when night was come and every man had supped, the old man brought
in the blue basins, and the young gentlemen as before bedaubed
their faces, wept and beat themselves, crying, "This is the fruit
of our idleness and debauches," and continued the same actions
the following night. At last, not being able to resist my
curiosity, I earnestly prayed them to satisfy me, or to shew me
how to return to my own kingdom; for it was impossible for me to
keep them company any longer, and to see every night such an odd
exhibition, without being permitted to know the reason.
One of the gentlemen answered on behalf of the rest, "Do not
wonder at our conduit in regard to yourself, and that hitherto we
have not granted your request: it is out of kindness, to save you
the pain of being reduced to the same condition with ourselves.
If you have a mind to try our unfortunate destiny, you need but
speak, and we will give you the satisfaction you desire." I told
them I was resolved on it, let what would be the consequence.
"Once more," said the same gentleman, "we advise you to restrain
your curiosity: it will cost you the loss of your right eye." "No
matter," I replied; "be assured that if such a misfortune befall
me, I will not impute it to you, but to myself."
He farther represented to me, that when I had lost an eye I must
not hope to remain with them, if I were so disposed, because
their number was complete, and no addition could be made to it. I
told them, that it would be a great satisfaction to me never to
part from such agreeable gentlemen, but if there were a necessity
for it, I was ready to submit; and let it cost me what it would,
I begged them to grant my request.
The ten gentlemen perceiving that I was so fixed in my
resolution, took a sheep, killed it, and after they had taken off
the skin, presented me with a knife, telling me it would be
useful to me on an occasion which they would soon explain. "We
must sew you in this skin," said they, "and then leave you; upon
which a bird of a monstrous size, called a roc, will appear in
the air, and taking you for a sheep, will pounce upon you, and
soar with you to the sky: but let not that alarm you; he will
descend with you again, and lay you on the top of a mountain.
When you find yourself on the ground, cut the skin with your
knife, and throw it off. As soon as the roc sees you, he will fly
away for fear, and leave you at liberty. Do not stay, but walk on
till you come to a spacious castle, covered with plates of gold,
large emeralds, and other precious stones: go up to the gate,
which always stands open, and walk in. We have each of us been in
that castle; but will tell you nothing of what we saw, or what
befell us there; you will learn by your own experience. All that
we can inform you is, that it has cost each of us our right eye,
and the penance which you have been witness to, is what we are
obliged to observe in consequence of having been there. The
history of each of us is so full of extraordinary adventures,
that a large volume would not contain them. But we cannot explain
ourselves farther."
When the gentleman had thus spoken, I wrapt myself in the sheep's
skin, held fast the knife which was given me; and after the young
gentlemen had been at the trouble to sew the skin about me, they
retired into the hall, and left me alone. The roc they spoke of
soon arrived; he pounced upon me, took me in his talons like a
sheep, and carried me up the summit of the mountain.
When I found myself on the ground, I cut the skin with the knife,
and throwing it off, the roc at the sight of me flew sway. This
roc is a white bird, of a monstrous size; his strength is such,
that he can lift up elephants from the plains, and carry them to
the tops of mountains, where he feeds upon them.
Being impatient to reach the castle, I lost no time; but made so
much haste, that I got thither in half a day's journey, and I
must say that I found it surpassed the description they had given
me of its magnificence.
The gate being open, I entered a square court, so large that
there were round it ninety-nine gates of wood of sanders and
aloes, and one of gold, without reckoning those of several superb
staircases, that led to apartments above, besides many more which
I could not see. The hundred doors I spoke of opened into gardens
or store-houses full of riches, or into apartments which
contained many things wonderful to be seen.
I saw a door standing open just before me, through which I
entered into a large hall. Here I found forty young ladies of
such perfect beauty as imagination could not surpass: they were
all most sumptuously appareled. As soon as they saw me they
arose, and without waiting my salutations, said to me, with
demonstrations of joy, "Noble Sir, you are welcome." And one thus
addressed me in the name of the rest, "We have long been in
expectation of such a gentleman as you; your mien assures us,
that you are master of all the good qualities we can desire; and
we hope you will not find our company disagreeable or unworthy of
yours."
