The Arabian Nights

by Padraic Colum

  And when his sister heard his words, she replied, Tell me what is the condition of this damsel, and what is her name; for I know the damsels of the Sea, the daughters of Kings and of others; and if I see her to be suitable to him, I will demand her in marriage of her father, though I expend upon her all that my hand possesseth. Acquaint me therefore with her, and fear not aught; for my son is asleep.—He said, I fear that he may be awake; and the poet hath said,—

  I loved her when her qualities were described; for sometimes the ear loveth before the eye.

  But Jullanar replied, Say, and be brief, and fear not, O my brother. And he said, By Allah, O my sister, none is suitable to thy son except the Queen Jawharah, the daughter of the King Es-Semendel, and she is like him in beauty and loveliness and elegance and perfection, and there existeth not in the sea nor on the land anyone more graceful or more sweet in natural endowments than she. When she looketh aside, she putteth to shame the wild cows and the gazelles; and when she walketh with a vacillating gait, the willow-branch is envious; and when she displayeth her countenance, she confoundeth the sun and the moon, and captivateth every beholder: she is sweet-lipped, gentle in disposition.—And when she heard the words of her brother, she replied, Thou hast spoken truth, O my brother. By Allah, I have seen her many times, and she was my companion when we were little children; but now we have no acquaintance with each other, because of the distance between us; and for eighteen years I have not seen her. By Allah, none is suitable to my son except her.

  Now when Bedr Basim heard their words, and understood what they said from first to last in description of the damsel that Salih mentioned, Jawharah the daughter of the King Es-Semendel, he became enamored of her by the ear; but he pretended to them that he was asleep. A flame of fire was kindled in his heart on her account, and he was drowned in a sea of which neither shore nor bottom was seen. Then Salih looked toward his sister Jullanar, and said to her, By Allah, O my sister, there is not among the Kings of the Sea anyone more stupid than her father, nor is there any of greater power than he. Therefore acquaint not thy son with the case of this damsel until we demand her in marriage for him of her father; and if he favor us by assenting to our proposal, we praise God (whose name be exalted!); and if he reject us, and marry her not to thy son, we will remain at ease, and demand in marriage another.—And when Jullanar heard what her brother Salih said, she replied, Excellent is the opinion that thou hast formed. Then they were silent; and they passed that night. In the heart of the King Bedr Basim was a flame of fire, kindled by his passion for the Queen Jawharah; but he concealed his case, and said not to his mother nor to his uncle aught respecting her, though he was tortured by love of her as though he were on burning coals. And when they arose in the morning, the King and his uncle entered the bath, and washed: then they came forth, and drank some wine, and the attendants placed before them the food: so the King Bedr Basim and his mother and his uncle ate until they were satisfied, and washed their hands. And after that, Salih rose upon his feet, and said to the King Bedr Basim and his mother Jullanar, With your permission, I would go to my mother; for I have been with you a period of days, and the hearts of my family are troubled respecting me, and they are expecting me. But the King Bedr Basim said to his uncle Salih, Remain with us this day. And he complied with his request.

  Bedr Basim then said, Arise with us, O my uncle, and go forth with us to the garden. So they went to the garden, and proceeded to divert and recreate themselves; and the King Bedr Basim seated himself beneath a shady tree, desiring to rest and sleep; but he remembered what his uncle Salih had said, describing the damsel and her beauty and loveliness, and he shed many tears, and recited these verses:—

  Were it said to me, while the flame is burning within me, and the fire blazing in my heart and bowels,

  Wouldst thou rather that thou shouldst behold them, or a draught of pure water?—I would answer, Them.

  Then he lamented and groaned and wept, and recited these two other verses:—

  Who will save me from the love of a charming gazelle, with a face like the sun: nay, more lovely?

  My heart was at ease, free from love of her; but now burneth with passion for the daughter of Es-Semendel.

