‘My son,’ the King answered, ‘I have given them my word, and a king’s word is his bond. And just think what I can do with this wonderful horse; I must have it, whatever the cost. Go and ride it yourself, and then tell me what you think of the exchange.’
The Prince vaulted lightly into the saddle, thrust his feet into the stirrups, and spurred the horse on. But it did not move.
The King turned to the Persian. ‘Teach my son how to ride it.’
The Persian, who had taken a dislike to the Prince because he opposed his sisters’ marriage, went up to him and gave him some directions. As soon as he was shown the peg in the saddle that made the horse move, the Prince touched it and, lo! the horse flew into the air, so high and so swiftly that it was out of sight in a few moments.
When, after some hours, the Prince had not returned, King Sabur became greatly alarmed.
‘Wretch,’ he cried to the Persian, ‘what must we do to bring him back?’
‘I can do nothing, Your Majesty,’ he answered. ‘He gave me no time to explain the use of the second peg, and went off without learning how to come back.’
Beside himself with grief and anger, the King ordered his slaves to beat the Persian and throw him into prison; then he shut the doors of his palace and gave himself up to weeping and lamenting, together with his wife, his daughters, and his courtiers. Thus their gladness turned to sorrow and their joy to mourning.
Meanwhile the Prince had risen happily in the air until he reached the clouds and could hardly see the earth below. For a time he was thrilled with joy at the adventure, but before long he realized his danger and began to think of coming down. He turned the peg around and around, but, instead of descending, he climbed higher and higher until he feared he would strike his head against the sky.
‘I am lost,’ he said to himself. ‘The magician must have surely meant to destroy me. And yet there must be a second peg to bring this horse to earth again. If only I could find it!’
He felt all over the horse until at last, to his great joy, he touched a very small screw on the right side of the saddle. He pressed it gently, and at once the horse slowed down. After a few moments it began to lose height as quickly as it had risen. The Prince learned how to manage the peg, the screw, and the bridle; and when he had mastered all the movements and reassured himself, he brought the horse to a comfortable height and journeyed at an easy pace, so that he could enjoy the magnificent views stretching for miles and miles below him.
Seated at his ease, the Prince flew over countries and cities he had never seen before and gazed in wonderment on all the places he passed over. When darkness fell, he found himself circling over a beautiful city that shimmered with countless golden lights, in the midst of which stood a great marble palace flanked by six high towers. He pressed the screw and guided the horse until it alighted on the roof of the palace, at the far end of which he saw a door leading to a flight of white marble steps. Leaving the ebony horse, he made his way down the steps and found himself in a marble hall, lit with lamps and candles, where a black slave lay fast asleep, guarding the entrance to a room beyond. Without a sound, he tiptoed past the slave and, drawing aside a velvet curtain, entered a richly furnished room. In the center stood a couch of ivory and alabaster studded with precious gems. Two young slave girls slept on a carpet near the door, and on the couch reclined the most beautiful girl he had ever looked upon. So beautiful was she that the Prince fell in love with her at sight and nearly fainted as he gazed at her. He approached the couch and, kneeling by her side, gently touched the girl’s hand. Her eyes opened, but before she could utter a sound he begged her to be calm and fear nothing.
‘Who are you, and where do you come from?’ she asked in some alarm.
‘I am a Prince,’ he answered, ‘the son of the King of Persia. It is my good fortune that has brought me to this palace, gentle lady. But if your people find me in your private room, my life will be in danger. I therefore beg you for your protection.’
The girl, who was the daughter of the King of Yemen, answered, ‘Have no fear. You will be safe with me.’
She roused her slaves and ordered them to give the stranger food and drink, and to prepare a room where he might stay the night. The Prince rested and refreshed himself, and then told her of his adventure.
Princess Shams-al-Nahar (for that was her name) had never met anyone so brave and handsome as the Prince of Persia. She put on her finest robes and adorned herself with her most precious jewels, so that she might be seen in all her beauty. When the Prince came to her next morning, he was even more charmed and dazzled than before. He told her that he loved her with all his heart.
But when it was time for him to take his leave and return to his father’s court, the Princess burst into tears.
‘Do not cry,’ he said. ‘I will come back in a few days and request your hand in marriage from the King your father.’
‘Take me with you,’ implored the Princess. ‘I cannot bear to be parted from you so soon.’
‘Rise, then, and let us be off!’ he cried. ‘As soon as we arrive in Persia we will celebrate our marriage; then we will return in state to your father’s city.’
He took the Princess up to the palace roof, sat her on the ebony horse in front of him, placed his arm tightly around her waist, and turned the magic peg. The horse rose into the air, and flew with them at great speed. Halfway through their journey, they alighted for a short rest in an orchard that was shaded with fruit trees and watered by crystal streams. After eating and refreshing themselves, they remounted the enchanted horse and flew onward to Persia. By daybreak they came in sight of King Sabur’s capital, and the happy Prince brought the ebony horse to earth in the garden of his summer palace outside the city walls. He took the Princess into the palace and ordered his servants to attend her.