They obliged me, notwithstanding all the opposition I could make,
to sit down on a seat that was higher than their own; and when I
expressed my uneasiness, "That is your place," said they, "you
are at present our lord, master, and judge, and we are your
slaves, ready to obey your commands."
Nothing, madam, so much astonished me, as the solicitude and
eagerness of those fair ladies to do me all possible service. One
brought hot water to wash my feet, a second poured sweet scented
water on my hands; others brought me all kinds of necessaries,
and change of apparel; others again brought in a magnificent
collation; and the rest came with glasses in their hands to fill
me delicious wines, all in good order, and in the most charming
manner possible. I ate and drank; after which the ladies placed
themselves about me, and desired an account of my travels. I gave
them a full relation of my adventures, which lasted till night
came on.
When I had finished my narrative to the forty ladies, some of
them who sat nearest me staid to keep me company, whilst the
rest, seeing it was dark, rose to fetch tapers. They brought a
prodigious number, which by the wonderful light they emitted
exhibited the resemblance of day, and they disposed them with so
much taste as to produce the most beautiful effect possible.
Other ladies covered a table with dry fruits, sweetmeats, and
everything proper to relish the liquor; a side-board was set out
with several sorts of wine and other liquors. Some of the ladies
brought in musical instruments, and when everything was ready,
they invited me to sit down to supper. The ladies sat down with
me, and we continued a long while at our repast. They that were
to play upon the instruments and sing arose, and formed a most
charming concert. The others began a kind of ball, and danced two
and two, couple after couple, with admirable grace.
It was past midnight ere these amusements ended. At length one of
the ladies said to me, "You are doubtless wearied by the journey
you have taken to-day; it is time for you to retire to rest; your
lodging is prepared: but before you depart choose which of us you
like best to be your bedfellow." I answered, "That I knew not how
to make my own choice, as they were all equally beautiful, witty,
and worthy of my respects and service, and that I would not be
guilty of so much incivility as to prefer one before another."
The lady who had spoken to me before answered, "We are very well
satisfied of your civility, and find it is your fear to create
jealousy among us that occasions your diffidence; but let not
this hinder you. We assure you, that the good fortune of her whom
you choose shall cause no feeling of the kind; for we are agreed
among ourselves, that every one of us shall in her turn have the
same honour; and when forty days are past, to begin again;
therefore make your selection, and lose no time to take the
repose you need." I was obliged to yield to their entreaties, and
offered my hand to the lady who spoke, and who, in return, gave
me hers. We were conducted to a sumptuous apartment, where they
left us; and then every one retired to her own chamber.
I was scarcely dressed next morning, when the other thirty-nine
ladies came into my chamber, all in different dresses from those
they had worn the day before: they bade me good-morrow, and
inquired after my health. After which they conveyed me to a bath,
where they washed me themselves, and whether I would or no,
served me with everything I needed; and when I came out of the
bath, they made me put on another suit much richer than the
former.
We passed the whole day almost constantly at table; and when it
was bed-time, they prayed me again to make choice of one of them
for my companion In short, madam, not to weary you with
repetitions, I must tell you that I continued a whole year among
those forty ladies, and received them into my bed one after
another: and during all the time of this voluptuous life, we met
not with the least kind of trouble. When the year was expired, I
was greatly surprised that these forty ladies, instead of
appearing with their usual cheerfulness to ask me how I did,
entered my chamber one morning all in tears. They embraced me
with great tenderness one after another, saying, "Adieu, dear
prince, adieu! for we must leave you." Their tears affected. I
prayed them to tell me the reason of their grief, and of the
separation they spoke of. "Fair ladies, let me know," said I, "if
it be in my power to comfort you, or if my assistance can be any
way useful to you." Instead of returning a direct answer,
"Would," said they, "we had never seen or known you! Several
gentlemen have honoured us with their company before you; but
never one of them had that comeliness, that sweetness, that
pleasantness of humour, and that merit which you possess; we know
not how to live without you." After they had spoken these words,
they began to weep bitterly. "My dear ladies," said I, "have the
kindness not to keep me any longer in suspense: tell me the cause
of your sorrow." "Alas!" said they, "what but the necessity of
parting from you could thus afflict us? Perhaps we shall never
see you more; but if it be your wish we should, and if you
possess sufficient self-command for the purpose, it is not
impossible but that we may again enjoy the pleasure of your
company." "Ladies," I replied, "I understand not what you mean;
pray explain yourselves more clearly."
