Fairy Tales from the Arabian Nights Part 16

THE STORY OF THE KING'S SON.

I was scarcely past my infancy when the king my father perceived that I was endowed with a great deal of sense, and spared nothing in improving it; he employed all the men in his dominions that excelled in science and art to be constantly about me. No sooner was I able to read and write than I learned the Koran from the beginning to the end by heart; that admirable book which contains the foundation, the precepts, and the rules of our religion; and that I might be thoroughly instructed in it, I read the works of the most approved authors, by whose commentaries it had been explained. I added to this study that of all the traditions collected from the mouth of our Prophet by the great men that were contemporary with him. I was not satisfied with the knowledge of all that had any relation to our religion, but made also a particular search into our histories. I made myself perfect in polite learning, in the works of poets, and in versification. I applied myself to geography, chronology, and to speak our Arabic tongue in its purity. But one thing which I was fond of and succeeded in to a special degree was to form the characters of our written language, wherein I surpa.s.sed all the writing masters of our kingdom that had acquired the greatest reputation.

Fame did me more honour than I deserved, for she not only spread the renown of my talents through all the dominions of the king my father, but carried it as far as the Indian court, whose potent monarch, desirous to see me, sent an amba.s.sador with rich presents to demand me of my father, who was extremely glad of this emba.s.sy for several reasons; he was persuaded that nothing could be more commendable in a prince of my age than to travel and visit foreign courts, and he was very glad to gain the friendship of the Indian sultan. I departed with the amba.s.sador, but with no great retinue, because of the length and difficulty of the journey.

When we had travelled about a month, we discovered at a distance a great cloud of dust, and under that we very soon saw fifty hors.e.m.e.n, well armed, that were robbers, coming towards us at full gallop.

As we had ten horses laden with baggage and presents that I was to carry to the Indian sultan from the king my father, and my retinue was but small, these robbers came boldly up to us. Not being in a position to make any resistance, we told them that we were amba.s.sadors belonging to the Sultan of the Indies, and hoped they would attempt nothing contrary to that respect which is due to him, thinking by this means to save our equipage and our lives.

But the robbers most insolently replied, 'For what reason would you have us show any respect to the sultan your master? We are none of his subjects, nor are we upon his territories.'

Having spoken thus, they surrounded and fell upon us. I defended myself as long as I could, but finding myself wounded, and seeing the amba.s.sador with his servants and mine lying on the ground, I made use of what strength was yet remaining in my horse, who was also very much wounded, separated myself from the crowd, and rode away as fast as he could carry me; but he happened all of a sudden to give way under me, through weariness and loss of blood, and fell down dead. I got rid of him in a trice, and finding that I was not pursued, it made me judge that the robbers were not willing to quit the booty they had got.

Here you see me alone, wounded, dest.i.tute of help, and in a strange country: I durst not betake myself to the high road, lest I might fall again into the hands of these robbers. When I had bound up my wound, which was not dangerous, I walked on for the rest of the day, and arrived at the foot of a mountain, where I perceived a pa.s.sage into a cave: I went in, and stayed there that night with little satisfaction, after I had eaten some fruits that I gathered by the way.

I continued my journey for several days without finding any place of abode; but after a month's time, I came to a large town, well inhabited, and situated so advantageously, as it was surrounded with several rivers, that it enjoyed perpetual spring.

The pleasant objects which then presented themselves to my eyes afforded me joy, and suspended for a time the sorrow with which I was overwhelmed to find myself in such a condition. My face, hands and feet were black and sunburnt; and, owing to my long journey, my shoes and stockings were quite worn out, so that I was forced to walk bare-footed, and, besides, my clothes were all in rags. I entered into the town to learn where I was, and addressed myself to a tailor that was at work in his shop; who, perceiving by my air that I was a person of more note than my outward appearance bespoke me to be, made me sit down by him, and asked me who I was, from whence I came, and what had brought me thither? I did not conceal anything that had befallen me.

The tailor listened with attention to my words; but after I had done speaking, instead of giving me any consolation, he augmented my sorrow.

'Take heed,' said he, 'how you discover to any person what you have now declared to me; for the prince of this country is the greatest enemy that the king your father has, and he will certainly do you some mischief when he comes to hear of your being in this city.'

I made no doubt of the tailor's sincerity, when he named the prince, and returned him thanks for his good advice: and as he believed I could not but be hungry, he ordered something to be brought for me to eat, and offered me at the same time a lodging in his house, which I accepted. Some days after, finding me pretty well recovered from the fatigue I had endured by a long and tedious journey, and reflecting that most princes of our religion applied themselves to some art or calling that might be serviceable to them upon occasion, he asked me if I had learnt anything whereby I might get a livelihood, and not be burdensome to any one? I told him that I understood the laws, both divine and human; that I was a grammarian and poet; and, above all, that I understood writing perfectly.

