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THE ARABIAN NIGHTS
THE
ARABIAN NIGHTS
THEIR BEST-KNOWN TALES
EDITED BY
KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN
AND
NORA A. SMITH
ILLUSTRATED BY MAXFIELD PARRISH
NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
MCMIX
Copyright, 1909, by
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
Published October, 1909
PREFACE
_Little excuse is needed, perhaps, for any fresh selection from the
famous "Tales of a Thousand and One Nights," provided it be
representative enough, and worthy enough, to enlist a new army of
youthful readers. Of the two hundred and sixty-four bewildering,
unparalleled stories, the true lover can hardly spare one, yet there
must always be favourites, even among these. We have chosen some of the
most delightful, in our opinion; some, too, that chanced to appeal
particularly to the genius of the artist. If, enticed by our choice and
the beauty of the pictures, we manage to attract a few thousand more
true lovers to the fountain-book, we shall have served our humble turn.
The only real danger lies in neglecting it, in rearing a child who does
not know it and has never fallen under its spell._
_You remember Maimoune, in the story of Prince Camaralzaman, and what she
said to Danhasch, the genie who had just arrived from the farthest
limits of China? "Be sure thou tellest me nothing but what is true or I
shall clip thy wings!" This is what the modern child sometimes says to
the genies of literature, and his own wings are too often clipped in
consequence._
_"The Empire of the Fairies is no more.
Reason has banished them from ev'ry shore;
Steam has outstripped their dragons and their cars,
Gas has eclipsed their glow-worms and their stars."_
_Édouard Laboulaye says in his introduction to Nouveaux Contes Bleus:
"Mothers who love your children, do not set them too soon to the study
of history; let them dream while they are young. Do not close the soul
to the first breath of poetry. Nothing affrights me so much as the
reasonable, practical child who believes in nothing that he cannot
touch. These sages of ten years are, at twenty, dullards, or what is
still worse, egoists."_
_When a child has once read of Prince Agib, of Gulnare or Periezade,
Sinbad or Codadad, in this or any other volume of its kind, the magic
will have been instilled into the blood, for the Oriental flavour in the
Arab tales is like nothing so much as magic. True enough they are a vast
storehouse of information concerning the manners and the customs, the
spirit and the life of the Moslem East (and the youthful reader does not
have to study Lane's learned foot-notes to imbibe all this), but beyond
and above the knowledge of history and geography thus gained, there
comes something finer and subtler as well as something more vital. The
scene is Indian, Egyptian, Arabian, Persian; but Bagdad and Balsora,
Grand Cairo, the silver Tigris, and the blooming gardens of Damascus,
though they can be found indeed on the map, live much more truly in that
enchanted realm that rises o'er "the foam of perilous seas in faery
lands forlorn." What craft can sail those perilous seas like the book
that has been called a great three-decker to carry tired people to
Islands of the Blest? "The immortal fragment," says Sir Richard Burton,
who perhaps knew the Arabian Nights as did no other European, "will
never be superseded in the infallible judgment of childhood. The
marvellous imaginativeness of the Tales produces an insensible
brightness of mind and an increase of fancy-power, making one dream that
behind them lies the new and unseen, the strange and unexpected--in
fact, all the glamour of the unknown."_
_It would be a delightful task to any boy or girl to begin at the
beginning and read the first English version of these famous stories,
made from the collection of M. Galland, Professor of Arabic in the Royal
College of Paris. The fact that they had passed from Arabic into French
and from French into English did not prevent their instantaneous
popularity. This was in 1704 or thereabouts, and the world was not so
busy as it is nowadays, or young men would not have gathered in the
middle of the night under M. Galland's window and cried: "O vous, qui
savez de si jolis contes, et qui les racontez si bien, racontez nous en
un!"_
_You can also read them in Scott's edition or in Lane's (both of which,
but chiefly the former, we have used as the foundation of our text),
while your elders--philologists or Orientalists--are studying the
complete versions of John Payne or Sir Richard Burton. You may leave the
wiseacres to wonder which were told in China or India, Arabia or Persia,
and whether the first manuscript dates back to 1450 or earlier._
_We, like many other editors, have shortened the stories here and there,
omitting some of the tedious repetitions that crept in from time to time
when Arabian story-tellers were adding to the text to suit their
purposes._
_Mr. Andrew Lang says amusingly that he has left out of his special
versions "all the pieces that are suitable only for Arabs and old
gentlemen," and we have done the same; but we have taken no undue
liberties. We have removed no genies nor magicians, however terrible;
have cut out no base deed of Vizier nor noble deed of Sultan; have
diminished the size of no roc's egg, nor omitted any single allusion to
the great and only Haroun Al-raschid, Caliph of Bagdad, Commander of the
Faithful, who must have been a great inspirer of good stories._
_Enter into this "treasure house of pleasant things," then, and make
yourself at home in the golden palaces, the gem-studded caves, the
bewildering gardens. Sit by its mysterious fountains, hear the plash of
its gleaming cascades, unearth its magic lamps and talismans, behold its
ensorcelled princes and princesses._
_Nowhere in the whole realm of literature will you find such a Marvel,
such a Wonder, such a Nonesuch of a book; nowhere will you find
impossibilities so real and so convincing; nowhere but in what Henley
calls:_
_"... that blessed brief
Of what is gallantest and best
In all the full-shelved Libraries of Romance.
