Next morning, the sultan prevented Dinarzade, and said to
Scheherazade, madam, I pray you finish the story of the fisherman, I
am impatient to hear it; upon which the sultaness continued thus:
After the four fish had answered the young lady, she overturned the
frying-pan with her rod, and retired into the same place of the wall
from whence she came out. The grand vizier being witness of what had
passed; This is too wonderful and extraordinary, said he, to be
concealed from the sultan: I will inform him of this prodigy; which
he did accordingly, and gave him a very faithful account of all that
had happened.
The sultan, being much surprised, was impatient to see this himself,
he sent immediately for the fisherman, and said to him, Friend,
cannot you bring me four more such fish? The fisherman replied, If
your majesty will be pleased to allow me three days’ time, I will
do it. Having obtained his time, he went to the pond immediately,
and at the first throwing in of his net, he caught four such fish,
and brought them presently to the sultan: who was so much the more
rejoiced, as he did not expect them so soon, and ordered him other
four hundred pieces of gold. As soon as the sultan had the fish, he
ordered them to be carried into the closet, with all that was
necessary for frying them; and having shut himself up there with the
vizier, the minister gutted them, put them into the pan, and when
they were fried on one side, turned them upon the other; then the
wall of the closet opened, but instead of the young lady, there came
out a black, in the habit of a slave, of a gigantic stature, with a
great green baton in his hand. He advanced towards the pan, and
touching one of the fish with his baton, said with a terrible voice,
“Fish, are you in your duty?” At these words, the fish raised up
their heads, and answered, “Yes, yes; we are: if you reckon, we
reckon; if you pay your debts, we pay ours; if you fly, we overcome,
and are content.”
The fish had no sooner finished these words, than the black threw
the pan into the middle of the closet, and reduced the fish to a
coal. Having done this, he retired fiercely, and entered again into
the aperture, it closed, and the wall appeared just as it did before.
After what I have seen, said the sultan to the vizier, it will be
impossible for me to be easy in my mind; these fish, without doubt,
signify something extraordinary, in which I have a mind to be
satisfied. He sent for the fisherman, and when he came, said to him,
Fisherman, the fish you have brought us, make me very uneasy; where
did you catch them? Sir, answered he, I fish for them in a pond
situated betwixt four hills, beyond the mountain that we see from
hence. Know’st not thou that pond? said the sultan to the vizier.
No, sir, replied the vizier, I never so much as heard of it,
although I have for sixty years hunted beyond that mountain. The
sultan asked the fisherman, how far the pond might be from the
palace? The fisherman answered, it was not above three hours
journey; upon this assurance, and there being day enough beforehand,
the sultan commanded all his court to take horse, and the fisherman
served them for a guide. They all ascended the mountain, and at the
foot of it, they saw, to their great surprise, a vast plain, that
nobody had observed till then, and at last they came to the pond,
which they found actually to be situated betwixt four hills, as the
fisherman had described. The water was so transparent, that they
observed all the fish were like those which the fisherman had
brought to the palace.
The sultan stood upon the bank of the pond, and after beholding the
fish with admiration, he demanded of his emirs and all his
courtiers, if it were possible they had never seen this pond, which
was within so short a distance of the town. They all answered, that
they had never so much as heard of it.
Since you all agree, said he, that you never heard of it, and as I
am no less astonished than you are, at this novelty, I am resolved
not to return to my palace till I know how this pond came here, and
why all the fish in it are of four colours. Having spoke thus, he
ordered his court to encamp; and immediately his pavilion, and the
tents of his household, were planted upon the banks of the pond.
When night came, the sultan retired under his pavilion, and spoke to
the grand vizier, by himself, thus: Vizier, my mind is very uneasy:
this pond transported hither, the black that appeared to us in my
closet, and the fishes that we heard speak, all this does so much
excite my curiosity, that I cannot resist the impatient desire which
I have to be satisfied in it. To this end, I am resolved to withdraw
alone from the camp, and I order you to keep my absence secret; stay
in my pavilion, and tomorrow morning, when the emirs and courtiers
come to attend my levee, send them away, and tell them that I am
somewhat indisposed, and have a mind to be alone; and the following
day tell them the same thing, till I return.
The grand vizier said several things to divert the sultan from this
design: he represented to him the danger to which he might be
exposed, and that all his labour might perhaps be in vain; but it
was to no purpose, the sultan was resolved on it, and would go. He
put on a suit fit for walking, and took his scimitar; and as soon as
he saw that all was quiet in the camp, he went out alone, and went
over one of the hills without much difficulty. He found the descent
still more easy, and when he came to the plain, walked on till the
sun arose, and then he saw before him, at a considerable distance, a
great building. He rejoiced at the sight, in hopes to be informed
there of what he wanted to know. When he came near, he found it was
a magnificent palace, or rather a very strong castle, of fine black
polished marble, and covered with fine steel, as smooth as a
looking-glass. Being highly pleased that he had so speedily met with
something worthy his curiosity, he stopped before the front of the
castle, and considered it with attention.
He afterwards came up to the gate, which had two leaves, one of them
open; though he might have entered when he would, yet he thought it
best to knock. He knocked, at first softly, and waited for some
time; seeing nobody, and supposing they had not heard him, he
knocked harder the second time, but neither seeing nor hearing any
body, he knocked again and again, but nobody appearing, it surprised
him extremely; for he could not think that a castle in so good
repair was without inhabitants. If there be nobody in it, says he to
himself, I have nothing to fear; and if there be, I have wherewith
to defend myself.
At last he entered, and when he came within the porch, he cried, Is
there nobody here to receive a stranger, who comes in for some
refreshment as he passes by? He repeated the same two or three
times; but though he spoke very high, nobody answered. The silence
increased his astonishment: he came into a very spacious court, and
looking on every side, to see if he could perceive any body, he saw
no living thing. But, sir, says Scheherazade, day appears, and I
must stop.
Ah! sister, says Dinarzade, you break off at the very best of the
story. It is true, answered the sultaness; but, sister, you see I am
forced to do so. If my lord, the sultan, pleases, you may hear the
rest tomorrow. Schahriar agreed to this, not so much to please
Dinarzade, as to satisfy his own curiosity, being impatient to know
what adventure the prince met with in the castle.