‘I will leave you here and go tell my father, the King, of your arrival,’ he said. ‘Watch over my horse while I am away. I shall send messengers to bring you in state to my father’s court.’
Now, when the Prince entered the city he found the people dressed in black and everywhere saw signs of public mourning. Anxiously he hurried to his father’s court.
Going up to one of the guards, he asked, ‘Why is everyone in mourning?’
‘The Prince! The Prince has come back!’ shouted the guard. ‘The Prince is alive!’
In a short while the joyful news of the Prince’s return spread through the town, and the people’s sorrow changed to gladness. King Sabur wept for joy on seeing him safe and sound. He embraced and kissed him, and scolded him for causing such grief and anxiety by his departure.
‘Guess whom I have brought with me!’ said the Prince.
‘Tell me, my son.’
The Prince replied, ‘I have brought to our city the daughter of the King of Yemen, the most beautiful girl in all the East.’
And the Prince proceeded to tell his father of his adventure and how he had returned home with the Princess.
‘Let her be brought to our court in royal fashion,’ the King cried. ‘We will receive her with the utmost honor and entertain her as our guest.’
Overjoyed at his son’s return, King Sabur gave orders that the Persian sage should be set free and allowed to return home. The magician, who had been expecting to suffer death at any moment, was greatly surprised at the King’s pardon, and was no less bewildered by the rejoicing in the streets. Upon inquiry he was told of the return of the King’s son and of the Princess who was waiting outside the city gates.
Without losing a moment, he rode off with all speed to the summer palace and, arriving there before the King’s messengers, entered the hall, where he found Shams-al-Nahar lying at ease upon a couch.
‘Gracious Princess,’ he said, kissing the ground before her, ‘the King of Persia has sent me to bring you to his court on the enchanted horse.’
The unsuspecting girl was very glad to hear this; she quickly got up and made ready to go with the supposed messenger. The Pers
ian leaped into the saddle of the ebony horse and lifted her up behind him. When he had securely fastened her to his waist, he turned the peg and the horse rose like a bird into the air. After a few moments the Princess, to her great alarm, found she was being carried far from the city and her lover.
‘Where are we going?’ she cried. ‘Why do you not obey your master’s orders?’
‘My master?’ the magician echoed with an evil smile. ‘Who is my master?’
‘Why, the King,’ she cried.
The Persian laughed.
‘Do you know who I am?’ he asked sharply.
‘I know nothing of you except what you have told me,’ answered the Princess.
‘Learn, then,’ said he, ‘that what I told you was only a snare to trap you and the Prince. That young ruffian stole my horse from me, the work of my own hands, and the loss nearly broke my heart. Now the horse is mine again, and it is the Prince’s turn to grieve. Come with me, gentle Princess, and forget that boastful youth, for I am powerful and rich, and more generous than any Prince. My slaves and servants will obey you as they obey me; I will give you jewels beyond the wealth of kings and grant your every wish and fancy.’
The Princess wept bitterly and begged the magician to take her back, but all her entreaties were of no avail. After many weary hours they reached Turkey, where the magician brought the horse to earth in a green meadow, and then went in search of food and water.
Now, this meadow was near the capital. It so happened that on that day the King of Turkey was riding nearby with his courtiers. Hearing the horses galloping past, the Princess screamed and called loudly for help. The King sent his riders to her aid and they seized the magician before he could take off on the horse. She quickly told them who she was and how she had been carried off against her will.
The King was astonished at the sorcerer’s ugly appearance and the girl’s extraordinary beauty. He ordered his men to throw the magician into prison, and took the Princess and the ebony horse to his own palace.
But Shams-al-Nahar’s troubles were by no means over. For no sooner had the King set eyes on her and listened to her story than he became infatuated with the Princess and resolved to marry her himself. He turned a deaf ear to her prayers and entreaties and gave orders for the wedding preparations to begin.
At last, when she saw that nothing would make him change his mind, she devised a scheme to save herself. She refused all food and drink, and began to rave and scream like a woman stricken with madness. So well did she play the part that everyone believed she was really insane. The King ordered the wedding to be postponed, and called his doctors to attend to her. But the more they saw of her, the more they were convinced that she was past all cure.
Now, all this time the Prince of Persia had been wandering with a heavy heart from land to land in search of his beloved Shams-al-Nahar, inquiring if anyone had seen or heard of a Princess and an ebony horse.
One day, at an inn in one of the great cities of Turkey, he chanced to hear the people talk about the sudden illness of a Princess who was to have married their King. He disguised himself as a doctor, went to the royal palace, and begged an audience of the King. He introduced himself as a physician long experienced in the cure of madness, and told the King he had heard of the Princess’ illness and had come all the way from Persia to treat her.