The Book of rocs,
Sandalwood, ivory, turbans, ambergris,
Cream-tarts, and lettered apes, and Calenders,
And ghouls, and genies--O so huge
They might have overed the tall Minster Tower,
Hands down, as schoolboys take a post;
In truth the Book of Camaralzaman,
Schemselnihar and Sinbad, Scheherezade
The peerless, Bedreddin, Badroulbadour,
Cairo and Serendib and Candahar,
And Caspian, and the dim, terrific bulk--
Ice-ribbed, fiend-visited, isled in spells and storms--
Of Kaf ... That centre of miracles
The sole, unparalleled Arabian Nights."_
KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN.
August, 1909.
CONTENTS
THE TALKING BIRD, THE SINGING TREE, AND THE
GOLDEN WATER 3
THE STORY OF THE FISHERMAN AND THE GENIE 52
THE HISTORY OF THE YOUNG KING OF THE BLACK ISLES 67
THE STORY OF GULNARE OF THE SEA 81
THE STORY OF ALADDIN; OR, THE WONDERFUL LAMP 97
THE STORY OF PRINCE AGIB 190
THE STORY OF THE CITY OF BRASS 205
THE STORY OF ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES 229
THE HISTORY OF CODADAD AND HIS BROTHERS 264
THE STORY OF SINBAD THE VOYAGER 290
ILLUSTRATIONS
FROM DRAWINGS IN COLORS
BY MAXFIELD PARRISH
THE TALKING BIRD 32
It will be sufficient to break off a branch and carry it to
plant in your garden
THE FISHERMAN AND THE GENIE 54
The smoke ascended to the clouds, and extending itself along
the sea and upon the shore formed a great mist
THE YOUNG KING OF THE BLACK ISLES 74
When he came to this part of his narrative the young king
could not restrain his tears
GULNARE OF THE SEA 86
And she proceeded to burn perfume and repeat spells until the
sea foamed and was agitated
ALADDIN 106
At the same time the earth, trembling, opened just before the
magician, and uncovered a stone, laid horizontally, with a
brass ring fixed into the middle
PRINCE AGIB 194
And when the boat came to me I found in it a man
of brass, with a tablet of lead upon his breast,
engraven with names and talismans
PRINCE AGIB 202
At the approach of evening I opened the first closet and, entering
it, found a mansion like paradise
THE CITY OF BRASS 218
And when they had ascended that mountain they saw a city than
which eyes had not beheld any greater
THE STORY OF ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES 236
Cassim ... was so alarmed at the danger he was in that the
more he endeavoured to remember the word _Sesame_ the more
his memory was confounded
THE HISTORY OF CODADAD AND HIS BROTHERS 276
As it drew near we saw ten or twelve armed pirates appear on the deck
SECOND VOYAGE OF SINBAD 300
The spot where she left me was encompassed on all sides by mountains
that seemed to reach above the clouds, and so steep that
there was no possibility of getting out of the valley
THIRD VOYAGE OF SINBAD 306
Having finished his repast, he returned to his porch, where he lay
and fell asleep, snoring louder than thunder
THE ARABIAN NIGHTS
"When the breeze of a joyful dawn blew free
In the silken sail of infancy,
The tide of time flow'd back with me,
The forward-flowing time of time;
And many a sheeny summer morn,
Adown the Tigris I was borne,
By Bagdat's shrines of fretted gold,
High-walled gardens green and old;
True Mussulman was I and sworn,
For it was in the golden prime
Of good Haroun Alraschid.
"Anight my shallop, rustling thro'
The low and bloomèd foliage, drove
The fragrant, glistening deeps, and clove
The citron-shadows in the blue:
By garden porches on the brim,
The costly doors flung open wide,
Gold glittering thro' lamplight dim,
And broider'd sofas on each side:
In sooth it was a goodly time,
For it was in the golden prime
Of good Haroun Alraschid."
ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON.
THE TALKING BIRD, THE SINGING TREE, AND THE GOLDEN WATER
There was an emperor of Persia named Kosrouschah, who, when he first
came to his crown, in order to obtain a knowledge of affairs, took great
pleasure in night excursions, attended by a trusty minister. He often
walked in disguise through the city, and met with many adventures, one
of the most remarkable of which happened to him upon his first ramble,
which was not long after his accession to the throne of his father.
