me. But I was too late. The palace opened and the genius appeared, who,
turning angrily to the princess, asked indignantly,
"What is the matter, that you have sent for me like this?"
"A pain in my heart," she replied hastily, "obliged me to seek the aid of this little
bottle. Feeling faint, I slipped and fell against the talisman, which broke. That is
really all."
"You are an impudent liar!" cried the genius. "How did this hatchet and those
shoes get here?"
"I never saw them before," she answered, "and you came in such a hurry that
you may have picked them up on the road without knowing it." To this the genius
only replied by insults and blows. I could hear the shrieks and groans of the
princess, and having by this time taken off my rich garments and put on those in
which I had arrived the previous day, I lifted the trap, found myself once more in
the forest, and returned to my friend the tailor, with a light load of wood and a
heart full of shame and sorrow.
The tailor, who had been uneasy at my long absence, was, delighted to see me;
but I kept silence about my adventure, and as soon as possible retired to my
room to lament in secret over my folly. While I was thus indulging my grief my
host entered, and said, "There is an old man downstairs who has brought your
hatchet and slippers, which he picked up on the road, and now restores to you,
as he found out from one of your comrades where you lived. You had better
come down and speak to him yourself." At this speech I changed colour, and my
legs trembled under me. The tailor noticed my confusion, and was just going to
inquire the reason when the door of the room opened, and the old man
appeared, carrying with him my hatchet and shoes.
"I am a genius," he said, "the son of the daughter of Eblis, prince of the genii. Is
not this hatchet yours, and these shoes?" Without waiting for an answer--which,
indeed, I could hardly have given him, so great was my fright--he seized hold of
me, and darted up into the air with the quickness of lightning, and then, with
equal swiftness, dropped down towards the earth. When he touched the ground,
he rapped it with his foot; it opened, and we found ourselves in the enchanted
palace, in the presence of the beautiful princess of the Ebony Isle. But how
different she looked from what she was when I had last seen her, for she was
lying stretched on the ground covered with blood, and weeping bitterly.
"Traitress!" cried the genius, "is not this man your lover?"
She lifted up her eyes slowly, and looked sadly at me. "I never saw him before,"
she answered slowly. "I do not know who he is."
"What!" exclaimed the genius, "you owe all your sufferings to him, and yet you
dare to say he is a stranger to you!"
"But if he really is a stranger to me," she replied, "why should I tell a lie and
cause his death?"
"Very well," said the genius, drawing his sword, "take this, and cut off his head."
"Alas," answered the princess, "I am too weak even to hold the sabre. And
supposing that I had the strength, why should I put an innocent man to death?"
"You condemn yourself by your refusal," said the genius; then turning to me, he
added, "and you, do you not know her?"
"How should I?" I replied, resolved to imitate the princess in her fidelity. "How
should I, when I never saw her before?"
"Cut her head off," then, "if she is a stranger to you, and I shall believe you are
speaking the truth, and will set you at liberty."
"Certainly," I answered, taking the sabre in my hands, and making a sign to the
princess to fear nothing, as it was my own life that I was about to sacrifice, and
not hers. But the look of gratitude she gave me shook my courage, and I flung
the sabre to the earth.
"I should not deserve to live," I said to the genius, "if I were such a coward as to
slay a lady who is not only unknown to me, but who is at this moment half dead
herself. Do with me as you will-- I am in your power--but I refuse to obey your
cruel command."
"I see," said the genius, "that you have both made up your minds to brave me,
but I will give you a sample of what you may expect." So saying, with one sweep
of his sabre he cut off a hand of the princess, who was just able to lift the other to
wave me an eternal farewell. Then I lost consciousness for several minutes.
When I came to myself I implored the genius to keep me no longer in this state of
suspense, but to lose no time in putting an end to my sufferings. The genius,
however, paid no attention to my prayers, but said sternly, "That is the way in
which a genius treats the woman who has betrayed him. If I chose, I could kill
you also; but I will be merciful, and content myself with changing you into a dog,
an ass, a lion, or a bird--whichever you prefer."
I caught eagerly at these words, as giving me a faint hope of softening his wrath.
"O genius!" I cried, "as you wish to spare my life, be generous, and spare it
altogether. Grant my prayer, and pardon my crime, as the best man in the whole
world forgave his neighbour who was eaten up with envy of him." Contrary to my
hopes, the genius seemed interested in my words, and said he would like to hear
the story of the two neighbours; and as I think, madam, it may please you, I will
tell it to you also.
The Story of the Envious Man and of Him Who Was Envied
In a town of moderate size, two men lived in neighbouring houses; but they had
not been there very long before one man took such a hatred of the other, and
envied him so bitterly, that the poor man determined to find another home,
hoping that when they no longer met every day his enemy would forget all about
him. So he sold his house and the little furniture it contained, and moved into the
capital of the country, which was luckily at no great distance. About half a mile
from this city he bought a nice little place, with a large garden and a fair-sized
court, in the centre of which stood an old well.