"Well," said one of them, "to satisfy you, we must acquaint you
that we are all princesses, daughters of kings. We live here
together in the manner you have seen; but at the end of every
year we are obliged to be absent forty days upon indispensable
duties, which we are not permitted to reveal: and afterwards we
return again to this castle. Yesterday was the last of the year;
to day we must leave you, and this circumstance is the cause of
our grief. Before we depart we will leave you the keys of
everything, especially those of the hundred doors, where you will
find enough to satisfy your curiosity, and to relieve your
solitude during our absence. But for your benefit, and our own
personal interests, we recommend you to forbear opening the
golden door; for if you do we shall never see you again; and the
apprehension of this augments our grief. We hope, nevertheless,
that you will attend to our advice; your own peace, and the
happiness of your life, depends upon your compliance; therefore
take heed. If you suffer yourself to be swayed by a foolish
curiosity, you will do yourself a considerable injury. We conjure
you to avoid the indiscretion, and to give us the satisfaction
finding you here again at the end of forty days. We would
willingly take the key of the golden door with us; but that it
would be an affront to a prince like you to question your
discretion and firmness."
This speech of the fair princesses grieved me extremely. I
omitted not to declare how much their absence would afflict me. I
thanked then for their good advice, assuring them that I would
follow it, and expressed my willingness to perform what was much
more difficult, to secure the happiness of passing the rest of my
days with ladies of such beauty and accomplishments. We separated
with much tenderness, and after I had embraced them all, they
departed, and I remained alone in the castle.
The agreeableness of their company, their hospitality, their
musical entertainments, and other amusements, had so much
absorbed my attention during the whole year, that I neither had
time nor desire to see the wonders contained in this enchanted
palace. I did not even notice a thousand curious objects that
every day offered themselves to my view, so much was I charmed by
the beauty of those ladies, and the pleasure they seemed to take
in promoting my gratification. Their departure sensibly afflicted
me; and though their absence was to be only forty days, it seemed
to me an age to live without them.
I determined not to forget the important advice they had given
me, not to open the golden door; but as I was permitted to
satisfy my curiosity in everything else, I took the first of the
keys of the other doors, which were hung in regular order.
I opened the first door, and entered an orchard, which I believe
the universe could not equal. I could not imagine any thing to
surpass it, except that which our religion promises us after
death. The symmetry, the neatness, the admirable order of the
trees, the abundance and diversity of unknown fruits, their
freshness and beauty, delighted my senses.
Nor must I omit to inform you, that this delicious orchard was
watered in a very particular manner. There were channels so
artificially and proportionately dug, that they carried water in
considerable quantities to the roots of such trees as required
much moisture. Others conveyed it in smaller quantities to those
whose fruits were already formed: some carried still less to
those whose fruits were swelling, and others carried only so much
as was just requisite to water those which had their fruits come
to perfection, and only wanted to be ripened. They far exceeded
in size the ordinary fruits of our gardens. Lastly, those
channels that watered the trees whose fruit was ripe had no more
moisture than just what would preserve them from withering.
I should never have tired in examining and admiring so delightful
a place; nor have left it, had I not conceived a still higher
idea of the other things which I had not seen. I went out at last
with my mind filled with the wonders I had viewed: I shut the
door, and opened the next.