After the ceremonies of his father's funeral rites and his own
inauguration were over, the new sultan, as well from inclination as from
duty, went out one evening attended by his grand vizier, disguised like
himself, to observe what was transacting in the city. As he was passing
through a street in that part of the town inhabited only by the meaner
sort, he heard some people talking very loud; and going close to the
house whence the noise proceeded, and looking through a crack in the
door, perceived a light, and three sisters sitting on a sofa, conversing
together after supper. By what the eldest said he presently understood
the subject of their conversation was wishes: "for," said she, "since we
are talking about wishes, mine shall be to have the sultan's baker for
my husband, for then I shall eat my fill of that bread, which by way of
excellence is called the sultan's; let us see if your tastes are as good
as mine." "For my part," replied the second sister, "I wish I was wife
to the sultan's chief cook, for then I should eat of the most excellent
dishes; and as I am persuaded that the sultan's bread is common in the
palace, I should not want any of that; therefore you see," addressing
herself to her eldest sister, "that I have a better taste than you." The
youngest sister, who was very beautiful, and had more charms and wit
than the two elder, spoke in her turn: "For my part, sisters," said she,
"I shall not limit my desires to such trifles, but take a higher flight;
and since we are upon wishing, I wish to be the emperor's queen-consort.
I would make him father of a prince, whose hair should be gold on one
side of his head, and silver on the other; when he cried, the tears from
his eyes should be pearls; and when he smiled, his vermilion lips should
look like a rosebud fresh-blown."
The three sisters' wishes, particularly that of the youngest, seemed so
singular to the sultan, that he resolved to gratify them in their
desires; but without communicating his design to his grand vizier, he
charged him only to take notice of the house, and bring the three
sisters before him the following day.
The grand vizier, in executing the emperor's orders, would but just give
the sisters time to dress themselves to appear before his majesty,
without telling them the reason. He brought them to the palace, and
presented them to the emperor, who said to them, "Do you remember the
wishes you expressed last night, when you were all in so pleasant a
mood? Speak the truth; I must know what they were." At these unexpected
words of the emperor, the three sisters were much confounded. They cast
down their eyes and blushed, and the colour which rose in the cheeks of
the youngest quite captivated the emperor's heart. Modesty, and fear
lest they might have offended by their conversation, kept them silent.
The emperor, perceiving their confusion, said to encourage them, "Fear
nothing, I did not send for you to distress you; and since I see that
without my intending it, this is the effect of the question I asked, as
I know the wish of each, I will relieve you from your fears. You," added
he, "who wished to be my wife, shall have your desire this day; and
you," continued he, addressing himself to the two elder sisters, "shall
also be married to my chief baker and cook."
As soon as the sultan had declared his pleasure, the youngest sister,
setting her elders an example, threw herself at the emperor's feet to
express her gratitude. "Sir," said she, "my wish, since it is come to
your majesty's knowledge, was expressed only in the way of conversation
and amusement. I am unworthy of the honour you do me, and supplicate
your pardon for my presumption." The other two sisters would have
excused themselves also, but the emperor, interrupting them, said, "No,
no; it shall be as I have declared; the wishes of all shall be
fulfilled." The nuptials were all celebrated that day, as the emperor
had resolved, but in a different manner. The youngest sister's were
solemnized with all the rejoicings usual at the marriages of the
emperors of Persia; and those of the other two sisters according to the
quality and distinction of their husbands; the one as the sultan's chief
baker, and the other as head cook.
The two elder felt strongly the disproportion of their marriages to that
of their younger sister. This consideration made them far from being
content, though they were arrived at the utmost height of their late
wishes, and much beyond their hopes. They gave themselves up to an
excess of jealousy, which not only disturbed their joy, but was the
cause of great trouble and affliction to the queen-consort, their
younger sister. They had not an opportunity to communicate their
thoughts to each other on the preference the emperor had given her, but
were altogether employed in preparing themselves for the celebration of
their marriages. Some days afterward, when they had an opportunity of
seeing each other at the public baths, the eldest said to the other:
"Well, what say you to our sister's great fortune? Is not she a fine
person to be a queen!" "I must own," said the other sister, "I cannot
conceive what charms the emperor could discover to be so bewitched by
her. Was it a reason sufficient for him not to cast his eyes on you,
because she was somewhat younger? You were as worthy of his throne, and
in justice he ought to have preferred you."
"Sister," said the elder, "I should not have regretted if his majesty
had but pitched upon you; but that he should choose that little
simpleton really grieves me. But I will revenge myself; and you, I
think, are as much concerned as I; therefore, I propose that we should
contrive measures and act in concert: communicate to me what you think
the likeliest way to mortify her, while I, on my side, will inform you
what my desire of revenge shall suggest to me." After this wicked
agreement, the two sisters saw each other frequently, and consulted how
they might disturb and interrupt the happiness of the queen. They
proposed a great many ways, but in deliberating about the manner of
executing them, found so many difficulties that they durst not attempt
them. In the meantime, with a detestable dissimulation, they often went
together to make her visits, and every time showed her all the marks of
affection they could devise, to persuade her how overjoyed they were to
have a sister raised to so high a fortune. The queen, on her part,
constantly received them with all the demonstrations of esteem they
could expect from so near a relative. Some time after her marriage, the
expected birth of an heir gave great joy to the queen and emperor, which
was communicated to all the court, and spread throughout the empire.
Upon this news the two sisters came to pay their compliments, and
proffered their services, desiring her, if not provided with nurses, to
accept of them.
