Dinarzade, when it was time, addressed her speech to the sultaness
thus: My dear sister, said she, if you be not asleep, I would pray
you to continue the story of the hated and envious man. With all my
heart, answered Scheherazade. The second calender continued his
story thus: The honest dervise, said he, being mounted on the throne
of his father-in-law, as he was one day in the midst of his
courtiers upon a march, he espied the envious man among the crowd of
people that stood as he passed along, and calling one of the viziers
that attended him, whispered him in his ear thus; Go bring me that
man you see there; but, take care you do not frighten him. The
vizier obeyed, and when the envious man was brought into his
presence, the sultan said, Friend, I am extremely glad to see you.
Upon which he called an officer, Go immediately, said he, and cause
to be paid the man out of my treasury one hundred pieces of gold:
let him have also twenty loads of the richest merchandize in my
storehouses, and a sufficient guard to conduct him to his house.
After he had given this charge to the officer, he bid the envious
man farewell, and proceeded on his march.
When I had finished the recital of this story to the genie, the
murderer of the princess of the isle of Ebene, I made the
application to himself thus: O genie! you see here, that this
bountiful sultan did not content himself with forgetting the design
of the envious man to take away his life, but treated him kindly,
and sent him back with all the favours which I just now related. In
short, I made use of all my eloquence, praying him to imitate so
good an example, and to grant me pardon; but it was impossible for
me to move his compassion.
All that I can do for thee, said he, is, that I will not take thy
life: do not flatter thyself that I will send thee safe and sound
back; I must let thee feel what I am able to do by my enchantments.
So saying, he laid violent hands on me, and carried me across the
vault of the subterranean palace, which opened to give him passage;
he flew up with me so high, that the earth seemed to be only a
little white cloud; from thence he came down again like lightning,
and alighted upon the ridge of a mountain.
There he took up a handful of earth, and pronounced or rather
muttered some words which I did not understand, and threw it upon
me: Quit the shape of a man, said he to me, and take on thee that of
an ape. He vanished immediately, and left me alone, transformed into
an ape, overwhelmed with sorrow, in a strange country, not knowing
whether I was near or far from my father’s dominions.
I went down from the top of the mountain, and came into a plain
country, which took me a month’s time to travel through, and then
I came to the sea-side. It happened to be then a great calm, and I
espied a vessel about half a league from the shore: unwilling to
lose this good opportunity, I broke off a large branch from a tree,
which I carried with me to the sea-side, and set myself astride upon
it, with a stick in each hand to serve me for oars.
I launched out in this posture, and advanced near the ship. When I
was nigh enough to be known, the seamen and passengers that were
upon the deck thought it an extraordinary sight, and all of them
looked upon me with great astonishment. In the mean time I got
aboard, and laying hold of a rope, I jumped upon the deck, but
having lost my speech, I found myself in great perplexity; and
indeed the risk I ran then was nothing less than when I was at the
mercy of the genie.
The merchants, being both superstitious and scrupulous, believed I
should occasion some mischief to their voyage, if they received me;
therefore, said one, I will knock him down with a handspike; says
another, I will shoot an arrow through his guts: says a third, Let
us throw him into the sea. Some of them would not have failed to
have executed their design, if I had not got to that side where the
captain was, when I threw myself at his feet, and took him by the
coat in a begging posture. This action, together with the tears
which he saw gush from my eyes, moved his compassion, so that he
took me under his protection, threatening to be revenged on him that
would do me the least hurt; and he himself made very much of me,
while I on my part, though I had no power to speak, showed all
possible signs of gratitude by my gestures.
The wind that succeeded the calm was gentle and favourable, and did
not change for fifty days, but brought us safe to the port of a fine
city, well peopled, and of great trade, the capital of a powerful
state, where we came to an anchor.
Our vessel was speedily surrounded with an infinite number of boats
full of people, who came to congratulate their friends upon their
safe arrival, or to inquire for those they had left behind them in
the country from whence they came, or out of curiosity to see a ship
that came from a far country.
Amongst the rest, some officers came on hoard, desiring to speak
with the merchants, in the name of the sultan. The merchants
appearing, one of the officers told them, The sultan, our master,
hath commanded us to acquaint you, that he is glad of your safe
arrival, and prays you to take the trouble, every one of you, to
write some lines upon this roll of paper: and that his design by
this may be understood, you must know that we had a prime vizier,
who, besides a great capacity to manage affairs, understood writing
to the highest perfection. This minister is lately dead, at which
the sultan is very much troubled: and since he can never behold his
writing without admiration, he has made a solemn vow, not to give
the place to any man but to him who can write as well as he did.
Many people have presented their writings; but, to this day, nobody
in all this empire, has been judged worthy to supply the vizier’s
place.
Those merchants that believed they could write well enough to
pretend to this high dignity, wrote one after another what they
thought fit. After they had done, I advanced, and look the roll out
of the gentleman’s hand; but all the people, especially the
merchants, cried out, He will tear it, or throw it into the sea;
till they saw how properly I held the roll, and made a sign that I
would write in my turn: then they were of another opinion, and their
fear turned into admiration. However, since they had never seen an
ape that could write, nor could be persuaded that I was more
ingenious than other apes, they offered to snatch the roll out of my
hand; but the captain took my part once more. Let him alone, said
he; suffer him to write. If he only scribbles the paper, I promise
you that I will punish him upon the spot; if, on the contrary, he
writes well, as I hope he will, because I never saw an ape so clever
and ingenious, and so quick of apprehension, I do declare that I
will own him as my son. I had one that had not half the wit that he
has. Perceiving that nobody opposed my design, I took the pen, and
wrote six sorts of hands used among the Arabians, and each specimen
contained an extemporary distich or quatrain in praise of the
sultan. My writing did not only excel that of the merchants, but, I
venture to say, they had not before seen any such fair writing in
that country. When I had done, the officers took the roll, and
carried it to the sultan.
Thus far was Scheherazade come in her story, when day-light
appeared. Sir, said she to Schahriar, if I had time to continue, I
would give your majesty an account of things far more surprising
than what I have already told. The sultan, who had resolved to hear
the end of the story, got up without saying a word.