The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights: Volume 2

by Penguin; Robert Irwin; Malcolm Lyons; Ursula Lyons

  Salim now kissed Judar’s hand and went to sit down by the mosque door where he waited until after the evening prayer, when he saw the captain and his men approaching. He took them into the house, where Judar greeted them, sat them down and chatted with them, not knowing what their secret purpose was. He then told his mother to serve supper, and she fetched whatever he asked for from the saddlebag, until forty different dishes had been set before the visitors. They ate until they had had enough and the meal was then cleared away, a meal which the sailors thought they owed to Salim’s generosity. When the first third of the night had passed, Judar produced sweetmeats for them, which were served by Salim, while Judar and Saliim stayed seated. The conspirators then said that they wanted to sleep, so Judar got up and went off to sleep himself, while the others dozed until they could take him unawares. Then they got up and made a concerted attack on him, and before he knew what was happening, he was gagged and bound. They carried him out of the house under cover of night…

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the six hundred and seventeenth night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that the men seized Judar and carried him out of the house under cover of night, and then sent him off to Suez, where his feet were chained. He remained silent and stayed there toiling like a prisoner or a slave for a whole year.

  So much for him, but as for his brothers, when morning came they went to their mother and told her that he was not yet awake. ‘Wake him up, then,’ their mother said to them. ‘Where was he sleeping?’ they asked. ‘With the guests,’ she told them, and they said: ‘Perhaps he went off with them, while we were asleep. He has tasted the pleasures of life in foreign parts and has a wish to make his way into treasure chambers. We heard him talking with the Maghribis, and they were telling him that they would take him with them and uncover a treasure for him.’ ‘Did he meet with Maghribis?’ their mother asked, and when they told her that that was who their guests had been, she agreed that he might have gone with them, adding: ‘But God will guide him on his way, for he is a lucky man and will meet with great good fortune.’ Then she burst into tears, as she found it hard to part from him, but the brothers said: ‘You damned woman, are you so fond of Judar, while as for us, you would be neither glad nor sorry if we were here or not? Aren’t we your sons, just as Judar is your son?’ ‘You are,’ she told them, ‘but you are a pair of wretches who have never helped me in any way or done any good to me since the day of your father’s death, while as for Judar, he has been more than good to me, comforting me and being generous to me. It is only right that I should weep for him because of the help that he has given both to me and to the two of you.’

  When the brothers heard what their mother had to say, they showered abuse on her and beat her, after which they went in and searched through the saddlebags, removing the jewels from one and gold from the other, as well as taking the pair covered by the talismanic spell. ‘This was our father’s money,’ they told their mother. ‘No, by God,’ she replied. ‘It belongs to your brother, Judar, and he brought it from the Maghrib.’ ‘That’s a lie,’ they insisted. ‘It belonged to our father and we have a right to dispose of it.’ So they divided it between themselves, but they then quarrelled over the talismanic saddlebags, each saying that it was he who should take them. Neither of them would yield and their mother said: ‘My sons, you have divided the pair that contained the jewels and the gold, but no price can be put on this pair and if you cut them in two, the talisman will no longer work. So leave them with me and I’ll fetch you food whenever you want and content myself with a mouthful. If you give me any clothes, this will be an act of generosity on your part, and each of you will be able to set up a business in the city. You are my sons and I am your mother, so let us stay as we are for fear of disgrace if your brother happens to return.’ They refused to accept this and spent the night quarrelling. One of the king’s guards happened to be a guest in a neighbouring house, and when he leaned out of an open window there he heard the whole quarrel and what the two were saying about dividing what they had taken. The next morning this man went to Shams al-Daula, who was king of Egypt at the time, and told him what he had heard. The king sent for the brothers and when they had been brought to him, he had them tortured until they confessed, after which he confiscated the saddlebags and imprisoned them, while making their mother a daily allowance that was sufficient for her needs.