The queen said to them most obligingly: "Sisters, I should desire
nothing more, if it were in my power to make the choice. I am, however,
obliged to you for your goodwill, but must submit to what the emperor
shall order on this occasion. Let your husbands employ their friends to
make interest, and get some courtier to ask this favour of his majesty,
and if he speaks to me about it, be assured that I shall not only
express the pleasure he does me but thank him for making choice of you."
The two husbands applied themselves to some courtiers, their patrons,
and begged of them to use their interest to procure their wives the
honour they aspired to. Those patrons exerted themselves so much in
their behalf that the emperor promised them to consider of the matter,
and was as good as his word; for in conversation with the queen he told
her that he thought her sisters were the most proper persons to be about
her, but would not name them before he had asked her consent. The queen,
sensible of the deference the emperor so obligingly paid her, said to
him, "Sir, I was prepared to do as your majesty might please to command.
But since you have been so kind as to think of my sisters, I thank you
for the regard you have shown them for my sake, and therefore I shall
not dissemble that I had rather have them than strangers." The emperor
therefore named the queen's two sisters to be her attendants; and from
that time they went frequently to the palace, overjoyed at the
opportunity they would have of executing the detestable wickedness they
had meditated against the queen.
Shortly afterward a young prince, as bright as the day, was born to the
queen; but neither his innocence nor beauty could move the cruel hearts
of the merciless sisters. They wrapped him up carelessly in his cloths
and put him into a basket, which they abandoned to the stream of a small
canal that ran under the queen's apartment, and declared that she had
given birth to a puppy. This dreadful intelligence was announced to the
emperor, who became so angry at the circumstance, that he was likely to
have occasioned the queen's death, if his grand vizier had not
represented to him that he could not, without injustice, make her
answerable for the misfortune.
In the meantime, the basket in which the little prince was exposed was
carried by the stream beyond a wall which bounded the prospect of the
queen's apartment, and from thence floated with the current down the
gardens. By chance the intendant of the emperor's gardens, one of the
principal officers of the kingdom, was walking in the garden by the side
of this canal, and, perceiving a basket floating, called to a gardener
who was not far off, to bring it to shore that he might see what it
contained. The gardener, with a rake which he had in his hand, drew the
basket to the side of the canal, took it up, and gave it to him. The
intendant of the gardens was extremely surprised to see in the basket a
child, which, though he knew it could be but just born, had very fine
features. This officer had been married several years, but though he had
always been desirous of having children, Heaven had never blessed him
with any. This accident interrupted his walk: he made the gardener
follow him with the child, and when he came to his own house, which was
situated at the entrance to the gardens of the palace, went into his
wife's apartment. "Wife," said he, "as we have no children of our own,
God has sent us one. I recommend him to you; provide him a nurse, and
take as much care of him as if he were our own son; for, from this
moment, I acknowledge him as such." The intendant's wife received the
child with great joy, and took particular pleasure in the care of him.
The intendant himself would not inquire too narrowly whence the infant
came. He saw plainly it came not far off from the queen's apartment, but
it was not his business to examine too closely into what had passed, nor
to create disturbances in a place where peace was so necessary.
The following year another prince was born, on whom the unnatural
sisters had no more compassion than on his brother, but exposed him
likewise in a basket and set him adrift in the canal, pretending, this
time, that the sultana had given birth to a cat. It was happy also for
this child that the intendant of the gardens was walking by the canal
side, for he had it carried to his wife, and charged her to take as much
care of it as of the former, which was as agreeable to her inclination
as it was to his own.
The emperor of Persia was more enraged this time against the queen than
before, and she had felt the effects of his anger if the grand vizier's
remonstrances had not prevailed. The third year the queen gave birth to
a princess, which innocent babe underwent the same fate as her brothers,
for the two sisters, being determined not to desist from their
detestable schemes till they had seen the queen cast off and humbled,
claimed that a log of wood had been born and exposed this infant also on
the canal. But the princess, as well as her brothers, was preserved from
death by the compassion and charity of the intendant of the gardens.
Kosrouschah could no longer contain himself, when he was informed of the
new misfortune. He pronounced sentence of death upon the wretched queen
and ordered the grand vizier to see it executed.
The grand vizier and the courtiers who were present cast themselves at
the emperor's feet, to beg of him to revoke the sentence. "Your majesty,
I hope, will give me leave," said the grand vizier, "to represent to
you, that the laws which condemn persons to death were made to punish
crimes; the three extraordinary misfortunes of the queen are not crimes,
for in what can she be said to have contributed toward them? Your
majesty may abstain from seeing her, but let her live. The affliction in
which she will spend the rest of her life, after the loss of your
favour, will be a punishment sufficiently distressing."
