Sir--There was a very ancient fisherman, so poor, that he could
scarcely earn enough to maintain himself, his wife, and three
children. He went every day to fish betimes in a morning; and
imposed it as a law upon himself, not to cast his nets above four
times a-day. He went one morning by moon-light, and, coming to
the sea-bank, undressed himself, and cast in his nets. As he drew
them towards the shore, he found them very heavy, and thought he
had got a good draught of fish, at which he rejoiced within
himself; but, in a moment after, perceiving that, instead of
fish, there was nothing in his nets but the carcase of an ass, he
was mightily vexed. Scheherazade stopped here, because she saw it
was day.
Sister, says Dinarzade, I must confess that the beginning of this
story charms me, and I foresee that the result of it will be very
agreeable. There is nothing more surprising than the story of
this fisherman, replied the sultaness, and you will be convinced
of it next night, if the sultan will be so gracious as to let me
live. Schahriar, being curious to hear the success of such an
extraordinary fishing, would not order Scheherazade to be put to
death that day.
The Ninth Night.
My dear sister, cries Dinarzade, next morning at the usual hour,
if you be not asleep, I pray you to go on with the story of the
fisherman; I am ready to die till I hear it. I am willing to give
you that satisfaction, says the sultaness; but at the same time
she demanded leave of the sultan, and, having obtained it, began
again as follows:
Sir, when the fisherman, vexed to have made such a sorry draught,
had mended his nets, which the carcase of the ass had broken in
several places, he threw them in a second time; and when he drew
them, found a great deal of resistance, which made him think he
had taken abundance of fish; but he found nothing except a
pannier full of gravel and slime, which grieved him extremely. O
Fortune! cries he, with a lamentable tone, do not be angry with
me, nor persecute a wretch who prays thee to spare him. I came
hither from my house to seek for my livelihood, and thou
pronouncest death against me. I have no other trade but this to
subsist by; and, notwithstanding all the care I take, I can
scarcely provide what is absolutely necessary for my family. But
I am in the wrong to complain of thee; thou takest pleasure to
persecute honest people, and to leave great men in obscurity,
whilst thou showest favour to the wicked, and advancest those who
have no virtue to recommend them.
Having finished this complaint, he threw away the pannier in a
fret, and washing his nets from the slime, cast them the third
time, but brought up nothing except stones, shells, and mud.
Nobody can express his disorder; he was within an ace of going
quite mad. However, when day began to appear, he did not forget
to say his prayers like a good Mussulman, and afterwards added
this petition: "Lord, you know that I cast my net only four times
a day; I have already drawn them three times, without the least
reward for my labour: I am only to cast them once more; I pray
you to render the sea favourable to me, as you did to Moses."
The fisherman, having finished this prayer, cast his nets the
fourth time; and, when he thought it was time, he drew them, as
formerly, with great difficulty; but, instead of fish, found
nothing in them but a vessel of yellow copper, that, by its
weight, seemed to be full of something; and he observed that it
was shut up and sealed with lead, having the impression of a seal
upon it. This rejoiced him; I will sell it, says he, to the
founder, and with the money arising from the product, buy a
measure of corn. He examined the vessel on all sides, and shook
it, to see if what was within made any noise, and heard nothing.
This circumstance, with the impression of the seal upon the
leaden cover, made him to think there was something precious in
it. To try this, he took a knife, and opened it with very little
labour; he presently turned the mouth downward; but nothing came
out, which surprised him extremely. He set it before him, and,
while he looked upon it attentively, there came out a very thick
smoke which obliged him to retire two or three paces from it.
This smoke mounted as high as the clouds, and extending itself
along the sea, and upon the shore, formed a great mist, which, we
may well imagine, did mightily astonish the fisherman. When the
smoke was all out of the vessel, it reunited itself, and became a
solid body, of which there was formed a genie twice as high as
the greatest of giants. At the sight of a monster of such
unsizeable bulk, the fisherman would fain have fled, but was so
frightened that he could not go one step.
Solomon, cried the genie immediately, Solomon, the great prophet,
pardon, pardon; I will never more oppose your will: I will obey
all your commands.--Scheherazade, perceiving it day, broke off
her story.