  So when his uncle Salih heard what he said, he struck hand upon hand, and said, There is no deity but God: Mohammad is the Apostle of God: and there is no strength nor power but in God, the High, the Great! Then he said to him, Didst thou hear, O my son, what I and thy mother said respecting the Queen Jawharah, and our mention of her qualities? Bedr Basim answered, Yes, O my uncle, and I became enamored of her from hearsay, when I heard what ye said. My heart is devoted to her, and I have not patience to remain absent from her.—Salih therefore said to him, O King, let us return to thy mother and acquaint her with the case, and I will ask her to permit me to take thee with me and to demand in marriage for thee the Queen Jawharah. Then we will bid her farewell, and I will return with thee; for I fear that, if I took thee and went without her permission, she would be incensed against me; and she would be right, as I should be the cause of your separation, like as I was the cause of her separation from us. The city, too, would be without a King, its people having none to govern them, and to see to their cases: so the state of the empire would become adverse unto thee, and the kingdom would depart from thy hand.—But when Bedr Basim heard the words of his uncle Salih, he replied, Know, O my uncle, that if I return to my mother and consult her on this subject, she will not allow me to do it; therefore I will not return to her, nor consult her ever. And he wept before his uncle, and said to him, I will go with thee, and I will not inform her, and then I will return. So when Salih heard the words of his sister’s son, he was perplexed at his case, and said, I beg aid of God (whose name be exalted!) in every circumstance.

  Then Salih, seeing his sister’s son in this state, and knowing that he desired not to return to his mother, but would go with him, took from his finger a seal-ring on which were engraved some of the names of God (whose name be exalted!), and handed it to the King Bedr Basim, saying to him, Put this upon thy finger, and thou wilt be secure from drowning and from other accidents, and from the noxiousness of the beasts of the sea and its great fishes. So the King Bedr Basim took the seal-ring from his uncle Salih, and put it upon his finger; after which, they plunged into the sea, and ceased not in their course until they arrived at the palace of Salih, when they entered it, and Bedr Basim’s grandmother, the mother of his mother, saw him, as she sat, attended by her relations. When they went in to them, they kissed their hands; and as soon as Bedr Basim’s grandmother saw him, she rose to him and embraced him, kissed him between the eyes, and said to him, Thine arrival is blessed, O my son! How didst thou leave thy mother Jullanar?—He answered her, Well; in prosperity and health; and she saluteth thee and the daughters of her uncle. Then Salih acquainted his mother with that which had occurred between him and his sister Jullanar, and that the King Bedr Basim had become enamored of the Queen Jawharah, the daughter of the King Es-Semendel, from hearsay. He related to her the story from beginning to end, and said, He hath not come but for the purpose of demanding her in marriage of her father, and marrying her.

  But when the grandmother of the King Bedr Basim heard the words of Salih, she was violently incensed against him, and was agitated and grieved, and she said to him, O my son, thou hast erred in mentioning the Queen Jawharah, the daughter of the King Es-Semendel, before the son of thy sister; for thou knowest that the King Es-Semendel is stupid, overbearing, of little sense, of great power, niggardly of his daughter Jawharah toward those who demand her in marriage; for all the Kings of the Sea have demanded her of him, and he refused, and approved not one of them, but rejected them all, and said to them, Ye are not equal to her in beauty nor in loveliness, nor in other qualities than those. And we fear to demand her in marriage of her father; for he would reject us as he hath rejected others; and we are people of kindness; so we should return broken-hearted.—And when Salih heard what his mother said, he repli
ed, O my mother, what is to be done? For the King Bedr Basim became enamored of this damsel when I mentioned her to my sister Jullanar, and he said, We must demand her in marriage of her father though I should give away all my kingdom. And he hath asserted that if he marry her not he will die of love and desire for her.—Then Salih said to his mother, Know that the son of my sister is more beautiful and more lovely than she, and that his father was King of all the Persians, and he is now their King, and Jawharah is not suitable to any but him. I have resolved that I will take to her father some jewels, consisting of jacinths and other gems, and convey a present befitting him, and demand her of him in marriage. If he allege as a pretext to us that he is a King, so also is he a King, the son of a King. And if he allege as a pretext to us her loveliness, he is more lovely than she. Again, if he allege as a pretext to us the extent of dominions, he hath more extensive dominions than she and than her father, and hath more numerous troops and guards; for his kingdom is greater than the kingdom of her father. I must endeavor to accomplish this affair of the son of my sister, though my life be lost thereby, since I was the cause of this event; and as I cast him into the seas of her love, I will strive to effect his marriage to her; and may God (whose name be exalted!) aid me to do that!—So his mother said to him, Do as thou wilt, and beware of speaking rudely to him when thou addressest him; for thou knowest his stupidity and his power, and I fear lest he make a violent attack upon thee, since he knoweth not the dignity of anyone. And he replied, I hear and obey.