The emperor of Persia considered with himself, and, reflecting that it
was unjust to condemn the queen to death for what had happened, said:
"Let her live then; I will spare her life, but it shall be on this
condition: that she shall desire to die more than once every day. Let a
wooden shed be built for her at the gate of the principal mosque, with
iron bars to the windows, and let her be put into it, in the coarsest
habit; and every Mussulman that shall go into the mosque to prayers
shall heap scorn upon her. If any one fail, I will have him exposed to
the same punishment; and that I may be punctually obeyed, I charge you,
vizier, to appoint persons to see this done." The emperor pronounced his
sentence in such a tone that the grand vizier durst not further
remonstrate; and it was executed, to the great satisfaction of the two
envious sisters. A shed was built, and the queen, truly worthy of
compassion, was put into it and exposed ignominiously to the contempt of
the people, which usage she bore with a patient resignation that excited
the compassion of those who were discriminating and judged of things
better than the vulgar.
The two princes and the princess were, in the meantime, nursed and
brought up by the intendant of the gardens and his wife with the
tenderness of a father and mother; and as they advanced in age, they all
showed marks of superior dignity, which discovered itself every day by a
certain air which could only belong to exalted birth. All this increased
the affections of the intendant and his wife, who called the eldest
prince Bahman, and the second Perviz, both of them names of the most
ancient emperors of Persia, and the princess, Periezade, which name also
had been borne by several queens and princesses of the kingdom.
As soon as the two princes were old enough, the intendant provided
proper masters to teach them to read and write; and the princess, their
sister, who was often with them, showing a great desire to learn, the
intendant, pleased with her quickness, employed the same master to teach
her also. Her vivacity and piercing wit made her, in a little time, as
great a proficient as her brothers. From that time the brothers and
sister had the same masters in geography, poetry, history, and even the
secret sciences, and made so wonderful a progress that their tutors were
amazed, and frankly owned that they could teach them nothing more. At
the hours of recreation, the princess learned to sing and play upon all
sorts of instruments; and when the princes were learning to ride she
would not permit them to have that advantage over her, but went through
all the exercises with them, learning to ride also, to bend the bow, and
dart the reed or javelin, and oftentimes outdid them in the race and
other contests of agility.
The intendant of the gardens was so overjoyed to find his adopted
children so accomplished in all the perfections of body and mind, and
that they so well requited the expense he had been at in their
education, that he resolved to be at a still greater; for, as he had
until then been content simply with his lodge at the entrance of the
garden, and kept no country-house, he purchased a mansion at a short
distance from the city, surrounded by a large tract of arable land,
meadows, and woods. As the house was not sufficiently handsome nor
convenient, he pulled it down, and spared no expense in building a more
magnificent residence. He went every day to hasten, by his presence, the
great number of workmen he employed, and as soon as there was an
apartment ready to receive him, passed several days together there when
his presence was not necessary at court; and by the same exertions, the
interior was furnished in the richest manner, in consonance with the
magnificence of the edifice. Afterward he made gardens, according to a
plan drawn by himself. He took in a large extent of ground, which he
walled around, and stocked with fallow deer, that the princes and
princess might divert themselves with hunting when they chose.
When this country seat was finished and fit for habitation, the
intendant of the gardens went and cast himself at the emperor's feet,
and, after representing how long he had served, and the infirmities of
age which he found growing upon him, begged that he might be permitted
to resign his charge into his majesty's disposal and retire. The emperor
gave him leave, with the more pleasure, because he was satisfied with
his long services, both in his father's reign and his own, and when he
granted it, asked what he should do to recompense him. "Sir," replied
the intendant of the gardens, "I have received so many obligations from
your majesty and the late emperor, your father, of happy memory, that I
desire no more than the honour of dying in your favour." He took his
leave of the emperor and retired with the two princes and the princess
to the country retreat he had built. His wife had been dead some years,
and he himself had not lived above six months with his charges before he
was surprised by so sudden a death that he had not time to give them the
least account of the manner in which he had discovered them. The Princes
Bahman and Perviz, and the Princess Periezade, who knew no other father
than the intendant of the emperor's gardens, regretted and bewailed him
as such, and paid all the honours in his funeral obsequies which love
and filial gratitude required of them. Satisfied with the plentiful
fortune he had left them, they lived together in perfect union, free
from the ambition of distinguishing themselves at court, or aspiring to
places of honour and dignity, which they might easily have obtained.
One day when the two princes were hunting, and the princess had remained
at home, a religious old woman came to the gate, and desired leave to go
in to say her prayers, it being then the hour. The servants asked the
princess's permission, who ordered them to show her into the oratory,
which the intendant of the emperor's gardens had taken care to fit up in
his house, for want of a mosque in the neighbourhood. She bade them,
also, after the good woman had finished her prayers, to show her the
house and gardens and then bring her to the hall.
The old woman went into the oratory, said her prayers, and when she came
out two of the princess's women invited her to see the residence, which
civility she accepted, followed them from one apartment to another, and
observed, like a person who understood what belonged to furniture, the
nice arrangement of everything. They conducted her also into the garden,
the disposition of which she found so well planned, that she admired it,
observing that the person who had formed it must have been an excellent
master of his art. Afterward she was brought before the princess, who
waited for her in the great hall, which in beauty and richness exceeded
all that she had admired in the other apartments.