  So much for them, but as for Judar, he spent a whole year’s service at Suez. Then, when he was at sea, a wind got up which dashed the ship on which he and his companions were sailing against a mountain. The ship broke up, throwing the whole crew into the water, and Judar was the only one to reach land, while all the others died. After he had got ashore, he walked on until he came to a Bedouin camp, and when they asked him about himself, he said that he had been one of the crew of a ship and then told them his story. In their camp was a merchant from Jedda who took pity on him and said: ‘Would you like to enter my service, Egyptian, and I’ll supply you with clothes and take you with me to Jedda?’ Judar agreed to this and went there with the merchant. He was very well treated, and when the merchant then decided to make the pilgrimage he took him with him to Mecca. Once they were there, Judar went off to the sanctuary in order to circumambulate the Ka‘ba, and there he came across his friend ‘Abd al-Samad, the Maghribi, who was doing the same thing.

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the six hundred and eighteenth night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that when Judar was circumambulating the Ka‘ba, he met his friend ‘Abd al-Samad, the Maghribi, who was doing the same thing. On seeing Judar, ‘Abd al-Samad greeted him and asked him how he was, at which Judar burst into tears and told him what had happened. ‘Abd al-Samad took him back to his house, where he gave him a robe of unparalleled splendour and told him: ‘Your evil times are over.’ He then read Judar’s fortune in the sand and told him what had happened to his brothers and how they were imprisoned by the king of Egypt, adding: ‘You will be welcome to stay with me until you have finished the pilgrimage ceremonies, and you will meet nothing but good.’ ‘Sir,’ said Judar, ‘let me go back to the merchant with whom I came in order to take my leave of him before coming back to you.’ ‘Do you owe him money?’ asked ‘Abd al-Samad, and when Judar said no, he told him to go and do this and then come back straight away, adding: ‘Decent people recognize their obligation to those who have given them bread.’

  So Judar went and took his leave, telling the merchant that he had met his brother. ‘Go and fetch him,’ said the man, ‘and I shall treat him as a guest.’ ‘There is no need for that,’ Judar replied, ‘as he is a man of wealth with many servants.’ So the merchant gave him twenty dinars, saying: ‘This settles my obligations,’ and then said goodbye to him. After leaving him, Judar came across a poor man, to whom he gave the dinars, before going on to ‘Abd al-Samad, with whom he stayed until the ceremonies were over. ‘Abd al-Samad then gave him the ring that he had removed from the treasure of al-Shamardal, telling him to take it, as it would bring him what he wanted. ‘It has a servant named al-Ra‘d al-Qasif,’ he explained, ‘and if you need anything in the world and rub the ring, al-Ra‘d will appear to you and do whatever you tell him.’ He himself then rubbed the ring in front of Judar and al-Ra‘d appeared, saying: ‘Here I am, master. I shall give you whatever you want. Would you like me to restore a ruined city, ruin one that is flourishing, kill a king or rout an army?’ ‘Abd al-Samad said: ‘Ra‘d, this man is now your master, so look after his interests.’ He then dismissed him and told Judar: ‘When you rub the ring, he will come to you and you can order him to do what you want, as he will never disobey you. So go back to your own country and look after the ring, for you can use it to outwit your enemies, and you should never forget how powerful it is.’ ‘Sir,’ said Judar, ‘with your permission I shall go home.’ ‘
Rub the ring, then,’ said ‘Abd al-Samad, ‘and when Ra‘d appears, mount on his back, and if you say: “Take me to my own land this very day,” that is exactly what he will do.’