In order to live a quieter life, the good man put on the robe of a dervish, and
divided his house into a quantity of small cells, where he soon established a
number of other dervishes. The fame of his virtue gradually spread abroad, and
many people, including several of the highest quality, came to visit him and ask
his prayers.
Of course it was not long before his reputation reached the ears of the man who
envied him, and this wicked wretch resolved never to rest till he had in some way
worked ill to the dervish whom he hated. So he left his house and his business to
look after themselves, and betook himself to the new dervish monastery, where
he was welcomed by the founder with all the warmth imaginable. The excuse he
gave for his appearance was that he had come to consult the chief of the
dervishes on a private matter of great importance. "What I have to say must not
be overheard," he whispered; "command, I beg of you, that your dervishes retire
into their cells, as night is approaching, and meet me in the court."
The dervish did as he was asked without delay, and directly they were alone
together the envious man began to tell a long story, edging, as they walked to
and fro, always nearer to the well, and when they were quite close, he seized the
dervish and dropped him in. He then ran off triumphantly, without having been
seen by anyone, and congratulating himself that the object of his hatred was
dead, and would trouble him no more.
But in this he was mistaken! The old well had long been inhabited (unknown to
mere human beings) by a set of fairies and genii, who caught the dervish as he
fell, so that he received no hurt. The dervish himself could see nothing, but he
took for granted that something strange had happened, or he must certainly have
been dashed against the side of the well and been killed. He lay quite still, and in
a moment he heard a voice saying, "Can you guess whom this man is that we
have saved from death?"
"No," replied several other voices.
And the first speaker answered, "I will tell you. This man, from pure goodness of
heart, forsook the town where he lived and came to dwell here, in the hope of
curing one of his neighbours of the envy he felt towards him. But his character
soon won him the esteem of all, and the envious man's hatred grew, till he came
here with the deliberate intention of causing his death. And this he would have
done, without our help, the very day before the Sultan has arranged to visit this
holy dervish, and to entreat his prayers for the princess, his daughter."
"But what is the matter with the princess that she needs the dervish's prayers?"
asked another voice.
"She has fallen into the power of the genius Maimoum, the son of Dimdim,"
replied the first voice. "But it would be quite simple for this holy chief of the
dervishes to cure her if he only knew! In his convent there is a black cat which
has a tiny white tip to its tail. Now to cure the princess the dervish must pull out
seven of these white hairs, burn three, and with their smoke perfume the head of
the princess. This will deliver her so completely that Maimoum, the son of
Dimdim, will never dare to approach her again."
The fairies and genii ceased talking, but the dervish did not forget a word of all
they had said; and when morning came he perceived a place in the side of the
well which was broken, and where he could easily climb out.
The dervishes, who could not imagine what had become of him, were enchanted
at his reappearance. He told them of the attempt on his life made by his guest of
the previous day, and then retired into his cell. He was soon joined here by the
black cat of which the voice had spoken, who came as usual to say good-morning to his master. He took him on his knee and seized the opportunity to pull
seven white hairs out of his tail, and put them on one side till they were needed.
The sun had not long risen before the Sultan, who was anxious to leave nothing
undone that might deliver the princess, arrived with a large suite at the gate of
the monastery, and was received by the dervishes with profound respect. The
Sultan lost no time in declaring the object of his visit, and leading the chief of the
dervishes aside, he said to him, "Noble scheik, you have guessed perhaps what I
have come to ask you?"
"Yes, sire," answered the dervish; "if I am not mistaken, it is the illness of the
princess which has procured me this honour."
"You are right," returned the Sultan, "and you will give me fresh life if you can by
your prayers deliver my daughter from the strange malady that has taken
possession of her."
"Let your highness command her to come here, and I will see what I can do."
The Sultan, full of hope, sent orders at once that the princess was to set out as
soon as possible, accompanied by her usual staff of attendants. When she
arrived, she was so thickly veiled that the dervish could not see her face, but he
desired a brazier to be held over her head, and laid the seven hairs on the
burning coals. The instant they were consumed, terrific cries were heard, but no
one could tell from whom they proceeded. Only the dervish guessed that they
were uttered by Maimoum the son of Dimdim, who felt the princess escaping
him.
All this time she had seemed unconscious of what she was doing, but now she
raised her hand to her veil and uncovered her face. "Where am I?" she said in a
bewildered manner; "and how did I get here?"
The Sultan was so delighted to hear these words that he not only embraced his
daughter, but kissed the hand of the dervish. Then, turning to his attendants who
stood round, he said to them, "What reward shall I give to the man who has
restored me my daughter?"