'By all this,' said he, 'you will not be able, in this country, to purchase yourself one morsel of bread; nothing is of less use here than those sciences: but if you will be advised by me,' said he, 'dress yourself in a labourer's frock; and since you appear to be strong and of a good const.i.tution, you shall go into the next forest and cut fire-wood, which you may bring to the market to be sold; and I can a.s.sure you it will turn to such good account that you may live by it, without dependence upon any man: and by this means you will be in a condition to wait for the favourable moment when Heaven shall think fit to dispel those clouds of misfortune that thwart your happiness, and oblige you to conceal your birth. I will take care to supply you with a rope and a hatchet.'

The fear of being known, and the necessity I was under of getting a livelihood, made me agree to this proposal, notwithstanding all the hardships that attended it. The day following the tailor bought me a rope, a hatchet, and a short coat, and recommended me to some poor people who gained their bread after the same manner, that they might take me into their company. They conducted me to the wood, and the first day I brought in as much upon my head as earned me half a piece of gold, which is the money of that country; for though the wood is not far distant from the town, yet it was very scarce there, for few or none would be at the trouble to go and cut it. I gained a good sum of money in a short time, and repaid my tailor what he had advanced for me.

I continued this way of living for a whole year; and one day, when by chance I had gone farther into the wood than usual, I happened to light on a very pleasant place, where I began to cut down wood; and in pulling up the root of a tree, I espied an iron ring, fastened to a trap-door of the same metal. I took away the earth that covered it, and having lifted it up, saw stairs, down which I went, with my axe in my hand.

When I came to the bottom of the stairs, I found myself in a large palace, which put me into great consternation, because of a great light which appeared as clear in it as if it had been above ground in the open air. I went forward along a gallery supported by pillars of jasper, the base and capitals of ma.s.sy gold; but seeing a lady of a n.o.ble and free air and extremely beautiful coming towards me, my eyes were taken off from beholding any other object but her alone.

Being desirous to spare the lady the trouble of coming to me, I made haste to meet her; and as I was saluting her with a low bow, she asked me, 'What are you, a man or a genie?'

'A man, madam,' said I: 'I have no correspondence with genies.'

'By what adventure,' said she, fetching a deep sigh, 'are you come hither? I have lived here these twenty-five years, and never saw any man but yourself during that time.'

Her great beauty, and the sweetness and civility wherewith she received me, emboldened me to say to her, 'Madam, before I have the honour to satisfy your curiosity, give me leave to tell you that I am infinitely pleased with this unexpected meeting, which offers me an occasion of consolation in the midst of my affliction; and perhaps it may give me an opportunity to make you also more happy than you are.' I gave her a true account by what strange accident she saw me, the son of a king, in such a condition as I then presented to her eyes; and how fortune directed that I should discover the entrance into that magnificent prison where I had found her according to appearances in an unpleasant situation.

'Alas! prince,' said she, sighing once more, 'you have just cause to believe this rich and pompous prison cannot be otherwise than a most wearisome abode; the most charming place in the world being no way delightful when we are detained there contrary to our will. You have heard of the great Epitimarus, King of the Isle of Ebony, so called from that precious wood, which it produces in abundance: I am the princess his daughter.

'The king, my father, had chosen for me a husband, a prince that was my cousin; but in the midst of the rejoicing at the court, before I was given to my husband, a genie took me away. I fainted at the same moment, and lost my senses; and when I came to myself again, I found myself in this place. I was for a long time inconsolable, but time and necessity have accustomed me to the genie. Twenty-five years, as I told you before, I have continued in this place; where, I must confess, I have everything that I can wish for necessary to life, and also everything that can satisfy a princess fond of dress and fashions.

'Every ten days,' continued the princess, 'the genie comes. .h.i.ther to see me. Meanwhile, if I have occasion for him by day or night, as soon as I touch a talisman which is at the entrance into my chamber, the genie appears. It is now the fourth day since he was here, and I do not expect him before the end of six more; so, if you please, you may stay five days and keep me company, and I will endeavour to entertain you according to your rank and merit.'

I thought myself too fortunate in having obtained so great a favour without asking it to refuse so obliging an offer. The princess made me go into a bath, which was the most sumptuous that could be imagined; and when I came forth, instead of my own clothes, I found another very costly suit, which I did not esteem so much for its richness as because it made me look worthy to be in her company. We sat down on a sofa covered with rich tapestry, with cushions to lean upon of the rarest Indian brocade; and soon after she covered a table with several dishes of delicate meats. We ate together, and pa.s.sed the remaining part of the day with much satisfaction.

The next day, as she contrived every means to please me, she brought in, at dinner, a bottle of old wine, the most excellent that ever was tasted; and out of complaisance she drank some part of it with me. When my head grew hot with the agreeable liquor, 'Fair princess,' said I, 'you have been too long thus buried alive: follow me, and enjoy the real day, from which you have been deprived so many years, and abandon this false light that you have here.'

'Prince,' replied she, with a smile, 'stop this discourse; if out of ten days you will grant me nine, and resign the last to the genie, the fairest day that ever was would be nothing in my esteem.'