Upon which Dinarzade said, Dear sister, nobody can keep their
promise better than you can keep yours. This story is certainly
more surprising than the former. Sister, replies the sultaness,
there are more wonderful things yet to come, if my lord the
sultan will allow me to tell them you. Schahriar had too great a
desire to hear out the story of the fisherman to deprive himself
of that pleasure, and therefore put off the sultaness's death
another day.
The Tenth Night.
Dinarzade called her sister next night when she thought it was
time, and prayed her to continue the story of the fisherman; and
the sultan being also impatient to know what concern the genie
had with Solomon, Scheherazade continued her story thus;
Sir, the fisherman, when he heard these words of the genie,
recovered his courage, and says to him, Thou proud spirit, what
is this that you talk? it is above eighteen hundred years since
the prophet Solomon died, and we are now at the end of time: Tell
me your history, and how you came to be shut up in this vessel.
The genie, turning to the fisherman with a fierce look, says, You
must speak to me with more civility; thou art very bold to call
me a proud spirit. Very well, replies the fisherman, shall I
speak to you with more civility, and call you the owl of good
luck? I say, answers the genie, speak to me more civilly, before
I kill thee. I have only one favour to grant thee. And what is
that, says the fisherman? It is, answers the genie, to give you
your choice in what manner you wouldst have me to take thy life.
But wherein have I offended you, replies the fisherman? Is this
the reward for the good service I have done you. I cannot treat
you otherwise, says the genie; and that you may be convinced of
it, hearken to my story.
I am one of those rebellious spirits that opposed themselves to
the will of Heaven; all the other genies owned Solomon, the great
prophet, and submitted to him. Sacar and I were the only genies
that would never be guilty of so mean a thing: And, to avenge
himself, that great monarch sent Asaph, the son of Barakia, his
chief minister, to apprehend me. That was accordingly done; Asaph
seized my person, and brought me by force before his master's
throne.
Solomon, the son of David, commanded me to quit my way of living,
to acknowledge his power, and to submit myself to his commands: I
bravely refused to obey, and told him, I would rather expose
myself to his resentment, than swear fealty, and submit to him as
he required. To punish me, he shut me up in this copper vessel;
and to make sure of me that I should not break prison, he stamped
(himself) upon this leaden cover his seal, with the great name
God engraven upon it. Thus he gave the vessel to one of the
genies that submitted to him, with orders to throw it into the
sea, which was executed to my great sorrow.
During the first hundred years imprisonment, I swore that if one
would deliver me before the hundred years expired, I would make
him rich even after his death: But that century ran out, and
nobody did me that good office. During the second, I made an
oath, that I would open all the treasures of the earth to any one
that would set me at liberty, but with no better success. In the
third, I promised to make my deliverer a potent monarch, to be
always near him in spirit, and to grant him every day three
demands, of what nature soever they might be: But this century
ran out as well as the two former, and I continued in prison. At
last, being angry, or rather mad, to find myself a prisoner so
long, I swore, that if afterwards any one should deliver me, I
would kill him without pity, and grant him no other favour but to
choose what kind of death he would die; and therefore, since you
have delivered me to-day, I give you that choice.
This discourse afflicted the poor fisherman extremely: I am very
unfortunate, cries he, to come hither to do such a piece of good
service to one that is so ungrateful. I beg you to consider your
injustice, and revoke such an unreasonable oath: pardon me, and
Heaven will pardon you; if you grant me my life, Heaven will
protect you from all attempts against yours. No, thy death is
resolved on, says the genie, only choose how you will die. The
fisherman, perceiving the genie to be resolute, was extremely
grieved, not so much for himself as for his three children, and
bewailed the misery they must be reduced to by his death. He
endeavoured still to appease the genie, and says, Alas! be
pleased to take pity on me in consideration of the good service I
have done you. I have told thee already, replies the genie, it is
for that very reason I must kill thee. That is very strange, says
the fisherman, are you resolved to reward good for evil? The
proverb says, "That he who does good to one who deserves it not,
is always ill rewarded." I must confess I thought it was false;
for in effect there can be nothing more contrary to reason, or
the laws of society. Nevertheless, I find now, by cruel
experience, that it is but too true. Do not let us lose time,
replies the genie, all thy reasoning shall not divert me from my
purpose: Make haste, and tell me which way you choose to die.