Instead of an orchard, I found here a flower garden, which was no
less extraordinary in its kind. It contained a spacious plot, not
watered so profusely as the former, but with greater niceness,
furnishing no more water than just what each flower required. The
roses, jessamines, violets, daffodils, hyacinths, anemonies,
tulips, pinks, lilies, and an infinite number of flowers, which
do not grow in other places but at certain times, were there
flourishing all at once, and nothing could be more delicious than
the fragrant smell which they emitted.
I opened the third door, and found a large aviary, paved with
marble of several fine and uncommon colours. The trellis work was
made of sandal wood and wood of aloes. It contained a vast number
of nightingales, gold-finches, canary birds, larks, and other
rare singing-birds, which I had never heard of; and the vessels
that held their seed and water were of the most precious jasper
or agate.
Besides, this aviary was so exceedingly neat, that, considering
its extent, I judged there must be not less than a hundred
persons to keep it clean; but all this while not one appeared,
either here or in the gardens I had before examined; and yet I
could not perceive a weed, or any thing superfluous or offensive
to sight. The sun went down, and I retired, charmed with the
chirping notes of the multitude of birds, who then began to perch
upon such places as suited them for repose during the night. I
went to my chamber, resolving on the following days to open all
the rest of the doors, excepting that of gold.
The next day I opened the fourth door. If what I had seen before
was capable of exciting my surprise, what I now beheld
transported me into perfect ecstacy. I entered a large court
surrounded with buildings of an admirable structure, the
description of which I will omit, to avoid prolixity.
This building had forty doors, all open, and through each of them
was an entrance into a treasury: several of these treasuries
contained as much wealth as the largest kingdoms. The first was
stored with heaps of pearls: and, what is almost incredible, the
number of those stones which are most precious, and as large as
pigeons' eggs, exceeded the number of those of the ordinary size.
In the second treasury, there were diamonds, carbuncles, and
rubies; in the third, emeralds; in the fourth, ingots of gold; in
the fifth, money; in the sixth, ingots of silver; and in the two
following, money. The rest contained amethysts, chrysolites,
topazes, opals, turquoises, and hyacinths, with all the other
stones known to us, without mentioning agate, jasper, cornelian,
and coral, of which there was a store house filled, not only with
branches, but whole trees.
Filled with astonishment and admiration at the view of all these
riches, I exclaimed, "If all the treasures of the kings of the
universe were gathered together in one place, they could not
equal the value of these. How fortunate am I to possess all this
wealth with so many admirable princesses!"
I will not tire you, madam, with a detail of all the other
objects of curiosity and value which I discovered on the
following day. I shall only say, that thirty-nine days afforded
me but just as much time as was necessary to open ninety-nine
doors, and to admire all that presented itself to my view, so
that there was only the hundredth door left, which I was
forbidden to open.
The fortieth day after the departure of those charming princesses
arrived, and had I but retained so much self-command as I ought
to have had, I should have been this day the happiest of all
mankind, whereas now I am the most unfortunate. They were to
return the next day, and the pleasure of seeing them again ought
to have restrained my curiosity: but through my weakness, which I
shall ever repent, I yielded to the temptations of the evil
spirit, who allowed me no rest till I had involved myself in the
misfortunes I have since suffered.
I opened that fatal door! But before I had moved my foot to
enter, a smell pleasant enough, but too powerful for my senses,
made me faint away. However, I soon recovered: but instead of
taking warning from this incident to close the door, and restrain
my curiosity, after waiting some time for the external air to
correct the effluvia of the place, I entered, and felt myself no
longer incommoded. I found myself in a spacious vaulted
apartment, the pavement of which was strewed with saffron. It was
illuminated by several large tapers which emitted the perfume of
aloes and ambergris, and were placed in candlesticks of solid
gold. This light was augmented by gold and silver lamps, burning
perfumed oils of various kinds.