  After saying goodbye to ‘Abd al-Samad, Judar rubbed the ring. Ra‘d appeared and said: ‘Here I am, master, and I shall give you whatever you want.’ ‘Take me to Cairo today,’ Judar told him. ‘That shall be done,’ said Ra‘d, and he flew off carrying Judar from noon until midnight before setting him down in the courtyard of his mother’s house and then leaving. Judar went in to see his mother and when she saw him, she got up and greeted him tearfully, telling him what the king had done to his brothers and how he had had them beaten and had taken the talismanic saddlebags, as well as the bags with gold and jewels. On hearing this, Judar was concerned by his brothers’ misfortune, and he told his mother: ‘Don’t grieve for what has passed, for I shall show you this minute what I can do and I shall fetch my brothers.’ He then rubbed the ring and when Ra‘d appeared, saying: ‘Here I am, master, and I shall give you whatever you want,’ Judar said: ‘My orders are that you should bring me my two brothers from the king’s prison.’ Ra‘d disappeared into the earth and appeared in the middle of the prison. Both brothers were in great distress and wretchedness because of their sufferings there. They had reached the stage of wishing for death, and one was saying to the other: ‘By God, brother, this hardship has lasted too long. How much longer are we going to be imprisoned? Death would come as a relief.’ At that moment, the earth opened up and Ra‘d came out. He picked them up and descended again into the earth, as they fainted in terror. Then, when they had recovered their senses, they found themselves in their own house with their brother Judar sitting there with their mother beside him. Judar gave them a friendly greeting, but they hung down their heads and began to weep. ‘Don’t shed tears,’ he told them, ‘for it was greed and the devil that prompted you to do it. How it was that you came to sell me I do not know, but I console myself with the thought of Joseph, whose brothers, by throwing him into the pit, did more to him than you did to me.’

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the six hundred and nineteenth night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that Judar said to his brothers: ‘How did you come to do this to me? Turn to God in repentance and, if you ask His forgiveness, He will forgive you, for He is forgiving and merciful. As for me, I have forgiven you; I welcome you and no harm shall come to you.’

  So Judar began to put them at their ease, until they regained their spirits, and he then told them of everything that he had had to endure in Suez until he met the shaikh ‘Abd al-Samad and of how he had got the ring. ‘Don’t blame us on this occasion, brother,’ they said, ‘but if we do the same kind of thing again, then do what you want with us.’ ‘No harm shall come to you,’ Judar repeated, ‘but tell me what the king did with you.’ ‘He had us beaten, threatened us and took the saddlebags,’ they told him. ‘He will have cause to regret that,’ said Judar, who then rubbed the ring. Ra‘d appeared, to the consternation of the brothers, who thought that Judar would tell him to kill them. They went to their mother and began to say: ‘Mother, we are under your protection; mother, intercede for us.’ She told them not to be afraid, and meanwhile Judar told Ra‘d to fetch all the jewels that were in the king’s treasury, together with whatever else was there, leaving behind nothing at all. He was also to bring the talismanic bags and the pair of bags filled with jewels which the king had taken from his brothers. ‘To hear is to obey,’ said Ra‘d, and he left immediately, collected everything that was in the treasury, as well as the saddlebags together with their contents, and placed all this in front of Judar. ‘Master,’ he told him, ‘I left nothing behind there.’

  Judar told his mother to keep the bag of jewels, but left the talismanic bag in front of him. He then ordered Ra‘d to build a high palace that night, gilding it by way of adornment, and supplying it with magnificent furnishings. ‘Don’t let the sun rise before you have completed it,’ he added, and Ra‘d promised to have it done. He then disappeared into the earth, after which Judar produced food and they all ate contentedly before falling asleep. As for Ra‘d, he collected his jinn and told them to build the palace. Some of them cut stones, others did the building, others whitewashed it, others painted it and another group provided the furnishings. By the time day broke, it was ready to the last detail and Ra‘d went to Judar and said: ‘Master, the palace is finished and complete. Would you like to come and look at it?’ Judar, his mother and his brothers all went to look and what they saw was a palace of unmatched splendour, the beauty of whose construction caused the mind to boggle. Judar, who had spent no money on it, was delighted with it, even while he was still outside on the road. He asked his mother whether she was prepared to live in it and she said yes, calling down blessings on him. He then rubbed the ring and Ra‘d appeared, saying: ‘Here I am.’ ‘I command you to fetch me forty beautiful white slave girls and forty black ones, together with forty mamluks and forty black slaves.’ ‘You shall have them,’ said Ra‘d, and he then went with forty jinn to the lands of India, Sind and Persia, carrying off beautiful girls and youths whenever they saw them. He sent another forty, who fetched pretty black girls, and forty who brought black slaves, all of whom were then taken to fill up Judar’s palace. He showed them to Judar, who admired them and who told him to fetch robes of the greatest splendour for everyone. ‘At your service,’ said Ra‘d, and Judar went on: ‘Bring a robe for my mother to wear and another for me.’ Ra‘d brought all the robes and Judar distributed them to the slave girls and told them: ‘This is your mistress; kiss her hand and do not disobey her, for all of you, white and black alike, are to serve her.’ He then gave robes to the mamluks, who kissed his hand, as well as to his brothers. He himself was now like a king with his brothers like viziers, and as his own house was large enough he lodged one of his brothers, with his slave girls, in one part of it, and the other, with his, in another, while he and his mother lived in the new palace, each of them living in his own quarters like a sultan.