Necessity is the mother of invention. The fisherman bethought
himself of a stratagem. Since I must die then, says he to the
genie, I submit to the will of Heaven; but, before I choose the
manner of death, I conjure you by the great name which was
engraven upon the seal of the prophet Solomon, the son of David,
to answer me truly the question I am going to ask you. The genie,
finding himself obliged to give a positive answer by this
adjuration, trembled, and replied to the fisherman, Ask what thou
wilt, but make haste. Day appearing, Scheherazade held her peace.
Sister, says Dinarzade, it must be owned, that the more you
speak, the more you surprise and satisfy. I hope the sultan, our
lord, will not order you to be put to death till he hears out the
fine story of the fisherman. The sultan is absolute, replies
Scheherazade; we must submit to his will in every thing. But
Shahriar, being as willing as Dinarzade to hear an end of the
story, did again put off the execution of the sultaness.
The Eleventh Night.
Shahriar, and the princess his spouse, passed this night in the
same manner as they had done the former; and, before break of
day, Dinarzade awaked them with these words, which she addressed
to the sultaness: I pray you, sister, to resume the story of the
fisherman. With all my heart, says Scheherazade, I am willing to
satisfy you, with the sultan's permission.
The genie (continued she) having promised to speak the truth, the
fisherman says to him, I would know if you were actually in this
vessel? Dare you swear it by the name of the great God? Yes,
replied the genie, I do swear by that great name that I was, and
it is a certain truth. In good faith, answered the fisherman, I
cannot believe you; the vessel is not capable to hold one of your
feet, and how should it be possible that your whole body could be
in it? I swear to thee notwithstanding, replied the genie, that I
was there just as you see me here: Is it possible that thou dost
not believe me after the great oath which I have taken? Truly,
not I, said the fisherman; nor will I believe you unless you show
it me.
Upon which the body of the genie was dissolved, and changed
itself into smoke, extending itself, as formerly, upon the
sea-shore; and then at last, being gathered together, it began to
reenter the vessel, which he continued to do successively, by a
slow and equal motion, after a smooth and exact way, till nothing
was left out, and immediately a voice came forth, which said to
the fisherman, Well, now, incredulous fellow, I am all in the
vessel, do not you believe me now?
The fisherman, instead of answering the genie, took the cover of
lead, and having speedily shut the vessel, Genie, cries he, now
it is your turn to beg my favour, and to choose which way I shall
put thee to death; but not so, it is better that I should throw
you into the sea, whence I took you; and then I will build a
house upon the bank, where I will dwell, to give notice to all
fishermen, who come to throw in their nets, to beware of such a
wicked genie as thou art, who hast made an oath to kill him who
shall set thee at liberty.
The genie, enraged at these expressions, did all he could to get
out of the vessel again, but it was not possible for him to do
it; for the impression of Solomon's seal prevented him; so,
perceiving that the fisherman had got the advantage of him, he
thought fit to dissemble his anger. Fisherman, says he, in a
pleasant tone, take heed you do not what you say; for what I
spoke before was only by way of jest, and you are to take it no
otherwise. O genie! replies the fisherman, thou who wast but a
moment ago the greatest of all genies, and now art the least of
them, thy crafty discourse will signify nothing to thee, but to
the sea thou shalt return: If thou hadst staid in the sea so long
as thou hast told me, thou mayst very well stay there till the
day of judgment. I begged thee, in God's name, not to take away
my life, and thou didst reject my prayers; I am obliged to treat
you in the same manner.
The genie omitted nothing that could prevail upon the fisherman:
Open the vessel, says he, give me my liberty, I pray thee, and I
promise to satisfy thee to thy own content. Thou art a mere
traitor, replies the fisherman, I should deserve to lose my life,
if I be such a fool as to trust thee; thou wilt not fail to treat
me in the same manner as a certain Grecian king treated the
physician Douban. It is a story I have a mind to tell thee,
therefore listen to it.