The Arabian Nights Entertainments
place in these words:
"May it please your Majesty, I had gone to the slave market to buy
myself a cook. While there I heard a slave being offered for 4,000
pieces. Asking to see her, I found she was of incomparable beauty, and
was being sold by Noureddin, the son of your late vizir, to whom your
Majesty will remember giving a sum of 10,000 gold pieces for the
purchase of a slave. This is the identical slave, whom instead of
bringing to your Majesty he gave to his own son. Since the death of
his father this Noureddin has run through his entire fortune, has sold
all his possessions, and is now reduced to selling the slave. Calling
him to me, I said: "Noureddin, I will give you 10,000 gold pieces for
your slave, whom I will present to the king. I will interest him at
the same time in your behalf, and this will be worth much more to you
than what extra money you might obtain from the merchants." "Bad old
man," he exclaimed, "rather than sell my slave to you I would give her
to a Jew." "But, Noureddin," I remonstrated, "you do not consider that
in speaking thus you wrong the king, to whom your father owed
everything." This remonstrance only irritated him the more. Throwing
himself on me like a madman, he tore me from my horse, beat me to his
heart's content, and left me in the state your Majesty sees."
So saying Saouy turned aside his head and wept bitterly.
The king's wrath was kindled against Noureddin. He ordered the captain
of the guard to take with him forty men, to pillage Noureddin's house,
to rase it to the ground, and to bring Noureddin and the slave to him.
A doorkeeper, named Sangiar, who had been a slave of Khacan's, hearing
this order given, slipped out of the king's apartment, and hastened to
warn Noureddin to take flight instantly with the beautiful Persian.
Then, presenting him with forty gold pieces, he disappeared before
Noureddin had time to thank him.
As soon, then, as the fair Persian had put on her veil they fled
together, and had the good fortune to get out of the town without being
observed. At the mouth of the Euphrates they found a ship just about
to start for Bagdad. They embarked, and immediately the anchor was
raised and they set sail.
When the captain of the guard reached Noureddin's house he caused his
soldiers to burst open the door and to enter by force, but no trace was
to be found of Noureddin and his slave, nor could the neighbours give
any information about them. When the king heard that they had escaped,
he issued a proclamation that a reward of 1,000 gold pieces would be
given to whoever would bring him Noureddin and the slave, but that, on
the contrary, whoever hid them would be severely punished. Meanwhile
Noureddin and the fair Persian had safely reached Bagdad. When the
vessel had come to an anchor they paid five gold pieces for their
passage and went ashore. Never having been in Bagdad before, they did
not know where to seek a lodging. Wandering along the banks of the
Tigris, they skirted a garden enclosed by a high wall. The gate was
shut, but in front of it was an open vestibule with a sofa on either
side. "Here," said Noureddin, "let us pass the night," and reclining
on the sofas they soon fell asleep.
Now this garden belonged to the Caliph. In the middle of it was a vast
pavilion, whose superb saloon had eighty windows, each window having a
lustre, lit solely when the Caliph spent the evening there. Only the
door-keeper lived there, an old soldier named Scheih Ibrahim, who had
strict orders to be very careful whom he admitted, and never to allow
any one to sit on the sofas by the door. It happened that evening that
he had gone out on an errand. When he came back and saw two persons
asleep on the sofas he was about to drive them out with blows, but
drawing nearer he perceived that they were a handsome young man and
beautiful young woman, and decided to awake them by gentler means.
Noureddin, on being awoke, told the old man that they were strangers,
and merely wished to pass the night there. "Come with me," said Scheih
Ibrahim, "I will lodge you better, and will show you a magnificent
garden belonging to me." So saying the doorkeeper led the way into the
Caliph's garden, the beauties of which filled them with wonder and
amazement. Noureddin took out two gold pieces, and giving them to
Scheih Ibrahim said,
"I beg you to get us something to eat that we may make merry together."
Being very avaricious, Scheih Ibrahim determined to spend only the
tenth part of the money and to keep the rest to himself. While he was
gone Noureddin and the Persian wandered through the gardens and went up
the white marble staircase of the pavilion as far as the locked door of
the saloon. On the return of Scheih Ibrahim they begged him to open
it, and to allow them to enter and admire the magnificence within.
Consenting, he brought not only the key, but a light, and immediately
unlocked the door. Noureddin and the Persian entering, were dazzled
with the magnificence they beheld. The paintings and furniture were of
astonishing beauty, and between each window was a silver arm holding a
candle.
Scheih Ibrahim spread the table in front of a sofa, and all three ate
together. When they had finished eating Noureddin asked the old man to
bring them a bottle of wine.
"Heaven forbid," said Scheih Ibrahim, "that I should come in contact
with wine! I who have four times made the pilgrimage to Mecca, and
have renounced wine for ever."
"You would, however, do us a great service in procuring us some," said
Noureddin. "You need not touch it yourself. Take the ass which is
tied to the gate, lead it to the nearest wine-shop, and ask some
passer-by to order two jars of wine; have them put in the ass's
panniers, and drive him before you. Here are two pieces of gold for
the expenses."