  He then arose, and took with him two leathern bags full of jewels and jacinths, and oblong emeralds, and precious minerals of all kinds of stones, and, having made his young men carry them, he proceeded with them, he and the son of his sister, to the palace of the King Es-Semendel. He asked permission to go in to him, and permission was given him; and when he entered, he kissed the ground before him, and saluted with the best salutation. And when the King Es-Semendel saw him, he rose to him, treated him with the utmost honor, and ordered him to sit. So he sat, and after he had been seated awhile, the King said to him, Thine arrival is blessed. Thou hast made us desolate by thine absence, O Salih. What is thy want, that thou hast come unto us? Acquaint me with thy want, that I may perform it for thee.—And upon this he rose, and kissed the ground a second time, and said, O King of the age, my want respecteth God, and the magnanimous King, and the bold lion, the report of whose good qualities the caravans have borne abroad, and whose fame hath been published in the provinces and cities, for liberality and beneficence, and pardon and clemency and obliging conduct. Then he opened the two leathern bags, and took forth from them the jewels and other things, and scattered them before the King Es-Semendel, saying to him, O King of the age, perhaps thou wilt accept my present, and shew favor to me, and comfort my heart by accepting it from me. Upon this, the King Es-Semendel said to him, For what reason hast thou presented to me this present? Tell me thine affair, and acquaint me with thy want; and if I be able to perform it, I will perform it for thee this instant, and not oblige thee to weary thyself; but if I be unable to perform it, God imposeth not upon a person aught save what he is able to accomplish.—Then Salih rose, and kissed the ground three times, and said, O King of the age, verily the thing that I require thou art able to perform, and it is in thy power, and thou art master of it. I impose not upon the King a difficulty, nor am I mad, that I should ask of the King a thing that he is unable to do; for one of the sages hath said, If thou desire that thy request should be complied with, ask that which is possible. Now as to the thing that I have come to demand, the King (may God preserve him!) is able to do it.—So the King said to him, Ask the thing that thou requirest, and explain thine affair, and demand what thou desirest. And he said to him, O King of the age, know that I have come to thee as a marriage-suitor, desiring the unique pearl, and the hidden jewel, the Queen Jawharah, the daughter of our lord; then disappoint not, O King, him who applieth to thee.

  But when the King heard his words, he laughed so that he fell backward, in derision of him, and replied, O Salih, I used to think thee a man of sense, and an excellent young man, who attempted not aught but what was right, and uttered not aught but what was just. What hath happened to thy reason, and urged thee to this monstrous thing, and great peril, that thou demandest in marriage the daughters of Kings, the lords of cities and provinces? Art thou of a rank to attain to this high eminence, and hath thy reason decreased to this extreme degree that thou confrontest me with these words?—So Salih said, May God amend the state of the King! I demanded her not in marriage for myself; yet if I demanded her for myself, I am her equal; nay more; for thou knowest that my father was one of the Kings of the Sea, if thou art now our King. But I demanded her not in marriage save for the King Bedr Basim, lord of the provinces of Persia, whose father was the King Shah-Zeman, and thou knowest his power. If thou assert that thou art a great King, the King Bedr Basim is a greater King: and if thou boastest that thy daughter is lovely, the King Bedr Basim is more lovely than she, and more beautiful in form, and more excellent in rank and descent; and he is the horseman of his age. So if thou assent to that which I have asked of thee, thou wilt, O King of the age, have put the thing in its proper place; and if thou behave arrogantly toward us, thou treatest us not equitably, nor pursuest with us the right way. Thou knowest, O King, that this Queen Jawharah, the daughter of our lord the King, must be married; for the sage saith, The inevitable lot of the damsel is either marriage or the grave;—and if thou design to marry her, the son of my sister is more worthy of her than all the rest of men.—But when the King Es-Semendel heard the words of the King Salih, he was violently enraged; his reason almost departed, and his soul almost quitted his body, and he said to him, O dog of men, doth such a one as thyself address me with these words, and dost thou mention my daughter in the assemblies, and say that the son of thy sister Jullanar is her equal? Who then art thou, and who is thy sister, and who is her son, and who was his father, that thou sayest to me these words, and addressest me with this discourse? Are ye, in comparison with her, aught but dogs?—Then he called out to his young men, and said, O young men, take the head of this young wretch!

