Tales of the Marvellous and News of the Strange (Hardcover Classics) (28 page)

‘ “One day I asked whether there was anything he had to guard against, and he told me that the only thing he had to fear was something engraved with one of the Names of God, especially if this were applied to the parting of his hair, as it would kill him.

‘ “When I heard this I stored it away in my heart and when he was asleep or absent I used to cry out: ‘My Lord, how am I to find one of your Names so that I can win free from this island and this
jinni
?’ This went on until God brought you to me and you gave me your ring. I put it on the parting of his hair before cutting his throat while he slept, as you saw for yourself.

‘ “This is the whole of my story from beginning to end. I have told it to you so that if you take me it will be in full knowledge of my evil wiles and what I have done to others. Otherwise, you can go off alone and in safety, for there is a way for you to escape back to your own country, while these pearls will enrich both you and your children’s children till the end of time. You can leave me here alone until God’s judgement is fulfilled, for He is the best of judges.”

‘When I had heard her story I stayed looking at her in amazement,
thinking about what she had told me, but love and desire got the better of me, and I longed to take her with me. “How can I leave behind such unparalleled loveliness?” I asked myself. “I could never do this even if it means my death. She may have repented of her evil deeds, and if I am good to her it will put right what is wrong.” But then I told myself: “Damn you! This is a woman formed by nature to do harm, with an inborn disposition for treachery, guile, evil-doing and wickedness. You heard what she told you and you know what the astrologers said about her to her father. It was all true; she admitted everything that she did; she showed no pity for her mother; she did not help her father, but she brought down great men and had virgins raped. After all this destructiveness, how can she suit you, who are neither the most manly nor the handsomest of men?” I told myself that she would not be right for me, nor I for her, and she would not look after me as a decent man should be looked after.

‘I stayed silent for a time, looking down at the ground in perplexity, plunged in thought, but no one can escape his destiny, and love got the better of me. She stayed silent, looking at me, and I said: “Lady, I cannot bring myself to abandon you. God has given you to me, and it is through you that I shall win free and escape.” I told her to take heart, repeating that I would never abandon her and telling her that if Almighty God brought me safely home, I would prefer her to all my family and treat her as well as she could wish, adding that she should put her trust in me.

‘When she heard this ‘Arus got up and collected all the useful things she had got ready for herself on the island. They filled more than ten bundles, each given a mark of its own, although I did not know what use they served, and she brought out pearls and jewels that I had never seen before. She then told me to walk behind her, and we went on until we had reached the coast. “Jump in after me,” she said, “for there are places where you can wade and places where you can’t. Take care not to stray.”

‘She took off her clothes and rolled them up in one of her bundles, which she held above the water, and she then started to wade, with me behind her, until we reached a huge island. When we got out of the water she put her clothes back on and sat waiting for me. We then started to walk along the coast, which we did every day from morning until evening, when we would stop for the night. We found plenty of trees and fruits on the way but we only came across water once every five days, more or less. When we reached a spring we would drink, bathe and relax for the rest of the day, and this went on for twenty days.

‘On the twenty-first day we came on an old black man, who had moored a light boat while he wandered around the shore gathering oysters and pearls to store in the boat. When she was near, ‘Arus jumped in and took her seat in it, telling me to be quick and join her. When I got in, she raised the anchor and put out to sea. The old man had been at a distance but when he saw us he came running up, shouting to us to take him with us, or else he would die of hunger and thirst.

‘ ‘Arus did not look round as he was crying out for help, although I was asking her to take him with us, but she neither did this nor answered me. I went on insisting, as I was sorry for the man, but she said: “Keep quiet and don’t interfere with me. This boat can only take one or two.” We were quickly out of sight of him, but when we got to an inhabited coast I asked her to wait while I went back to pick him up, as we didn’t want to kill him. “Damn you – meddle!” she told me.”If he was the only man I had killed, I would be the happiest person on earth. Come with me and leave him, God damn him, for if you abandon me you shall never see me again.”