'Princess,' said I, 'it is the fear of the genie that makes you speak thus; for my part, I value him so little that I will break his talisman in pieces. Let him come, I will expect him; and how brave or redoubtable soever he be, I will make him feel the weight of my arm: I swear, solemnly that I will extirpate all the genies in the world, and him first.' The princess, who knew the consequences, conjured me not to touch the talisman; 'for that would be a means,' said she, 'to ruin both you and me: I know what belongs to genies better than you.' The fumes of the wine did not suffer me to hearken to her reasons; but I gave the talisman a kick with my foot, and broke it in several pieces.

The talisman was no sooner broken, than the palace began to shake, and was ready to fall with a hideous noise like thunder, accompanied with flashes of lightning and a great darkness. This terrible noise in a moment dispelled the fumes of my wine, and made me sensible, but too late, of the folly I had committed.

'Princess,' cried I, 'what means all this?'

She answered in a fright, and without any concern for her own misfortune, 'Alas! you are undone, if you do not escape immediately.'

I followed her advice, and my fears were so great that I forgot my hatchet and cords. I had scarcely got to the stairs by which I came down, when the enchanted palace opened, and made a pa.s.sage for the genie: he asked the princess, in great anger, 'What has happened to you, and why did you call me?'

'A qualm,' said the princess, 'made me fetch this bottle which you see here, out of which I drank twice or thrice, and by mischance made a false step, and fell upon the talisman, which is broken, and that is all.'

At this answer the furious genie told her, 'You are a false woman, and a liar: how came that axe and those cords there?'

'I never saw them till this moment,' said the princess. 'Your coming in such an impetuous manner has, it may be, forced them up in some place as you came along, and so brought them hither without your knowing it.'

The genie made no other answer but reproaches and blows of which I heard the noise. I could not endure to hear the pitiful cries and shouts of the princess, so cruelly abused; I had already laid off the suit she made me put on, and taken my own, which I had laid on the stairs the day before, when I came out of the bath; I made haste upstairs, distracted with sorrow and compa.s.sion, as I had been the cause of so great a misfortune. For by sacrificing the fairest princess on earth to the barbarity of a merciless genie, I was become the most criminal and ungrateful of mankind. 'It is true,' said I, 'she has been a prisoner these twenty-five years; but, liberty excepted, she wanted nothing that could make her happy. My folly has put an end to her happiness, and brought upon her the cruelty of an unmerciful monster.' I let down the trap- door, covered it again with earth, and returned to the city with a burden of wood, which I bound up without knowing what I did, so great was my trouble and sorrow.

My landlord, the tailor, was very much rejoiced to see me. 'Your absence,' said he, 'has disquieted me very much, because you had entrusted me with the secret of your birth, and I knew not what to think; I was afraid somebody had discovered you: G.o.d be thanked for your return.' I thanked him for his zeal and affection, but not a word durst I say of what had pa.s.sed, nor the reason why I came back without my hatchet and cords.

I retired to my chamber, where I reproached myself a thousand times for my excessive imprudence. 'Nothing,' said I, 'could have paralleled the princess's good fortune and mine had I forborne to break the talisman.'

While I was thus giving myself over to melancholy thoughts, the tailor came in. 'An old man,' said he, 'whom I do not know, brings me here your hatchet and cords, which he found in his way, as he tells me, and understood from your comrades that you lodge here; come out and speak to him, for he will deliver them to none but yourself.'

At this discourse I changed colour, and began to tremble. While the tailor was asking me the reason, my chamber door opened, and the old man appeared to us with my hatchet and cords. This was the genie, the ravisher of the fair princess of the Isle of Ebony, who had thus disguised himself, after he had treated her with the utmost barbarity. 'I am a genie,' said he, 'son of the daughter of Eblis, prince of genies. Is not this your hatchet, and are not these your cords?'

After the genie had put the question to me, he gave me no time to answer, nor was it in my power, so much had his terrible aspect disordered me. He grasped me by the middle, dragged me out of the chamber, and mounting into the air, carried me up to the skies with such swiftness that I was unable to take notice of the way he carried me. He descended again in like manner to the earth, which on a sudden he caused to open with a stroke of his foot, and so sank down at once, where I found myself in the enchanted palace, before the fair princess of the Isle of Ebony. But alas, what a spectacle was there! I saw what pierced me to the heart; this poor princess was weltering in her blood upon the ground, more dead than alive, with her cheeks bathed in tears.

'Perfidious wretch,' said the genie to her; pointing at me, 'who is this?'

She cast her languishing eyes upon me, and answered mournfully, 'I do not know him; I never saw him till this moment.'

'What!' said the genie, 'he is the cause of thy being in the condition thou art justly in, and yet darest thou say thou dost not know him?'

'If I do not know him,' said the princess, 'would you have me tell a lie on purpose to ruin him?'

'Oh then,' continued the genie, pulling out a scimitar, and presenting it to the princess, 'if you never saw him before, take the scimitar and cut off his head.'

'Alas!' replied the princess, 'my strength is so far spent that I cannot lift up my arm, and if I could, how should I have the heart to take away the life of an innocent man?'