after. But\nwhen he came to speak of the slaying of her son, the tender mother,\nas though receiving in her own body the strokes of the murderers\nfell forward upon the ground, and there for a while lay motionless\nwithout sign of life. When however the surgeon, aided by her women,\nhad restored her to consciousness, then Pirouz\u00e8, putting aside all\npersonal grief, set her mind upon the accomplishment of the duty which\nnow lay before her. \"Go instantly,\" she said, \"and tell the Princess\nof Deryabar that the King will shortly receive her with all the honour\ndue to her rank. As for yourself, be assured that your services will be\nremembered.\"\n\nHardly had the surgeon departed, when the King himself entered, and\nthe sight of his Queen's deep affliction at once informed him that\nsomething dreadful must have occurred. \"Alas,\" she cried, \"our son\nno longer exists, nor is it even possible to pay to his body those\nlast rites which were due to his rank and virtue, for stricken by\ntreacherous hands and left to perish unprotected he has fallen a prey\nto wild beasts so that not a trace of him remains.\" She then proceeded\nto inform her husband of all the horrible circumstances which the\nsurgeon had narrated.\n\nBut before she had ended the King became so transported with rage and\ngrief that he could no longer delay the setting in motion of his just\nvengeance. Repairing in haste to the hall of audience, where courtiers\nand suitors stood waiting, he summoned to him his grand vizier with\nso much fury of countenance that all trembled for their lives. \"Go\ninstantly,\" he cried, \"arrest all the Princes, and convey them under\na strong guard to the prison assigned for murderers!\" The vizier,\nnot daring to question an order so terribly uttered, went forth and\nfulfilled the King's command with all speed. On his return to the\npalace for the presentation of his report, a further order almost\nequally surprising awaited him. The King described to him a certain inn\nlying in a poor quarter of the city. \"Go thither,\" said he, \"take with\nyou slaves and high attendants, a white mule from the royal stables,\nand a guard of honour, and bring hither with all the respect due to her\nrank the young Princess whom you shall find there.\"\n\n[Illustration: And taking her hand he led her to the apartments of the\nQueen Pirouz\u00e8.]\n\nThe vizier, with revived spirits, went forth to fulfil this second\nmission, so much more agreeable to him than the first; and presently\nthere arose from the streets leading to the palace the acclamations of\nthe populace because of the magnificence and splendour which announced\nthe arrival of the unknown Princess. The King, as a token of respect,\nstood waiting at the palace gates to receive her, and taking her\nhand he led her to the apartments of the Queen Pirouz\u00e8. Here at the\nmeeting of mother and wife a scene of the most tender and heart-rending\naffliction took place. The King himself was so moved by it that he\nhad not the heart to refuse to them any request. So when they came\nand besought for the absent those funeral honours which under other\ncircumstances would have been his due, he gave orders for a dome of\nmarble to be erected on the plain by which the city of Harran lies\nsurrounded. And with such speed was the work put in hand, and so large\nwas the number of men employed upon it, that within three days the\nentire building was completed.\n\nOn the day following the obsequies began. All was done with the\ngreatest solemnity and splendour. First came the King attended by his\nvizier and all the officers and lords of his palace; and entering the\ntomb, in which lay an effigy of Codadad, they seated themselves on\ncarpets of mourning bordered with gold. Then followed the chiefs of the\narmy mounted upon horses and bewailing the loss of him who had led them\nto victory; behind these came old men upon black mules, with long robes\nand flowing beards; and after these maidens on white horses, with heads\nunveiled, bearing in their hands baskets of precious stones. Now when\nthese had approached and compassed the dome three times about, then the\nKing rose up to speak the dismissal of the dead. Touching with his brow\nthe tomb whereon the effigy lay, he cried in a loud voice, \"O my dear\nson, O light of mine eyes, O joy that is lost to me for ever.\" After\nhim all the lords and the chiefs and the elders came and prostrated\nthemselves in like manner; and when the ceremony was ended the doors of\nthe tomb were shut and all the people returned to the city.\n\n[Illustration: After these, maidens on white horses, with heads\nunveiled, bearing in their hands baskets of precious stones.]