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

by Penguin; Robert Irwin; Malcolm Lyons; Ursula Lyons

  After frequent complaints had been made about him, his father called to five of his slaves and, when they had come, he told them: ‘Seize this dog.’ They set on ‘Ajib and tied him up, after which the king told them to beat him, and this they did until he lost consciousness. He was then imprisoned in a room where he could not tell the difference between earth and sky or length and breadth. He stayed there as a prisoner for two days and a night, after which the emirs approached his father, kissed the ground before him and interceded for ‘Ajib. His father released him and ‘Ajib waited for ten days before going into his father’s room at night while he was asleep and striking off his head. The next day he mounted his father’s throne and ordered his men to put on their mail and stand in front of him, ranged on his right and his left, with drawn swords. When the emirs and officers came in, they were bewildered to find their king dead and his son seated on the royal throne. ‘Men,’ said ‘Ajib, ‘you have seen what happened to your king. I shall be generous to whoever obeys me, but any who disobey me will meet the same fate as the king.’ When they heard this they were afraid of being attacked and so they kissed the ground before him and said: ‘You are our king and the son of our king.’ He thanked them and, as a token of his pleasure, he ordered money and materials to be brought out, and he conferred splendid robes of honour on them, deluging them with money, and so winning their affection and their obedience. He also gave robes of honour to the governors and to the shaikhs of the Bedouin tribes, whether independent or tributary.

  Every region was subject to him, all his subjects obeyed him, and so for five months he gave judgements, commands and prohibitions, until one night he saw a dream which left him startled and afraid. He could not go back to sleep and in the morning when he sat on his throne, with his guards to his right and his left, he summoned the interpreters of dreams and the astrologers and told them to explain what he had seen. When they asked what this was, he said: ‘I seemed to see my father standing in front of me uncovering his penis. Something the size of a bee came out of it, but it grew bigger until it was like a huge lion with claws like daggers. I was frightened of it and before I could think what to do it sprang at me and struck me with its claws, tearing open my belly and causing me to wake up in terror.’ The interpreters looked at one another, wondering how to answer. ‘Great king,’ they said, ‘this dream shows that your father had a son who will prove to be your enemy and who will overcome you. So be on your guard against him because of this dream.’ When he heard this, ‘Ajib said: ‘I have no brother to fear and what you say is a lie.’ ‘We have only told you what we know,’ they replied, after which in his anger he had them beaten.

  He then got up and went into his father’s palace, where he discovered on investigation that one of his father’s concubines was seven months pregnant. He ordered two of his slaves to take her to the sea and drown her. They took her by the hand and brought her to the shore, but when they were about to drown her they saw how lovely she was and said to each other: ‘Why should we drown her? We can take her to the forest and have a marvellous life with her there, enjoying her favours.’ So they took her and travelled for some days and nights until they were a long way from any habitation, and there they brought her to a thick forest with fruits and streams. They decided to lie with her, but each of them said: ‘I’ll have her before you.’ As they were quarrelling, a group of blacks came on them. They drew their swords and both sides attacked each other, which led to a furious fight, and in the twinkling of an eye the two slaves were killed.

  As for the girl, she wandered off alone into the forest, eating fruit and drinking from the streams, and continued to do this until she gave birth to a brown-skinned boy, healthy and well formed. She named him Gharib* because she herself was in exile and, after cutting the umbilical cord, she wrapped him in some of her own clothes and began to suckle him, sad at heart because of her fall from pampered luxury.

