Asraf-el-Kaum plunged the emerald pitcher into the pond, and filled it
with water. Then he asked permission to return.
Arriving near the King Chah Djouhou he presented the pitcher to the
prince, who seized it quickly and drank.
"Asraf-el-Kaum," said the prince, "where did you find such fresh and
delicious water? In all my life I have never drunk the like."
Asraf-el-Kaum answered: "O my lord, sovereign of the world, there is a
garden in the middle of the plain, and in this garden there is a very
large and bushy fig-tree, and at the foot of this tree there is a pond,
and near this pond there is an oratory. At this oratory there was a
woman who was reading the Koran. This charmingly beautiful woman has no
equal in this world. I saluted her and then returned to the presence of
the sovereign of the world. That is what I saw, my lord."
"Conduct me to this place," said the King.
"O sovereign of the world, if your Majesty wishes to go thither, let it
be with me alone. Let not my lord take his people with him, for it is a
woman, and naturally she would be ashamed."
The prince set out then on horseback with Asraf-el-Kaum. The princess
Djouher-Manikam, seeing two cavaliers approach, thought in her heart:
"I must hide myself, so that I may not be seen." So she left the
oratory and went toward the fig-tree. She addressed a prayer to God the
most high and worthy of all praise, in these terms:
"O God, I beseech thee, give me a refuge in this tree, for thy servant,
O Lord, is ashamed to look upon the faces of these infidels."
Then by the will of God the most high, the tree opened in two and the
princess Djouher-Manikam entered by the split, and the tree closed and
became as it was before. The King Chah Djouhou and Asraf-el-Kaum
arrived at the oratory, but the prince saw nothing of the princess
Djouher-Manikam. He was astonished and said:
"O Asraf-el-Kaum, the woman has gone. But just a moment ago I saw her
from afar, seated at the oratory, and now she has suddenly
disappeared." The prince added: "O Asraf-el-Kaum, perhaps, as with the
prophet Zachariah (upon whom be blessings!), her prayer has been
answered and she has entered this tree."
Then he offered this prayer to God the most high and worthy, of all
praise: "O God, if thou wilt permit that this woman be united to thy
servant, then grant her to him."
The prayer of the King Chah Djouhou was heard, and a woman of dazzling
beauty appeared before his eyes. He desired to seize her, but the
princess Djouher-Manikam pronounced these words: "Beware of touching
me, for I am a true believer." Hearing these words the King Chah
Djouhou drew back, a little ashamed. Then he said:
"Woman, what is your country? Whose child are you, and what is your
name?"
The princess answered: "For a long time I have dwelt here, and I have
no father nor mother. My name is Djouher-Manikam."
The King, hearing these words of the princess Djouher-Manikam, took off
his cloak and gave it to the princess, who covered all her body with
it. Then she got up and descended to the ground. Then King Chah
Djouhou, dismounting from his horse, received her, put her on his
horse, and took her to the country of Damas.
Asraf-el-Kaum then said to the King: "O my lord, sovereign of the
world, you made a promise to your servant. Be not careless nor
forgetful, my lord."
"Asraf-el-Kaum, be not disturbed. I will fulfil my promise to you. If
it pleases God, when I have arrived in our own country, I shall
certainly give you all that I promised you."
King Chah Djouhou set out for the country of Damas.
After a certain time on the way, the prince came to the city of Damas
and entered his palace. He commanded one of his pages to summon the
cadi, and a page went promptly to call him. The latter, in all haste,
entered the presence of the King. Chah Djouhou said: "O cadi, marry me
to the princess Djouher-Manikam." And the cadi married them. After the
celebration of the marriage the prince Chah Djouhou gave to Asraf-el-
Kaum 1,000 dinars and some of his slaves, both men and women. King
Djouhou and Princess Djouher-Manikam were happy and full of tenderness
for each other. Within a few years the princess had two sons, both very
beautiful. The prince loved these children very fondly. But above all
he loved his wife. He was full of tender solicitude for her, and bore
himself with regard to her with the same careful attention that a man
uses who carries oil in the hollow of his hand. Some time later
Princess Djouher-Manikam had another son of great beauty. The prince
loved this third child tenderly. He gave him a great number of nurses
and governesses, as is the custom for the children of the greatest
kings. And he never ceased to bestow upon him the most watchful care.
It happened one day that the ministers, the chiefs, and the courtiers
of the King, all gathered in his presence, were enjoying all sorts of
sport and amusements. The prince showed himself very joyous, and the
princess herself played and amused herself with the three children. Her
countenance shone with the brightness of rubies; but happening to think
of her father, her mother, and her brother, she began to weep and said:
"Alas, how unhappy I am! If my father, mother, and brother could see my
three children, necessarily their affection for me would be greater."
And the princess Djouher-Manikam burst into sobs. The prince, who was
not far from there, heard her, and as the princess did not stop weeping
he asked her: "O princess, why do you weep thus? What do I lack in your
eyes? Is it riches or physical beauty or noble birth? Or is it the
spirit of justice? Tell me what is the cause of your tears?"