  As for the king’s treasurer, he wanted to take some things out from the treasury, but when he went there he found that it was empty, as in the poet’s line:

  The hives were full of honey, but when the bees left, they were empty.

  He gave a loud cry and fell unconscious, and then, when he had recovered his senses, he went out, leaving the door open, and came to King Shams al-Daula to tell him that the treasury had been emptied that night. ‘What have you done with the wealth that I had there?’ the king demanded. ‘By God,’ the treasurer told him, ‘I didn’t do anything to it at all and I don’t know how the treasury became empty. Yesterday, when I went in, it was full, but today there was nothing there, although the doors were locked. No one had bored through the wall or broken the lock, so no thief could have got in.’ ‘Have the saddlebags gone?’ the king asked, and when the treasurer said that they had, he nearly went out of his mind.

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the six hundred and twentieth night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that when the king’s treasurer told him that the contents of the treasury, together with the saddlebags, had gone, he nearly went out of his mind. Rising to his feet, he ordered the treasurer to lead the way and then followed him to the treasury, where he found nothing. ‘Who has plundered this, showing no fear of my power?’ he asked, and overcome with rage and fury he summoned his court. The army leaders came, each thinking that the king was angry with him, but he told them: ‘Know that last night my treasury was plundered and I have no idea who could have so little fear of me that he broke in and did this.’ ‘How could that be?’ they asked. ‘Ask the treasurer,’ the king said, and when they did he told them: ‘It was full yesterday, but when I went in today I found it empty, although there was no hole in the wall and the door had not been forced.’ Th
ey were all astonished to hear that, and none of them had anything to say except for the guard who had earlier informed on Judar’s brothers. He went to the king and said: ‘King of the age, all last night I watched builders at work and at daybreak I saw a palace of matchless splendour. When I asked about this, I was told that Judar had come back and that it was he who had had the palace built, having brought in mamluks and slaves, as well as providing great sums of money. He freed his brothers from prison and is there in his palace like a sultan.’ ‘Look in the prison,’ ordered the king, but when his men had done this, they brought back word that they had found no trace of the brothers. ‘It is clear who is guilty,’ the king said, ‘for whoever freed them is the man who took my money.’ The vizier asked who that was, and the king told him: ‘It was Judar, their brother, and he must have taken the saddlebags. So send an emir with fifty men to arrest him and his two brothers; they are to set a seal on all his possessions and to fetch me the brothers to be hanged. Hurry,’ he added, for he was still furious, ‘send out an emir to bring them to me so that I may have them killed.’ ‘Be patient,’ said the vizier, ‘for God is patient and is not quick to punish His servants when they disobey Him. Someone who can have a palace built in a single night, as these people report, can have no match in this world and I’m afraid that the emir may find himself in difficulties because of him. So wait until I can make a plan and we can discover what really happened, so as to ensure that you get what you want, king of the age.’ The king agreed to this, and the vizier went on: ‘Send the emir to him and invite him here. I shall look after him for you and pretend to be fond of him, asking him about himself. We can then see whether he is strong-willed, in which case we can think of some scheme against him, but if he seems weak-willed, then arrest him and do what you want with him.’ ‘Send him an invitation,’ said the king.