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that the girl stayed in the forest, sad at heart. In spite of her great sorrow and the fear caused by her solitude, she began to suckle the baby. Then one day, while she was still in that state, she was suddenly met by riders and men on foot with hawks and hunting dogs, their horses laden with storks, herons, cranes, diving birds and water fowl, together with wild beasts, hares, gazelles, wild cows, young ostriches, lynxes, wolves and lions. On reaching the forest, these Bedouin found the girl suckling her baby on her lap and, going up to her, they asked if she was human or jinn. She told them that she was human and they alerted their emir, Mirdas, chief of the Banu Qahtan, who was out hunting with five hundred emirs from his cousins and his clan. The hunters carried on with their hunt until they came in sight of the girl, and when she had told them her story from beginning to end, Mirdas cried out to them in astonishment. When they ended their hunt, they returned to their clan, where Mirdas took the girl to a place of her own and assigned five slave girls to attend on her. He fell deeply in love with her and lay with her, as a result of which she immediately conceived, and at the end of her pregnancy she gave birth to a boy whom she named Sahim al-Lail.

  The baby was entrusted to the midwives with his brother until he grew up and acquired skill under the protection of Mirdas, who then entrusted both boys to a faqih to be given religious instruction, and later to Arab champions who were to teach them how to use lance and sword as well as bows and arrows. By the time that they had reached the age of fifteen, they had learned everything they needed and had surpassed all the other brave clansmen, each of them on his own being able to face a thousand riders.

  Mirdas had many enemies, but his men were the bravest of the Arabs, heroic horsemen and unapproachable in battle. Among his neighbours was a friend of his, an emir named Hassan ibn Thabit, who had asked for the hand of a noble lady of his own tribe and who then invited all his companions, including Mirdas, the Qahtanid chief, to the wedding. Mirdas accepted and took with him three hundred riders, leaving behind another four hundred to guard the womenfolk. He made the journey to Hassan, who met him and placed him in the seat of honour. At the wedding celebration all the riders who had come to attend it were provided with a feast, after which they dispersed to go home, but what confronted Mirdas on his return to camp was the sight of dead bodies lying on the ground, with birds hovering over them to the right and the left. Trembling with fear, he went into the camp and there he was met by Gharib wearing mail and congratulating him on his safe return. Mirdas asked what had happened and Gharib told him that they had been attacked by al-Hamal ibn Majid with five hundred riders from his tribe.

  The reason behind this was that Mirdas had a daughter named Mahdiya, a girl of unsurpassed beauty. Al-Hamal, the chief of the Banu Nabhan, had heard of her, but when he had come to Mirdas with five hundred men to ask for her hand, Mirdas had rejected him and sent him away disappointed. From then on he had been watching Mirdas, and when Mirdas left for Hassan’s wedding, al-Hamal rode out with his fighting men and attacked the Qahtanids, killing some of their riders and driving the others in flight to the mountains. Gharib and his brother had been away hunting with a hundred others, and when they got back at midday it was to find Hassan and his Nabhanis in possession of the camp and all its contents. The raiders had taken the girls, including Mirdas’s daughter, Mahdiya, who was being led off with the captives. Gharib saw this and became demented with anger, shouting curses to his brother Sahim and calling out: ‘They have plundered our camp and seized our women. Come on, charge them and rescue the prisoners and the women.’ The two brothers with their hundred men attacked their enemies, and Gharib, growing angrier and angrier, started to harvest heads and pour out cups of death until he fought his way to al-Hamal and saw Mahdiya as a captive. He attacked al-Hamal, unhorsing him with a thrust, and by afternoon he had killed most of the enemy and routed the remainder. He freed the prisoners and rode back to ca
mp with al-Hamal’s head on his spear, reciting these lines:

  I am the hero distinguished on the day of battle;

  The jinn of the earth fear the sight of my shadow.

  When I brandish my sword in my right hand,

  Death rushes from the left.

  When men look at my spear,

  They see a spearhead like a crescent moon.

  My name is Gharib, the hero of my clan;

  Few though my men may be, I have no fear.

  Before he had finished his poem, Mirdas arrived and was dismayed and frightened to find sprawling corpses and birds circling on either side. Gharib, after congratulating Mirdas on his safe return, told him all that had happened in his absence, and Mirdas thanked him for what he had done, saying: ‘Your upbringing was not wasted.’ He then went to his pavilion and his clansmen began to praise Gharib, saying: ‘Had it not been for him, emir, no one in the camp would have escaped.’ Mirdas renewed his thanks.