‘We went on by stages, passing cities and towns, until I got back home. I made for the house of my mother, who was a good old woman enjoying a prosperous life. I knocked at the door, and she came out and said: “Who are you?” “Your son,” I told her. She embraced me, and I entered the house with ‘Arus. My mother asked: “Who is this beautiful lady?” I said: “Mother, give thanks to God. This is my rescuer, and it is thanks to her that I am looking at you.” I then told her the story, keeping back all ‘Arus’s misdeeds. My mother approved of her, recognizing her value and doing all she could for her.

‘I then put on my own clothes and went to my own house in which was my wife with the son whom I had left when he was one year old. They had not noticed me before I knocked at the door, and my three-year-old son came out, and I embraced him joyfully. My wife gave me the best of welcomes, and when people heard, they started to come and greet me.

After ten days of rest, I wanted to do some business with the king of the city so that I might become one of his agents, as I had made up my mind never to put to sea again. I had decided to spend one day with my first wife and the next with ‘Arus, whom I had married when I came back to my mother. In this way we passed five pleasant months.

‘Then one night I thought about what ‘Arus had told me and what she had done, and this made me feel disgust for her. As a result I began to
avoid her, spending only one night in ten with her and turning to my first wife and my son. When ‘Arus noticed this she went to my mother and told her that I was not keeping faith with her or repaying her for what she had done with me, and that she did not know why this was. My mother kept this to herself and did not tell me about it.

‘As Providence had decreed, the only child of the king of my city was a beautiful girl of whom he was very fond. She was attacked by an illness which led her to eat the flesh of her own arms, as a result of which he kept her in chains. There was no doctor or sorcerer who did not visit her, but none of them knew how to cure her or could do her any good. He was so distressed that he kept away from all his subjects, both high and low, because of his concern for her, and I shared his sorrow.

‘My mother came to see me one evening to cheer me by her conversation and she began to talk to me about ‘Arus, blaming me for my behaviour and asking why I was not going to see her every day. She told me that this was having a bad effect on her and leading her to complain thanks to the love she felt for me. “Is this the way you reward her for the good that she did?” she asked.

‘She went on talking about this until I told her that I had not given up going to her because of harshness or hatred, as she was still dear to me, but because I was preoccupied with the sorrows of the king. My mother repeated this to ‘Arus, who told her to tell me that she had an instant cure for the princess and were she to visit her she could cure her, and the king would honour and promote me. I remembered the drugs that she had and I went to ask her whether what she had told my mother was true. “Yes,” she said, “so take me to the palace and tell this to the king, for I will treat the princess and cure her at once.”

‘I went off filled with happiness and, after asking permission, I was allowed to speak to the king, whom I told that I had with me someone who could cure his daughter. He said that if this was true he would raise me to the highest rank and give me anything in the world that I wanted. He then told me to produce this doctor quickly, and I went back home and told ‘Arus to dress and come with me.

‘She did this, and I took her to the king, who went up to her and asked if what I had told him was true. “Yes, O king,” she said, “and you can be happy to know that I will cure your daughter.” He was delighted and told her to go to the princess, whose maids gave her the warmest of welcomes.

‘For my part, I stayed with the king, but when ‘Arus entered the
palace I began to regret having brought her to the princess, asking myself: “Has this damned woman ever helped anyone that she should help me?” I began to tremble with fear, feeling in my heart that there was something wrong. I wanted to tell the king to remove her, but I was afraid that if I did he might be angry with me.

‘A curtain separated the king’s assembly room from the place where his daughter was, and we could hear all that was going on. We heard ‘Arus chanting spells over the princess, using words that we did not know and could not understand, while the maids who were there with her were weeping. As soon as ‘Arus had finished, the princess quietened down and then fell into a soundless sleep, although before that she had not been able to rest or to sleep for a single hour. All her attendants were delighted, as was the king when the good news reached him. He ordered that I be given a reward and presented me with a splendid robe of honour as well as a great quantity of money.