They all replied with one accord that he deserved the hand of the princess.
"That is my own opinion," said he, "and from this moment I declare him to be my
son-in-law."
Shortly after these events, the grand-vizir died, and his post was given to the
dervish. But he did not hold it for long, for the Sultan fell a victim to an attack of
illness, and as he had no sons, the soldiers and priests declared the dervish heir
to the throne, to the great joy of all the people.
One day, when the dervish, who had now become Sultan, was making a royal
progress with his court, he perceived the envious man standing in the crowd. He
made a sign to one of his vizirs, and whispered in his ear, "Fetch me that man
who is standing out there, but take great care not to frighten him." The vizir
obeyed, and when the envious man was brought before the Sultan, the monarch
said to him, "My friend, I am delighted to see you again." Then turning to an
officer, he added, "Give him a thousand pieces of gold out of my treasury, and
twenty waggon-loads of merchandise out of my private stores, and let an escort
of soldiers accompany him home." He then took leave of the envious man, and
went on his way.
Now when I had ended my story, I proceeded to show the genius how to apply it
to himself. "O genius," I said, "you see that this Sultan was not content with
merely forgiving the envious man for the attempt on his life; he heaped rewards
and riches upon him."
But the genius had made up his mind, and could not be softened. "Do not
imagine that you are going to escape so easily," he said. "All I can do is to give
you bare life; you will have to learn what happens to people who interfere with
me."
As he spoke he seized me violently by the arm; the roof of the palace opened to
make way for us, and we mounted up so high into the air that the earth looked
like a little cloud. Then, as before, he came down with the swiftness of lightning,
and we touched the ground on a mountain top.
Then he stooped and gathered a handful of earth, and murmured some words
over it, after which he threw the earth in my face, saying as he did so, "Quit the
form of a man, and assume that of a monkey." This done, he vanished, and I was
in the likeness of an ape, and in a country I had never seen before.
However there was no use in stopping where I was, so I came down the
mountain and found myself in a flat plain which was bounded by the sea. I
travelled towards it, and was pleased to see a vessel moored about half a mile
from shore. There were no waves, so I broke off the branch of a tree, and
dragging it down to the waters edge, sat across it, while, using two sticks for
oars, I rowed myself towards the ship.
The deck was full of people, who watched my progress with interest, but when I
seized a rope and swung myself on board, I found that I had only escaped death
at the hands of the genius to perish by those of the sailors, lest I should bring ill-luck to the vessel and the merchants. "Throw him into the sea!" cried one. "Knock
him on the head with a hammer," exclaimed another. "Let me shoot him with an
arrow," said a third; and certainly somebody would have had his way if I had not
flung myself at the captain's feet and grasped tight hold of his dress. He
appeared touched by my action and patted my head, and declared that he would
take me under his protection, and that no one should do me any harm.
At the end of about fifty days we cast anchor before a large town, and the ship
was immediately surrounded by a multitude of small boats filled with people, who
had come either to meet their friends or from simple curiosity. Among others, one
boat contained several officials, who asked to see the merchants on board, and
informed them that they had been sent by the Sultan in token of welcome, and to
beg them each to write a few lines on a roll of paper. "In order to explain this
strange request," continued the officers, "it is necessary that you should know
that the grand-vizir, lately dead, was celebrated for his beautiful handwriting, and
the Sultan is anxious to find a similar talent in his successor. Hitherto the search
has been a failure, but his Highness has not yet given up hope."
One after another the merchants set down a few lines upon the roll, and when
they had all finished, I came forward, and snatched the paper from the man who
held it. At first they all thought I was going to throw it into the sea, but they were
quieted when they saw I held it with great care, and great was their surprise
when I made signs that I too wished to write something.
"Let him do it if he wants to," said the captain. "If he only makes a mess of the
paper, you may be sure I will punish him for it. But if, as I hope, he really can
write, for he is the cleverest monkey I ever saw, I will adopt him as my son. The
one I lost had not nearly so much sense!"
No more was said, and I took the pen and wrote the six sorts of writing in use
among the Arabs, and each sort contained an original verse or couplet, in praise
of the Sultan. And not only did my handwriting completely eclipse that of the
merchants, but it is hardly too much to say that none so beautiful had ever before
been seen in that country. When I had ended the officials took the roll and
returned to the Sultan.
As soon as the monarch saw my writing he did not so much as look at the
samples of the merchants, but desired his officials to take the finest and most
richly caparisoned horse in his stables, together with the most magnificent dress
they could procure, and to put it on the person who had written those lines, and
bring him to court.
The officials began to laugh when they heard the Sultan's command, but as soon
as they could speak they said, "Deign, your highness, to excuse our mirth, but
those lines were not written by a man but by a monkey."
"A monkey!" exclaimed the Sultan.