At sight of the gold, Scheih Ibrahim set off at once to execute the
commission. On his return, Noureddin said: "We have still need of
cups to drink from, and of fruit, if you can procure us some." Scheih
Ibrahim disappeared again, and soon returned with a table spread with
cups of gold and silver, and every sort of beautiful fruit. Then he
withdrew, in spite of repeated invitations to remain.
Noureddin and the beautiful Persian, finding the wine excellent, drank
of it freely, and while drinking they sang. Both had fine voices, and
Scheih Ibrahim listened to them with great pleasure--first from a
distance, then he drew nearer, and finally put his head in at the door.
Noureddin, seeing him, called to him to come in and keep them company.
At first the old man declined, but was persuaded to enter the room, to
sit down on the edge of the sofa nearest the door, and at last to draw
closer and to seat himself by the beautiful Persian, who urged him so
persistently to drink her health that at length he yielded, and took
the cup she offered.
Now the old man only made a pretence of renouncing wine; he frequented
wine-shops like other people, and had taken none of the precautions
Noureddin had proposed. Having once yielded, he was easily persuaded
to take a second cup, and a third, and so on till he no longer knew
what he was doing. Till near midnight they continued drinking,
laughing, and singing together.
About that time the Persian, perceiving that the room was lit by only
one miserable tallow candle, asked Scheih Ibrahim to light some of the
beautiful candles in the silver arms.
"Light them yourself," answered the old man; "you are younger than I,
but let five or six be enough."
She did not stop, however, till she had lit all the eighty, but Scheih
Ibrahim was not conscious of this, and when, soon after that, Noureddin
proposed to have some of the lustres lit, he answered:
"You are more capable of lighting them than I, but not more than three."
Noureddin, far from contenting himself with three, lit all, and opened
all the eighty windows.
The Caliph Haroun-al-Raschid, chancing at that moment to open a window
in the saloon of his palace looking on the garden, was surprised to see
the pavilion brilliantly illuminated. Calling the grand-vizir, Giafar,
he said to him:
"Negligent vizir, look at the pavilion, and tell me why it is lit up
when I am not there."
When the vizir saw that it was as the Caliph said, he trembled with
fear, and immediately invented an excuse.
"Commander of the Faithful," he said, "I must tell you that four or
five days ago Scheih Ibrahim told me that he wished to have an assembly
of the ministers of his mosque, and asked permission to hold it in the
pavilion. I granted his request, but forgot since to mention it to
your Majesty."
"Giafar," replied the Caliph, "you have committed three faults--first,
in giving the permission; second, in not mentioning it to me; and
third, in not investigating the matter more closely. For punishment I
condemn you to spend the rest of the night with me in company of these
worthy people. While I dress myself as a citizen, go and disguise
yourself, and then come with me."
When they reached the garden gate they found it open, to the great
indignation of the Caliph. The door of the pavilion being also open,
he went softly upstairs, and looked in at the half-closed door of the
saloon. Great was his surprise to see Scheih Ibrahim, whose sobriety
he had never doubted, drinking and singing with a young man and a
beautiful lady. The Caliph, before giving way to his anger, determined
to watch and see who the people were and what they did.
Presently Scheih Ibrahim asked the beautiful Persian if anything were
wanting to complete her enjoyment of the evening.
"If only," she said, "I had an instrument upon which I might play."
Scheih Ibrahim immediately took a lute from a cup-board and gave it to
the Persian, who began to play on it, singing the while with such skill
and taste that the Caliph was enchanted. When she ceased he went
softly downstairs and said to the vizir:
"Never have I heard a finer voice, nor the lute better played. I am
determined to go in and make her play to me."
"Commander of the Faithful," said the vizir, "if Scheih Ibrahim
recognises you he will die of fright."
"I should be sorry for that," answered the Caliph, "and I am going to
take steps to prevent it. Wait here till I return."
Now the Caliph had caused a bend in the river to form a lake in his
garden. There the finest fish in the Tigris were to be found, but
fishing was strictly forbidden. It happened that night, however, that
a fisherman had taken advantage of the gate being open to go in and
cast his nets. He was just about to draw them when he saw the Caliph
approaching. Recognising him at once in spite of his disguise, he
threw himself at his feet imploring forgiveness.
"Fear nothing," said the Caliph, "only rise up and draw thy nets."
The fisherman did as he was told, and produced five or six fine fish,
of which the Caliph took the two largest. Then he desired the
fisherman to change clothes with him, and in a few minutes the Caliph
was transformed into a fisherman, even to the shoes and the turban.
Taking the two fish in his hand, he returned to the vizir, who, not
recognising him, would have sent him about his business. Leaving the
vizir at the foot of the stairs, the Caliph went up and knocked at the
door of the saloon. Noureddin opened it, and the Caliph, standing on
the threshold, said:
"Scheih Ibrahim, I am the fisher Kerim. Seeing that you are feasting
with your friends, I bring you these fish."
Noureddin and the Persian said that when the fishes were properly
cooked and dressed they would gladly eat of them. The Caliph then
returned to the vizir, and they set to work in Scheih Ibrahim's house
to cook the fish, of which they made so tempting a dish that Noureddin