Among the many objects that attracted my attention was a black
horse, of the most perfect symmetry and beauty that ever was
beheld. I approached in order the better to observe him, and
found he had on a saddle and bridle of massive gold, curiously
wrought. One part of his manger was filled with clean barley and
sesame, and the other with rose-water. I laid hold of his bridle,
and led him out to view him by daylight. I mounted, and
endeavoured to make him move: but finding he did not stir, I
struck him with a switch I had taken up in his magnificent
stable. He had no sooner felt the blow, than he began to neigh in
a most horrible manner, and extending his wings, which I had not
before perceived, flew up with me into the air. My thoughts were
fully in keeping my seat; and considering the fear that had
seized me, I sat well. At length he directed his course towards
the earth, and lighted upon the terrace of a castle, and, without
giving me time to dismount, shook me out of the saddle with such
force, as to throw me behind him, and with the end of his tail he
struck out my eye.
Thus it was I became blind of one eye. I then recollected the
predictions of the ten young gentlemen. The horse again took
wing, and soon disappeared. I got up much vexed at the misfortune
I had brought upon myself. I walked upon the terrace, covering my
eye with one of my hands, for it pained me exceedingly, and then
descended, and entered into a hall. I soon discovered by the ten
sofas in a circle, and the eleventh in the middle, lower than the
rest, that I was in the castle whence I had been carried by the
roc.
The ten young gentlemen were not in the hall when I entered; but
came in soon after, attended by the old man. They seemed not at
all surprised to see me, nor at the loss of my eye; but said, "We
are sorry that we cannot congratulate you on your return, as we
could wish; but we are not the cause of your misfortune." "I
should do you wrong," I replied, "to lay it to your charge; I
have only myself to accuse." "If," said they, "it be a subject of
consolation to the afflicted to know that others share their
sufferings, you have in us this alleviation of your misfortune.
All that has happened to you we have also endured; we each of us
tasted the same pleasures during a year; and we had still
continued to enjoy them, had we not opened the golden door, when
the princesses were absent. You have been no wiser than we, and
have incurred the same punishment. We would gladly receive you
into our company, to join with us in the penance to which we are
bound, and the duration of which we know not. But we have already
stated to you the reasons that render this impossible: depart,
therefore, and proceed to the court of Bagdad, where you will
meet with the person who is to decide your destiny." After they
had explained to me the road I was to travel, I departed.
On the road I caused my beard and eye-brows to be shaven, and
assumed a calender's habit. I have had a long journey, but at
last I arrived this evening, and met these my brother calenders
at the gate, being strangers as well as myself. We were mutually
surprised at one another, to see that we were all blind of the
same eye; but we had not leisure to converse long on the subject
of our misfortunes. We have only had time enough to bring us
hither, to implore those favours which you have been generously
pleased to grant us.
The third calender having finished this relation of his
adventures, Zobeide addressed him and his fellow calenders thus:
"Go wherever you think proper, you are at liberty." But one of
them answered, "Madam, we beg you to pardon our curiosity, and
permit us to hear the stories of those gentlemen who have not yet
spoken." Then the lady turned to the caliph, the vizier Jaaffier,
and Mesrour, and said to them, "It is now your turn to relate
your adventures, therefore speak."
The grand vizier who had all along been the spokesman, answered
Zobeide: "Madam, in order to obey you, we need only repeat what
we have already said. We are merchants of Moussol come to Bagdad
to sell our merchandize, which lies in the khan where we lodge.
We dined today with several other persons of our condition, at a
merchant's house of this city; who, after he had treated us with
choice dainties and excellent wines, sent for men and women
dancers, and musicians. The great noise we made brought in the
watch, who arrested some of the company, and we had the good
fortune to escape: but it being already late, and the door of our
khan shut up, we knew not whither to retire. We chanced as we
passed along this street to hear mirth at your house, which made
us determine to knock at your gate. This is all the account that
we can give you, in obedience to your commands."
Zobeide having heard this statement, seemed to hesitate what to
say, which the calenders perceiving, prayed her to grant the same
favour to the three Moussol merchants as she had done to them.
"Well then," said she, "you shall all be equally obliged to me; I
pardon you all, provided you immediately depart."