As soon as the princess saw the devout woman, she said to her: "My good
mother, come near and sit down by me. I am overjoyed at the happiness of
having the opportunity of profiting for some moments by the example and
conversation of such a person as you, who have taken the right way by
dedicating yourself to the service of God. I wish every one were as
wise."
The devout woman, instead of sitting on a sofa, would only sit upon the
edge of one. The princess would not permit her to do so, but rising from
her seat and taking her by the hand, obliged her to come and sit by her.
The good woman, sensible of the civility, said: "Madam, I ought not to
have so much respect shown me; but since you command, and are mistress
of your own house, I will obey you." When she had seated herself, before
they entered into any conversation, one of the princess's women brought
a low stand of mother-of-pearl and ebony, with a china dish full of
cakes upon it, and many others set round it full of fruits in season,
and wet and dry sweetmeats.
The princess took up one of the cakes, and presenting her with it, said:
"Eat, good mother, and make choice of what you like best; you had need
to eat after coming so far." "Madam," replied the good woman, "I am not
used to eat such delicacies, but will not refuse what God has sent me by
so liberal a hand as yours."
While the devout woman was eating, the princess ate a little too, to
bear her company, and asked her many questions upon the exercise of
devotion which she practised and how she lived; all of which she
answered with great modesty. Talking of various things, at last the
princess asked her what she thought of the house, and how she liked it.
"Madam," answered the devout woman, "I must certainly have very bad
taste to disapprove anything in it, since it is beautiful, regular, and
magnificently furnished with exactness and judgment, and all its
ornaments adjusted in the best manner. Its situation is an agreeable
spot, and no garden can be more delightful; but yet, if you will give me
leave to speak my mind freely, I will take the liberty to tell you that
this house would be incomparable if it had three things which are
wanting to complete it." "My good mother," replied the Princess
Periezade, "what are those? I entreat you to tell me what they are; I
will spare nothing to get them."
"Madam," replied the devout woman, "the first of these three things is
the Talking Bird, so singular a creature, that it draws round it all the
songsters of the neighbourhood which come to accompany its voice. The
second is the Singing Tree, the leaves of which are so many mouths which
form an harmonious concert of different voices and never cease. The
third is the Golden Water, a single drop of which being poured into a
vessel properly prepared, it increases so as to fill it immediately, and
rises up in the middle like a fountain, which continually plays, and yet
the basin never overflows."
"Ah! my good mother," cried the princess, "how much am I obliged to you
for the knowledge of these curiosities! I never before heard there were
such rarities in the world; but as I am persuaded that you know, I
expect that you should do me the favour to inform me where they are to
be found."
"Madam," replied the good woman, "I should be unworthy the hospitality
you have shown me if I should refuse to satisfy your curiosity on that
point, and am glad to have the honour to tell you that these curiosities
are all to be met with in the same spot on the confines of this kingdom,
toward India. The road lies before your house, and whoever you send
needs but follow it for twenty days, and on the twentieth only let him
ask the first person he meets where the Talking Bird, the Singing Tree,
and the Golden Water are, and he will be informed." After saying this,
she rose from her seat, took her leave, and went her way.
The Princess Periezade's thoughts were so taken up with the Talking
Bird, Singing Tree, and Golden Water, that she never perceived the
devout woman's departure, till she wanted to ask her some question for
her better information; for she thought that what she had been told was
not a sufficient reason for exposing herself by undertaking a long
journey. However, she would not send after her visitor, but endeavoured
to remember all the directions, and when she thought she had recollected
every word, took real pleasure in thinking of the satisfaction she
should have if she could get these curiosities into her possession; but
the difficulties she apprehended and the fear of not succeeding made her
very uneasy.
She was absorbed in these thoughts when her brothers returned from
hunting, who, when they entered the great hall, instead of finding her
lively and gay, as she was wont to be, were amazed to see her so pensive
and hanging down her head as if something troubled her.
"Sister," said Prince Bahman, "what is become of all your mirth and
gaiety? Are you not well? or has some misfortune befallen you? Tell us,
that we may know how to act, and give you some relief. If any one has
affronted you, we will resent his insolence."
The princess remained in the same posture some time without answering,
but at last lifted up her eyes to look at her brothers, and then held
them down again, telling them nothing disturbed her.
"Sister," said Prince Bahman, "you conceal the truth from us; there must
be something of consequence. It is impossible we could observe so sudden
a change if nothing was the matter with you. You would not have us
satisfied with the evasive answer you have given; do not conceal
anything, unless you would have us suspect that you renounce the strict
union which has hitherto subsisted between us."
The princess, who had not the smallest intention to offend her brothers,
would not suffer them to entertain such a thought, but said: "When I
told you nothing disturbed me, I meant nothing that was of importance to
you, but to me it is of some consequence; and since you press me to tell
you by our strict union and friendship, which are so dear to me, I will.