Princess Djouher-Manikam answered: "Sovereign of the world, your Majesty
has not a single fault. Your riches equal those of Haroun. Your beauty
equals that of the prophet Joseph (peace be upon him!). Your extraction
equals that of the envoy of God (Mahomet). May the benediction of God
and blessings rest upon him! Your justice equals that of King
Rouchirouan. I don't see a single fault in you, my lord."
King Chah Djouhou said: "If it is thus, why then does my princess shed
tears?"
Princess Djouher-Manikam answered: "If I wept thus while playing with
my three children, it is because I thought that if my father, my
mother, and my brother should see my three children, necessarily their
affection for me would be greater. And that is why I shed tears."
King Chah Djouhou said to her: "O my young wife, dear princess, are
your father and mother still living? What is your father's name?"
Princess Djouher-Manikam answered, "O my lord, my father is named
Haroun-er-Raschid, King of Bagdad."
Clasping her in his arms and kissing her, the prince asked her: "Why,
until this day have you not told the truth to your husband?"
And the princess answered: "I wished to avow the truth, but perhaps my
lord would not have had faith. It is on account of the children that I
tell the truth."
King Chah Djouhou answered: "Since it is so, it is fitting that we
should start, and make a visit upon King Haroun-er-Raschid."
He called his ministers, ordered them to make all the preparations, and
commanded them to place in order ingots of gold and ingots of silver on
which were graven the name of King Haroun-er-Raschid; and his
ministers' vestments woven of goats' hair and fine wool, stuffs of
price, many kinds of superb precious stones of various colors, formed
the burden of forty camels, which bore these presents to the King, his
father-in-law, in the city of Bagdad.
During the night Princess Djouher thought in her heart: "If the two
kings meet, there will necessarily be discord, and at the end
separation." Having thus thought she said to her husband: "O sovereign
of the world, do not set out at the same time with me, for in my
opinion the meeting of the two kings would have as a final result a
disagreement. Permit me therefore to start first with the three
children, that I may present them to my father and mother. Give the
command to conduct me to the country of Bagdad, near my father, to
whomsoever you shall judge worthy of your confidence for this mission."
When the prince heard these words of the princess whom he loved so
tenderly and whose wishes he granted, he ordered his ministers and
chiefs to arrange the transport of the princess and her children.
Addressing the ministers he said as follows: "O you my ministers, whom
among you can I charge to conduct safely my wife and three children to
Bagdad, near their ancestor King Haroun-er-Raschid?"
No one among them dared approach and speak. All held silence. Then the
prince, addressing the oldest minister of all, said:
"O my minister, it is you to whom, following the dictates of my heart,
I can trust to accompany my wife and three children. For I have always
found you loyal and faithful to me. Beside, you are older than the
other ministers. And you have the fear of God the most high and worthy
of all praise as well as respect for your King."
The minister said: "O my lord, it is in all sincerity that your servant
puts above his head the commands of your Majesty. I shall do my whole
duty in conducting the princess and her children to the King Haroun-er-
Raschid."
So the King Chah Djouhou trusted his wife and his three children to
this perfidious minister, reposing upon the promise he had made. Forty
camels were laden with presents, forty nurses for the children, one
hundred ladies in the suite of the princess, a thousand cavaliers, well
armed and well equipped, formed the escort. The princess took leave of
her husband. He held her clasped in his arms, and, weeping, covered her
and his three children with kisses. He bade her to present his homage
to her father the Sultan Haroun-er-Raschid, his salutations to her
elder brother Minbah-Chahaz, and to place at the feet of their
majesties a thousand and a thousand apologies, and to make his excuses
to her brother Minbah-Chahaz. Then the prince said to the wicked
minister:
"O my minister, you must go now, and lead the camel of my wife, for I
have perfect confidence in you. Above all, guard her well."
But the King did not lean upon God the most high and worthy of all
praise, and that is why God punished him.
When the prince had finished speaking to the minister the latter said:
"O my lord, King of the world, your servant bears your command on his
head." So the cavalcade started on the march. Princess Djouher-Manikam
mounted her camel with her three children. A body-guard held the van.
She proceeded accompanied by the wretched minister and all the escort,
wending from day to day toward the city of Bagdad. They had reached one
of the halting-places when day was turning into night. The minister
then erected a tent so that the princess might repose in it. The people
put up their tents all about. Princess Djouher-Manikam dismounted from
her camel and entered the tent, with her three children. The tents of
the nurses and ladies-in-waiting surrounded the tent of the princess in
a circle. In the middle of the night a violent rain began to fall. Then
the wretched minister, stirred by Satan, was stirred in his heart. He
thought: "The King's wife is most beautiful; beautiful, indeed, as her
name, Djouher-Manikam. I must marry her."
So the rebel minister started, and entered the tent of the princess,
and asked her to marry him. He found her seated by her three children,
occupied in chasing away the mosquitoes. When the princess saw him
enter her tent she asked him: "O my minister, what brings you to my
tent at this hour in the middle of the night?"