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that when Mirdas returned to camp and his men came to meet him, they praised Gharib, and Mirdas thanked him for what he had done. When Gharib had killed al-Hamal and rescued Mahdiya, she had shot him with an arrow from her eyes and he had fallen into the toils of love. He could not forget her and, drowning in passion, he could no longer taste the sweetness of sleep or enjoy food or drink. He would ride out on his horse, climb mountains, recite poetry and not come home until evening, showing the signs of passionate love. He told his secret to one of his friends and it then spread through the camp until it reached the ears of Mirdas, who stormed in a tempestuous fit of uncontrollable rage, snarling and snorting, and cursing the sun and moon. ‘This is the reward of those who rear the children of fornication!’ he exclaimed, adding: ‘If I don’t kill him, I shall be put to shame.’ He consulted one of the wise men of his tribe, telling him the secret and asking his advice about killing Gharib. The wise man said: ‘Earlier he rescued your daughter from captivity and so, if you have to kill him, you must get someone else to do it, lest people begin to have doubts about you.’ ‘Think of some plan for me,’ Mirdas told him, ‘for you are the only one who can show me how to do this.’ The wise man said: ‘Wait till he goes out hunting and then take a hundred riders with you and hide in a cave. When he gets there, take him by surprise and cut him in pieces, as in that way you will not be shamed.’ ‘That is a good plan,’ replied Mirdas.

  Mirdas chose a hundred and fifty riders from his tribe, huge and powerful men, whom he induced to help him. He watched until Gharib had left on a hunting trip in distant valleys and mountains and he then rode out with his filthy band and laid an ambush, so as to attack and kill Gharib on his way home from his hunt. As they were lying in wait among the trees, suddenly they themselves were attacked by five hundred gigantic riders, who killed sixty of them and captured the remaining ninety, tying up Mirdas himself. The reason for this was that when al-Hamal was killed and the survivors of his force were routed, in their flight they went to his brother, who was furiously angry when he heard what had happened. He collected his giant champions and after having selected five hundred of them, each fifty cubits tall, he set out to avenge his brother. He and his men then fell in with Mirdas, as was reported, and after having captured him and his force, he and his riders dismounted. He told them to rest, saying: ‘Our idols have given us an easy revenge. Guard Mirdas and his men until I can take them off and put them to death in the most horrible of ways.’ Mirdas, finding himself tied up, regretted what he had done, and said: ‘This is the reward for injustice.’ His captors, happy with their victory, fell asleep while he and his men, in their bonds, despaired of life in the certainty that they would be put to death.

  So much for them, but as for Sahim, who had earlier been wounded, he went to see his sister, Mahdiya, who got up and kissed his hands, exclaiming: ‘May these hands never be withered, and may your enemies never have cause to gloat over you! For had it not been for you and Gharib, we would still be held captive by our enemies. I have to tell you, however, my brother, that your father has gone out with a hundred and fifty riders intending to kill Gharib, and you know how damaging this would be, as he protected your honour and rescued your goods.’ When Sahim heard this, the light in his face became dark. He armed himself, mounted his horse and rode out to where his brother was hunting. Gharib had killed a large quantity of game and, having found him, Sahim went up to him and greeted him. ‘Why did you go off without telling me?’ he asked, and Gharib replied: ‘That was only because I saw that you were wounded and I wanted to let you rest.’ Sahim then warned him to be on his guard against Mirdas, telling him what had happened and how Mirdas had gone out with a hundred and fifty riders, intending to kill him. ‘God will see that his scheme recoils on him!’ exclaimed Gharib, and he and his brother then set off back to the camp. Evening fell, but they rode on until they reached the valley where their enemies were resting. They heard horses neighing in the darkness, and Sahim said: ‘My father and his men must be lying in ambush here, so come away,’ but Gharib dismounted and, passing his bridle to Sahim, he said: ‘Wait here until I come back.’