You think, and I always believed so too, that this house was so complete
that nothing was wanting. But this day I have learned that it lacks
three rarities which would render it so perfect that no country seat in
the world could be compared with it. These three things are the Talking
Bird, the Singing Tree, and the Golden Water." After she had informed
them wherein consisted the excellency of these rarities, "A devout
woman," added she, "has made this discovery to me, told me the place
where they are to be found, and the way thither. Perhaps you may imagine
these things of little consequence; that without these additions our
house will always be thought sufficiently elegant, and that we can do
without them. You may think as you please, but I cannot help telling you
that I am persuaded they are absolutely necessary, and I shall not be
easy without them. Therefore, whether you value them or not, I desire
you to consider what person you may think proper for me to send in
search of the curiosities I have mentioned."
"Sister," replied Prince Bahman, "nothing can concern you in which we
have not an equal interest. It is enough that you desire these things to
oblige us to take the same interest; but if you had not, we feel
ourselves inclined of our own accord and for our own individual
satisfaction. I am persuaded my brother is of the same opinion, and
therefore we ought to undertake this conquest, for the importance and
singularity of the undertaking deserve that name. I will take the charge
upon myself; only tell me the place and the way to it, and I will defer
my journey no longer than till to-morrow."
"Brother," said Prince Perviz, "it is not proper that you, who are the
head of our family, should be absent. I desire my sister should join
with me to oblige you to abandon your design, and allow me to undertake
it. I hope to acquit myself as well as you, and it will be a more
regular proceeding." "I am persuaded of your goodwill, brother," replied
Prince Bahman, "and that you would succeed as well as myself in this
journey; but I have resolved and will undertake it. You shall stay at
home with our sister, and I need not recommend her to you."
The next morning Bahman mounted his horse, and Perviz and the princess
embraced and wished him a good journey. But in the midst of their
adieus, the princess recollected what she had not thought of before.
"Brother," said she, "I had quite forgotten the accidents which attend
travellers. Who knows whether I shall ever see you again? Alight, I
beseech you, and give up this journey. I would rather be deprived of the
sight and possession of the Talking Bird, the Singing Tree, and the
Golden Water, than run the risk of never seeing you more."
"Sister," replied Bahman, smiling at her sudden fears, "my resolution is
fixed. The accidents you speak of befall only those who are unfortunate;
but there are more who are not so. However, as events are uncertain, and
I may fail in this undertaking, all I can do is to leave you this
knife."
Bahman pulling a knife from his vestband, and presenting it to the
princess in the sheath, said: "Take this knife, sister, and give
yourself the trouble sometimes to pull it out of the sheath; while you
see it clean as it is now, it will be a sign that I am alive; but if you
find it stained with blood, then you may believe me dead and indulge me
with your prayers."
The princess could obtain nothing more of Bahman. He bade adieu to her
and Prince Perviz for the last time and rode away. When he got into the
road, he never turned to the right hand nor to the left, but went
directly forward toward India. The twentieth day he perceived on the
roadside a hideous old man, who sat under a tree near a thatched house,
which was his retreat from the weather.
His eyebrows were as white as snow, as was also the hair of his head;
his whiskers covered his mouth, and his beard and hair reached down to
his feet. The nails of his hands and feet were grown to an extensive
length, while a flat, broad umbrella covered his head. He had no
clothes, but only a mat thrown round his body. This old man was a
dervish for so many years retired from the world to give himself up
entirely to the service of God that at last he had become what we have
described.
Prince Bahman, who had been all that morning very attentive, to see if
he could meet with anybody who could give him information of the place
he was in search of, stopped when he came near the dervish, alighted, in
conformity to the directions which the devout woman had given the
Princess Periezade, and leading his horse by the bridle, advanced toward
him and saluting him, said: "God prolong your days, good father, and
grant you the accomplishment of your desires."
The dervish returned the prince's salutation, but so unintelligibly that
he could not understand one word he said and Prince Bahman, perceiving
that this difficulty proceeded from the dervish's whiskers hanging over
his mouth, and unwilling to go any further without the instructions he
wanted, pulled out a pair of scissors he had about him, and having tied
his horse to a branch of the tree, said: "Good dervish, I want to have
some talk with you, but your whiskers prevent my understanding what you
say; and if you will consent, I will cut off some part of them and of
your eyebrows, which disfigure you so much that you look more like a
bear than a man."
The dervish did not oppose the offer, and when the prince had cut off as
much hair as he thought fit, he perceived that the dervish had a good
complexion, and that he was not as old as he seemed. "Good dervish,"
said he, "if I had a glass I would show you how young you look: you are
now a man, but before, nobody could tell what you were."
The kind behaviour of Prince Bahman made the dervish smile and return
his compliment. "Sir," said he, "whoever you are, I am obliged by the
good office you have performed, and am ready to show my gratitude by
doing anything in my power for you. You must have alighted here upon
some account or other. Tell me what it is, and I will endeavour to serve
you."
"Good dervish," replied Prince Bahman, "I am in search of the Talking
Bird, the Singing Tree, and the Golden Water; I know these three
rarities are not far from hence, but cannot tell exactly the place where
they are to be found; if you know, I conjure you to show me the way,
that I may not lose my labour after so long a journey."
The prince, while he spoke, observed that the dervish changed
countenance, held down his eyes, looked very serious, and remained
silent, which obliged him to say to him again: "Good father, tell me
whether you know what I ask you, that I may not lose my time, but inform
myself somewhere else."