"Yes, sire," answered the officials. "They were written by a monkey in our
presence."
"Then bring me the monkey," he replied, "as fast as you can."
The Sultan's officials returned to the ship and showed the royal order to the
captain.
"He is the master," said the good man, and desired that I should be sent for.
Then they put on me the gorgeous robe and rowed me to land, where I was
placed on the horse and led to the palace. Here the Sultan was awaiting me in
great state surrounded by his court.
All the way along the streets I had been the object of curiosity to a vast crowd,
which had filled every doorway and every window, and it was amidst their shouts
and cheers that I was ushered into the presence of the Sultan.
I approached the throne on which he was seated and made him three low bows,
then prostrated myself at his feet to the surprise of everyone, who could not
understand how it was possible that a monkey should be able to distinguish a
Sultan from other people, and to pay him the respect due to his rank. However,
excepting the usual speech, I omitted none of the common forms attending a
royal audience.
When it was over the Sultan dismissed all the court, keeping with him only the
chief of the eunuchs and a little slave. He then passed into another room and
ordered food to be brought, making signs to me to sit at table with him and eat. I
rose from my seat, kissed the ground, and took my place at the table, eating, as
you may suppose, with care and in moderation.
Before the dishes were removed I made signs that writing materials, which stood
in one corner of the room, should be laid in front of me. I then took a peach and
wrote on it some verses in praise of the Sultan, who was speechless with
astonishment; but when I did the same thing on a glass from which I had drunk
he murmured to himself, "Why, a man who could do as much would be cleverer
than any other man, and this is only a monkey!"
Supper being over chessmen were brought, and the Sultan signed to me to know
if I would play with him. I kissed the ground and laid my hand on my head to
show that I was ready to show myself worthy of the honour. He beat me the first
game, but I won the second and third, and seeing that this did not quite please I
dashed off a verse by way of consolation.
The Sultan was so enchanted with all the talents of which I had given proof that
he wished me to exhibit some of them to other people. So turning to the chief of
the eunuchs he said, "Go and beg my daughter, Queen of Beauty, to come here.
I will show her something she has never seen before."
The chief of the eunuchs bowed and left the room, ushering in a few moments
later the princess, Queen of Beauty. Her face was uncovered, but the moment
she set foot in the room she threw her veil over her head. "Sire," she said to her
father, "what can you be thinking of to summon me like this into the presence of a
man?"
"I do not understand you," replied the Sultan. "There is nobody here but the
eunuch, who is your own servant, the little slave, and myself, yet you cover
yourself with your veil and reproach me for having sent for you, as if I had
committed a crime."
"Sire," answered the princess, "I am right and you are wrong. This monkey is
really no monkey at all, but a young prince who has been turned into a monkey
by the wicked spells of a genius, son of the daughter of Eblis."
As will be imagined, these words took the Sultan by surprise, and he looked at
me to see how I should take the statement of the princess. As I was unable to
speak, I placed my hand on my head to show that it was true.
"But how do you know this, my daughter?" asked he.
"Sire," replied Queen of Beauty, "the old lady who took care of me in my
childhood was an accomplished magician, and she taught me seventy rules of
her art, by means of which I could, in the twinkling of an eye, transplant your
capital into the middle of the ocean. Her art likewise teaches me to recognise at
first sight all persons who are enchanted, and tells me by whom the spell was
wrought."
"My daughter," said the Sultan, "I really had no idea you were so clever."
"Sire," replied the princess, "there are many out-of-the-way things it is as well to
know, but one should never boast of them."
"Well," asked the Sultan, "can you tell me what must be done to disenchant the
young prince?"
"Certainly; and I can do it."
"Then restore him to his former shape," cried the Sultan. "You could give me no
greater pleasure, for I wish to make him my grand-vizir, and to give him to you for
your husband."
"As your Highness pleases," replied the princess.
Queen of Beauty rose and went to her chamber, from which she fetched a knife
with some Hebrew words engraven on the blade. She then desired the Sultan,
the chief of the eunuchs, the little slave, and myself to descend into a secret
court of the palace, and placed us beneath a gallery which ran all round, she
herself standing in the centre of the court. Here she traced a large circle and in it
wrote several words in Arab characters.
When the circle and the writing were finished she stood in the middle of it and
repeated some verses from the Koran. Slowly the air grew dark, and we felt as if
the earth was about to crumble away, and our fright was by no means diminished
at seeing the genius, son of the daughter of Eblis, suddenly appear under the
form of a colossal lion.
"Dog," cried the princess when she first caught sight of him, "you think to strike
terror into me by daring to present yourself before me in this hideous shape."
"And you," retorted the lion, "have not feared to break our treaty that engaged
solemnly we should never interfere with each other."
"Accursed genius!" exclaimed the princess, "it is you by whom that treaty was
first broken."