  He went on until he could see who was there, only to find that the men were not from his clan. He heard them talking about Mirdas and saying: ‘We shall not kill him until we are back in our own land.’ Gharib then realized that they must be holding Mirdas, his uncle, as a prisoner and he said to himself: ‘I swear by Mahdiya’s life that I shall not leave before I have freed her father and saved her from distress.’ He went on searching for Mirdas until he found him tied up with ropes and then, sitting down beside him, he said: ‘Uncle, may you be saved from this shameful bondage.’ Mirdas was bewildered to see him and exclaimed: ‘My son, I ask for your protection! Repay the debt you owe for your upbringing and set me free.’ ‘If I do, will you give me Mahdiya?’ Gharib asked. ‘My son,’ Mirdas replied, ‘I swear by the truth of my faith that she will be yours for all time.’

  Gharib untied him and said: ‘Go towards the horses, for your son Sahim is there.’ Mirdas slipped away and came to Sahim, who was delighted to see him and congratulated him on his safety, while in the meantime Gharib was releasing the other prisoners one after the other, until all ninety had been freed. They gathered at some distance from the enemy and Gharib supplied them with equipment and horses, telling them to mount and spread out around the enemy, raising their slogan, ‘Sons of Qahtan!’, and then, when the enemy were awake, drawing back, while still keeping them encircled. He himself waited until the last third of the night, and then raised the Qahtanid war cry. His men replied with a single shout: ‘Sons of Qahtan!’, a cry which echoed around the mountains until the enemy thought that the whole Qahtanid tribe had attacked them. They all snatched up their weapons and fell on each other.

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that when they were roused from sleep and heard Gharib and his men shouting ‘Sons of Qahtan!’, they thought that the whole Qahtanid tribe had attacked them and so they picked up their weapons and fell on each other. While this was going on, Gharib and his men held back, and the slaughter continued among their enemies until daybreak, when Gharib, Mirdas and the ninety rescued prisoners attacked the survivors, killing a number and routing the rest. The Qahtanids rounded up the stray horses and set off back to their camp with the arms and armour they had taken. Mirdas could hardly believe that he was safe, and when they got to their camp they were given a joyful reception before entering their tents by those who had stayed behind. When Gharib went to his tent, the young men crowded around him and he was saluted by old and young alike, and Mirdas, on seeing the young men flocking around Gharib, hated him even more than before. He turned to his kinsmen and told them this, a
dding: ‘What distresses me is to see these people gathering around him, and tomorrow he will ask me for Mahdiya’s hand.’ His advisor suggested that he should ask Gharib for something beyond his powers, a suggestion that Mirdas accepted with delight.

  The next morning, as he sat on his couch surrounded by his clansmen, Gharib arrived with his own men and a following of youths. He approached Mirdas and when he kissed the ground before him Mirdas showed pleasure and rose to meet him before seating him at his side. ‘Uncle,’ said Gharib, ‘you made me a promise, so fulfil it.’ ‘My son,’ Mirdas replied, ‘Mahdiya is yours for all time, but you are short of money.’ ‘Ask what you want, uncle,’ Gharib said, ‘and I will raid the emirs of the Arabs in their own parts and the kings in their cities so as to bring you enough wealth to fill up the lands from east to west.’ ‘My son,’ Mirdas told him, ‘I swore by all the idols that I would only give Mahdiya to someone who would avenge me and clear away my shame.’ ‘Tell me on which king you want vengeance, so that I may go to him and smash his throne over his head!’ Gharib exclaimed. Mirdas replied: ‘I had a valiant son who went out hunting with a hundred heroes. They passed from valley to valley until, when they had gone far into the mountains, they reached the Valley of Flowers and the castle of Ham ibn Shith ibn Shaddad ibn Khald, the home of a black giant seventy cubits tall, who fights using trees that he tears out of the ground. When my son got there, this giant came out and killed him together with a hundred of his men. Only three escaped to bring the news back to me, and when I then collected my champions and went out to fight him we could not get the better of him. I was distressed that I could not avenge my son, and I swore that I would only give my daughter in marriage to someone who could do this for me.’