  So they took the swords and drew them, and sought to slay him; but he turned his back in flight, seeking the gate of the palace; and when he arrived at the gate of the palace, he saw the sons of his uncle, and his relations and tribe and young men, who were more than a thousand horsemen, buried in iron and in coats of mail put one over another, and having in their hands spears and bright swords. On their seeing Salih in this state, they said to him, What is the news? He therefore told them his story. And his mother had sent them to his assistance. So when they heard his words, they knew that the King was stupid and of great power, and they alighted from their horses, and drew their swords, and went in to the King Es-Semendel. They saw him sitting upon the throne of his kingdom, heedless of these people, and violently enraged against Salih; and they saw his servants and his young men and his guards unprepared; and when he beheld them, with the drawn swords in their hands, he called out to his people, saying, O! woe to you! Take ye the heads of these dogs!—But there had not elapsed more than a little while before the party of the King Es-Semendel were routed, and betook themselves to flight; and Salih and his relations had seized the King Es-Semendel, and bound his hands behind him.

  Now Jawharah, awaking from sleep, was informed that her father was taken a captive, and that his guards had been slain. So she went forth from the palace, and fled to one of the islands, where she repaired to a lofty tree, and she concealed herself upon it. And when these two parties contended together, some of the young men of the King Es-Semendel fled, and Bedr Basim, seeing them, asked them respecting their case; whereupon they acquainted him with that which had happened. Therefore, on his hearing that the King Es-Semendel had been seized, he turned his back in flight, fearing for himself, and said in his heart, Verily this disturbance originated on my account, and none is the object of search but myself. He turned back in fli
ght, seeking safety, and knew not whither to go. But the destinies fixed from all eternity drove him to that island upon which was Jawharah, the daughter of the King Es-Semendel; and he came to the tree, and threw himself down like one slain, desiring to take rest by his prostrate position, and not knowing that every one who is an object of search resteth not; and none knoweth what is hidden from him in the secrets of destiny. And when he lay down, he turned up his eyes toward the tree, and his eye met that of Jawharah: so he looked at her, and saw her to be like the moon when it shineth; and he said, Extolled be the perfection of the Creator of this surprising form! and He is the Creator of everything, and is Almighty! Extolled be the perfection of God, the Great, the Creator, the Maker, the Former! By Allah, if my imagination tell me truth, this must be Jawharah the daughter of the King Es-Semendel. I suppose that when she heard of the conflict happening between the two parties, she fled, and came to this island, and hid herself upon this tree; but if this be not the Queen Jawharah, this is more beautiful than she.—Then he proceeded to meditate upon her case, and said within himself, I will rise and ask her respecting her state; and if this be she, I will ask for her in marriage of herself, and this is the thing I seek. So he stood erect upon his feet, and said to Jawharah, O utmost object of desire, who art thou, and who brought thee unto this place? And Jawharah, looking at Bedr Basim, saw him to be like the full moon when it appeareth from behind the black clouds, of elegant stature, comely in his smile. She therefore said to him, O thou endowed with comely qualities, I am the Queen Jawharah, the daughter of the King Es-Semendel, and I have fled to this place because Salih and his troops have fought with my father and slain his troops, and made him a captive, together with some of his troops: so I fled, in fear for myself. Then the Queen Jawharah said to the King Bedr Basim, And I came not to this place save in flight, fearing slaughter; and I know not what fortune hath done with my father. And when Bedr Basim heard her words, he wondered extremely at this strange coincidence, and said, No doubt I have attained my desire by the capture of her father. He then looked at her, and said to her, Descend, O my mistress; for I am a victim of thy love, and thine eyes have captivated me. On account of me and thee were this disturbance and these conflicts. Know that I am the King Bedr Basim, the King of Persia, and that Salih is my maternal uncle, and he is the person who came to thy father and demanded thee of him in marriage. I have left my kingdom on thine account, and our meeting now is a wonderful coincidence. Arise then, and descend to me, that I may go with thee to the palace of thy father, and ask my uncle Salih to release him, and marry thee lawfully.