‘When ‘Arus was about to leave, she passed a sealed packet to the princess’s mother and said: “Your daughter is asleep just now, and I shall come back tomorrow with another spell. Meanwhile, as she sleeps, anoint each of her eyes with a single touch of what is in this packet, and if you want to use it yourself, you will find it helpful.”

‘When I heard this from the other side of the curtain, I thought of the bird dung that she had with her which would produce blindness, and I swore to myself that this must be what she was going to do. I wanted to tell the king but I felt something stopping me and shutting my mouth. I tried to delude myself into thinking that this might be something else, as why should she do this when there was no hostility between the princess and her? I did not really think she would use the dung, but I still remained frightened.

‘When ‘Arus came out the king gave her a robe of honour and promised to reward her when his daughter had fully recovered. She left before me, as I stayed for a time with the king before returning home. I was met by my mother, who asked me about ‘Arus. “Hasn’t she come?” I said. “No, by God,” said my mother. “I haven’t seen her.” I told her to go and look, as I was troubled, and her attention might have been distracted by looking at people on her way home. When I searched and still could not find her I passed a wretched night filled with concern.

‘Next morning I went to my mother’s apartment and asked her about ‘Arus. “I’ve not set eyes on her since she left me yesterday,” she said, and I told her that this disappearance meant no good. Then suddenly, while
I was there, twenty servants with clubs in their hands broke down the door and said: “The king wants you.”

‘My heart stood still; my wits deserted me, and I was sure that this was the end. I went with them like a dead man, despairing of life because ‘Arus had gone. I then heard them whispering to each other and asking whether they had anything left of that ointment that produces blindness. When I heard this, I was sure that the princess and her mother had both been blinded.

‘They brought me to the king, who was sitting on his throne with a drawn sword in one hand with the other held to his cheek. He and all those around him were weeping and showing obvious signs of distress. When I stood before him he looked at me, as I was trembling like a palm leaf on a stormy day. “Damn you!” he said to me; “what led you to bring me a woman whom you claimed would be able to cure my daughter? Thanks to her both my daughter and her mother have been blinded. Why did you do this when I had shown you no hostility for which you might have wanted to repay me?” “By God Almighty,” I told him, “I only wanted the princess to be cured, and this is what the woman told me she could do.” I wanted to tell him about ‘Arus, but he would not let me speak and told me to fetch her immediately or he would have me killed and burned.

‘He put ten of his men in charge of me, and for three days I went around the city without finding any trace of her. His men took me back to him and told him how eager I had been to get hold of her. He ordered my eyes to be plucked out, and when they started with my right eye I cried for help and told him the story of ‘Arus from beginning to end. When they heard it his courtiers asked him to show me mercy, and he allowed me to keep my left eye but sent out to seize all the wealth and property that I owned, ordering me to leave the city at once.

‘I left with my mother, my wife and my son, and we went through various towns begging until we got to a large and populous city, where we sheltered for the night in a mosque, hungry, tired and in a miserable condition. Next morning we went out to beg, and people helped us with alms until we were able to rent a house in which to live.

‘One day my mother went on some errand to the market, where unexpectedly she came across the damned ‘Arus, who was in the best and most prosperous of states. On seeing my mother she greeted her tearfully and started to kiss her hands, but my mother kept her distance and said: “Damn you, you repaid us by ruining us and reducing us to
poverty.” “I made a mistake with that drug,” ‘Arus said, “and I fled away for fear of the king, but I didn’t do it on purpose. Tell me what happened to you after that and how your son escaped from the king. My only concern has been for him.”

‘My mother believed her and accepted her excuse. “The king had my son’s right eye plucked out,” she told her, “but the courtiers interceded for him, and the king let him go free, although he took all our wealth and exiled us. We have just arrived here without any worldly possessions at all.” ‘Arus slapped herself on the face, showing all the signs of sorrow, and she then took my mother to her own house, showing her goods, wealth and obvious signs of prosperity and telling her: “You can be happy as all this belongs to your son, so arrange for us to meet. You know how much I love him. What happened was decreed by Providence, and God will reward him and give him a greater return. I have more jewels and pearls than any king can collect and I shall spend all this on you.”