\n\nNow after this there was prayer and fasting in the mosque for eight\ndays, and on the ninth the King gave orders that the Princes were to be\nbeheaded. But meanwhile the neighbouring powers, whose arms the King\nof Harran had defeated, as soon as they heard that Codadad was dead,\nbanded themselves together in strong alliance, and with a great host\nbegan to advance upon the city. Then the King caused the execution to\nbe postponed, and making a hasty levy of his forces went forth to meet\nthe enemy in the open plain.\n\nAnd there battle was joined with such valour and determination on\nboth sides that for a time the issue remained doubtful. Nevertheless,\nbecause the men of Harran were fewer in number they began to be\nsurrounded by their enemies; but at the very moment when all seemed\nlost they saw in the distance a large body of horsemen advancing at the\ncharge; and while both combatants were yet uncertain of their purpose,\nthese fell furiously and without warning upon the ranks of the allies,\nand throwing them into sudden disorder drove them in rout from the\nfield.\n\nWith the success of their arms thus established the two leaders of the\nvictorious forces advanced to meet each other in the presence of the\nwhole army, and great was the joy and astonishment of the King when\nhe discovered in the leader of the lately-arrived troop his lost son\nCodadad. The Prince, for his part, was equally delighted to find in his\nfather's welcome the recognition for which he had yearned.\n\nWhen the long transport of their meeting embrace was over, the Prince,\nas they began to converse, perceived with surprise how much was already\nknown to the King of past events. \"What?\" he inquired, \"has one of my\nbrothers awakened to his guilt, and confessed that which I had meant\nshould ever remain a secret?\" \"Not so,\" replied the King, \"from the\nPrincess of Deryabar alone have I learned the truth. For she it was who\ncame to demand vengeance for the crime which your brothers would still\nhave concealed.\"\n\nAt this unlooked-for news of the safety of the Princess and of her\narrival at his father's court, Codadad's joy was beyond words, and\ngreatly was it increased when he heard of his mother's reinstatement\nin the King's favour with the honour and dignity due to her rank. He\nnow began to perceive how events had shaped themselves in his absence,\nand how the King had already become informed of the bond that existed\nbetween them. As for the rest of his adventures, together with the\ncircumstance which had led to his disappearance and supposed death,\nthey were soon explained. For when the Princess had left Codadad in\nher desperate search for aid, there chanced that way a travelling\npedlar; and he, finding the youth apparently deserted and dying of\nhis wounds, took pity on him, and placing him upon his mule bore him\nto his own house. There with medicinal herbs and simple arts unknown\nin the palaces of kings he had accomplished a cure which others would\nhave thought impossible, so that in a short time Codadad's strength\nwas completely restored. Thereupon the Prince impatient for reunion\nwith those whom he loved, bestowed on the pedlar all the wealth that he\npossessed, and immediately set forth toward the city of Harran.\n\nOn the road news reached him of the fresh outbreak of hostilities\nfollowed by the invasion of his father's territory. Passing from\nvillage to village he roused and armed the inhabitants, and by the\nexcellence of his example made such soldiers of them that they were\nable in the fortunate moment of their arrival to decide the issue of\nthe conflict and give victory to the King's arms.\n\n\"And now, sire,\" said the Prince in conclusion, \"I have only one\nrequest to make: since in the event all things have turned out so\nhappily, I beg you to pardon my brothers in order that I may prove to\nthem in the future how groundless were the resentment and jealousy that\nthey felt toward me.\"\n\nThese generous sentiments drew tears from the King's eyes and removed\nfrom his mind all doubt as to the wisdom of the resolution he had been\nforming. Immediately before the assembled army he declared Codadad\nhis heir, and, as an act of grace to celebrate his son's return,\ngave orders for the Princes to be released. He then led Codadad with\nall speed to the palace, where Pirouz\u00e8 and her daughter-in-law were\nanxiously awaiting them.\n\nIn the joy of that meeting the Prince and his wife were repaid a\nthousandfold for all the griefs and hardships they had undergone: and\ntheir delight in each other's society remained so great that in all the\nworld no happiness has been known to equal it. The Princes half died\nof shame when the means by which their pardon had been procured was\nrevealed to them; but before long the natural insensibility of their\ncharacters reasserted itself and they recovered.","title":"Stories from The Arabian Nights","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":28717}