‘Honored doctor,’ exclaimed the joyful King, ‘you are most welcome.’ Then he told the Prince the story of the girl’s illness and all that had happened since the day he had found her with the old magician and the ebony horse.
‘I have thrown the villain into prison,’ he added. ‘As for the horse, it is being carefully guarded in the court-yard of the palace.’
He led the Prince to the room where Shams-al-Nahar was confined. They found her weeping and tearing her clothes. The disguised Prince realized at once that her madness was not real but merely a device to avoid the marriage.
‘Your Majesty,’ he said, ‘I must enter the room alone, or the cure will have no effect.’
The King left him, and the young man went up to the Princess and touched her hand. ‘Dear Princess,’ he said tenderly, ‘do you not know me?’
As soon as she heard his voice she turned to him and in the great joy of recognition threw herself into his arms.
‘My beloved Princess,’ he said, ‘be brave and patient a little longer. I have an excellent plan for our escape. But first you must make the King believe that you are improved, by talking calmly to him.’
The Prince came out of the room and said to the King, ‘The girl is almost cured. Enter and speak kindly to her, and all things shall go as you wish.’
The King marveled to see so great a change in the Princess, and was overjoyed when the Prince told him he hoped she would be fully recovered by the next day. He ordered his women slaves to attend her and dress her in fine robes.
Next morning the Prince advised the King, ‘Your Majesty, to complete the cure you must go with all your courtiers to the spot where you first found the Princess, and take with you the girl herself and the ebony horse. For you must know that the horse is a devil whose evil power has made her mad. I will now prepare some magic incense to break the spell that binds her; otherwise the evil spirit will once again enter her body, and our cure will work no more.’
‘I will do as you wish,’ the King replied, and arranged at once to leave the city for the meadow, accompanied by the Prince, the Princess, and all his retinue. When they arrived, the disguised Prince ordered the girl to sit upon the ebony horse, and placed braziers, in which a sweet incense was burning, all around her. Then, as swift as lightning, and under the gaze of all the people, he leaped onto the saddle behind the Princess and turned the peg. The horse rose straight up into the air, and in a few moments vanished from sight.
The Prince and Princess flew under the blue sky until they arrived safely in Persia. The King and all the people were overjoyed to see them after having given up hope of their return. Celebrations were held throughout the land, and they were married amid great rejoicing.
When the King died the Prince succeeded to his father’s throne, and lived in happiness and peace with Shams-al-Nahar until the end of their days.
EPILOGUE
Night after night, for a thousand and one nights, Shahrazad told King Shahriyar strange and wondrous stories; and so charmed was he by her beauty and gentle wit that at the dawn of each day he put off her execution until the next.
Now, during this time she also bore the King three sons. On the thousand and first night, when she had ended the last of her tales, she rose and kissed the ground before him, saying, ‘Great King, for a thousand and one nights I have told you stories of past ages and the legends of ancient kings. May I now make so bold as to beg a favor of Your Majesty?’
The King replied, ‘Ask, and it shall be granted.’
Shahrazad called out to the nurses, saying, ‘Bring me my children.’
Three little boys were instantly brought in, one walking, one crawling on all fours, and the third held in the arms of his nurse. Shahrazad ranged the little ones before the King and, again kissing the ground before him, said, ‘Look upon these three whom God has granted to us. For their sake I implore you to save my life. For if you destroy the mother of these infants, they will find none among women to love them as I would.’
The King kissed his three sons, and his eyes filled with tears as he answered, ‘I swear by Allah, Shahrazad, that you were already pardoned before the coming of these children. I loved you because I found you chaste and gentle, wise and eloquent. May God bless you, and bless your father and mother, your ancestors, and all your descendants. O Shahrazad, this thousand and first night is brighter for us than the day!’
Shahrazad rejoiced. She kissed the King’s hand and called down blessings upon him.
The people were overjoyed at the news of the King’s pardon.
Next morning Shahriyar summoned to his presence the great ones of the city, the chamberlains, the
nobles, and the officers of his army. When they had all assembled in the great hall of the palace, he proclaimed his decision to spare the life of his bride. Then he called his vizier, Shahrazad’s father, and invested him with a magnificent robe of honor, saying, ‘God has raised up your daughter to be the savior of my people. I have found her chaste, wise, and eloquent, and repentance has come to me through her.’
Then the King gave robes of honor to the courtiers and the captains of his army, and ordered the decoration of his capital.
The city was decked and lighted; and in the streets and market squares drums were beaten, trumpets blared, and clarions sounded. The King lavished alms on the poor and the destitute, and all the people feasted at his expense for thirty days and thirty nights.
King Shahriyar reigned over his subjects in all justice, and lived happily with Shahrazad ever after.
Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights Page 14