At last the dervish broke silence. "Sir," said he to Prince Bahman, "I
know the way you ask of me; but the regard which I conceived for you the
first moment I saw you, and which is grown stronger by the service you
have done me, kept me in suspense as to whether I should give you the
satisfaction you desire." "What motive can hinder you?" replied the
prince; "and what difficulties do you find in so doing?" "I will tell
you," replied the dervish; "the danger to which you are going to expose
yourself is greater than you may suppose. A number of gentlemen of as
much bravery as you can possibly possess have passed this way, and asked
me the same question. When I had used all my endeavours to persuade them
to desist, they would not believe me; at last I yielded to their
importunities; I was compelled to show them the way, and I can assure
you they have all perished, for I have not seen one come back.
Therefore, if you have any regard for your life, take my advice, go no
farther, but return home."
Prince Bahman persisted in his resolution. "I will not suppose," said he
to the dervish, "but that your advice is sincere. I am obliged to you
for the friendship you express for me; but whatever may be the danger,
nothing shall make me change my intention: whoever attacks me, I am well
armed, and can say I am as brave as any one." "But they who will attack
you are not to be seen," replied the dervish; "how will you defend
yourself against invisible persons?" "It is no matter," answered the
prince, "all you say shall not persuade me to do anything contrary to my
duty. Since you know the way, I conjure you once more to inform me."
When the dervish found he could not prevail upon Prince Bahman, and that
he was obstinately bent to pursue his journey, notwithstanding his
friendly remonstrance, he put his hand into a bag that lay by him and
pulled out a bowl, which he presented to him. "Since I cannot prevail on
you to attend to my advice," said he, "take this bowl and when you are
on horseback throw it before you, and follow it to the foot of a
mountain, where it will stop. As soon as the bowl stops, alight, leave
your horse with the bridle over his neck, and he will stand in the same
place till you return. As you ascend you will see on your right and
left a great number of large black stones, and will hear on all sides a
confusion of voices, which will utter a thousand abuses to discourage
you, and prevent your reaching the summit of the mountain. Be not
afraid; but, above all things, do not turn your head to look behind you,
for in that instant you will be changed into such a black stone as those
you see, which are all youths who have failed in this enterprise. If you
escape the danger of which I give you but a faint idea, and get to the
top of the mountain, you will see a cage, and in that cage is the bird
you seek; ask him which are the Singing Tree and the Golden Water, and
he will tell you. I have nothing more to say; this is what you have to
do, and if you are prudent you will take my advice and not expose your
life. Consider once more while you have time that the difficulties are
almost insuperable."
"I am obliged to you for your advice," replied Prince Bahman, after he
had received the bowl, "but cannot follow it. However, I will endeavour
to conform myself to that part of it which bids me not to look behind
me, and I hope to come and thank you when I have obtained what I am
seeking." After these words, to which the dervish made no other answer
than that he should be overjoyed to see him again, the prince mounted
his horse, took leave of the dervish with a respectful salute, and threw
the bowl before him.
The bowl rolled away with as much swiftness as when Prince Bahman first
hurled it from his hand, which obliged him to put his horse to the same
pace to avoid losing sight of it, and when it had reached the foot of
the mountain it stopped. The prince alighted from his horse, laid the
bridle on his neck, and having first surveyed the mountain and seen the
black stones, began to ascend, but had not gone four steps before he
heard the voices mentioned by the dervish, though he could see nobody.
Some said: "Where is that fool going? Where is he going? What would he
have? Do not let him pass." Others: "Stop him, catch him, kill him:" and
others with a voice like thunder: "Thief! assassin! murderer!" while
some in a gibing tone cried: "No, no, do not hurt him; let the pretty
fellow pass, the cage and bird are kept for him."
Notwithstanding all these troublesome voices, Prince Bahman ascended
with resolution for some time, but the voices redoubled with so loud a
din, both behind and before, that at last he was seized with dread, his
legs trembled under him, he staggered, and finding that his strength
failed him, he forgot the dervish's advice, turned about to run down the
hill, and was that instant changed into a black stone; a metamorphosis
which had happened to many before him who had attempted the ascent. His
horse, likewise, underwent the same change.
From the time of Prince Bahman's departure, the Princess Periezade
always wore the knife and sheath in her girdle, and pulled it out
several times in a day, to know whether her brother was alive. She had
the consolation to understand he was in perfect health and to talk of
him frequently with Prince Perviz. On the fatal day that Prince Bahman
was transformed into a stone, as Prince Perviz and the princess were
talking together in the evening, as usual, the prince desired his sister
to pull out the knife to know how their brother did. The princess
readily complied, and seeing the blood run down the point was seized
with so much horror that she threw it down. "Ah! my dear brother," cried
she, "I have been the cause of your death, and shall never see you more!
Why did I tell you of the Talking Bird, Singing Tree, and Golden Water;
or rather, of what importance was it to me to know whether the devout
woman thought this house ugly or handsome, or complete or not? I wish
to Heaven she had never addressed herself to me!"