Tales of the Marvellous and News of the Strange (Hardcover Classics) (29 page)

‘She provided food for my mother who ate, and she went on talking until my mother was reconciled with her and kissed her head. My mother then came to me and told me that she had been with ‘Arus. “I met her,” she said, “and she greeted me and treated me hospitably.” “May God not give her life or bring her near me!” I exclaimed, but my mother said: “God has brought her near, and she did nothing wrong. She swore to me that the mistake she made with the drug was unintentional, and this is something natural to us all. She loves you and sorrows for you, while all the wealth that she has is at your disposal.” “This is some new trick of hers,” I said. “Leave her, mother, may God curse her, for I’m afraid of her evil wiles and her treachery.” “Shame the devil; accept what I say and don’t disobey me,” she replied.

‘She went on at me until I was made to turn to ‘Arus. When she caught sight of me she got up and made a display of love and compassion, promising me all manner of good things, giving me splendid clothes and providing me with money. I stayed with her for a time, enjoying the most pleasant of lives.

‘One night ‘Arus approached my mother and said: “The king of this city is a prosperous man, and I hear that he has a daughter who is both beautiful and generous. He is so jealous of her reputation that he has given her a palace of her own, with nobody there but the maids who look after her. I think that you should take these pearls and ask her to accept them from you, as, if she likes them, she will give you many times
more than they are worth. Things are not easy for us, as your son has no work, and we have expenses but no income.”

‘My mother was pleased by this and took ten pearls, which she asked one of the princess’s ladies to take to her, saying that they had come as a gift. She continued to show such courtesy that she was taken to the princess, whom she told that she had seen no one else who deserved to have the pearls and asking her to accept them, which she did. My mother then stayed with her until the end of the day, amazing her with tales of the wonders of the seas. The princess told her to come back and visit her every day. My mother did this and would bring us back food and drink so that we lived well.

‘Every day ‘Arus would pass on a story to her, which she would tell to the princess as they talked in the evening. Then one day ‘Arus asked my mother to let her go there herself, saying that the princess would be impressed by her stories and be even more generous to them. “Mention me to her,” she said, and when my mother had done this the princess asked her to bring ‘Arus. ‘Arus then began to entertain her with tales of wonders and marvels, that were better than those my mother could tell, and these so captivated her that ‘Arus would stay with her all through the day.

‘One day the princess told her that as night was the pleasantest time for conversation she should spend it with her. ‘Arus said: “Lady, I have a husband whom I love dearly and I cannot bear to be parted from him for a single hour. If you want me to spend the night with you, then let me bring him with me disguised as a woman and put him in a side room. Then I can sit and talk with you and when you go to sleep I can sleep with him.”

‘The princess agreed to let her do this, and she came to tell me to get up so that she could take me with her to pass the night in the palace. I could not disobey her, and so I went with her as she took me there, and after that I used to spend every night with her, and in the morning we would leave and go back home.

‘One day, when she was eating with the princess, she crushed up over her food a drug that causes spontaneous pregnancy. The princess ate it, at which she conceived, and her belly became swollen. Her father was revolted by the sight and asked the servant who it was who visited his daughter. He was told that two women used to spend the evenings talking to her and going off by day. He told the man to let him and him alone know when they came, but ‘Arus was too wily to allow anything
to be kept from her and when she knew that the king had found out about his daughter’s pregnancy she wanted to involve my mother and me and escape punishment herself. So she told my mother to take me with her to talk to the princess that evening, giving her a marvellous story to tell. “What’s wrong with you tonight?” my mother asked, at which she said that she was not feeling well and if the two of us went she would join us in the morning.

‘When my mother and I got to the palace the servant went to tell the king, who hurried up to us, sword in hand, and said to his daughter: “Damn you, who is with you?” She was startled and amazed, and the king went to the room, from which he brought out my mother and me. He saw that, while my mother was an old woman, I was a man. “Damn you,” he said, “is it you who impregnated my daughter?”

‘He went on striking his daughter with his sword until he had cut her in pieces. To me he said: “If I kill you that would not be enough to satisfy me but in the morning I shall see to your punishment.” He had me taken away and thrown into prison. That night, however, he died of grief, and another man succeeded to his throne.

‘At the end of the year I was freed, and I went off to look for my mother and my family, whom I found in the worst of states. I asked my mother about ‘Arus, and she told me that she had not seen her for a year. She had hired a place in a quarter inhabited by people of blameless characters and she had placed a black servant at her door, giving out that she had no husband.

‘One day, when I was sitting and thinking about my affairs, my mother came up to me. “I have seen ‘Arus,” she told me. “She said that she had made a mistake in the drug and she gave me money, for she wants to make it up with you.” “Don’t listen to what she says,” I replied, “for she feels she must destroy me.” But my mother insisted that ‘Arus had excused herself and that I would have to be reconciled with her. She brought us together and produced food. We ate and drank, talking through the night until dawn, but when I got up to go, she clutched at me and called out to the neighbours that I had assaulted her.

‘They came up and said: “Enemy of God, did you attack this woman?” After giving me a painful beating they handed me over to the police chief and testified to the assault, at which he punished me and threw me into prison. My mother went to ‘Arus, whom she found in tears. When she asked her about me, ‘Arus said: “He mentioned his wife to me and got up to go. I was seized with jealousy and so I took hold of him and
cried out, at which the neighbours came in. They hurled abuse at him and took him off to prison, but don’t be distressed. As long as he is there I shall give you all you want.”

‘I stayed in prison for a year and when I got out I went in search of my mother and my family. On my way I met a woman splendidly dressed and riding on a donkey, preceded by a black servant. When she saw me she told the man to be sure to bring me to her. He caught up with me and took me by the hand, saying: “My lady wants you.” I thought that this might be someone who wanted to do me an act of charity that might bring her reward in the next world and so I went off with the servant, who took me to a villa. When I entered the hall and stood in front of the lady, she unveiled herself, and to my dismay she turned out to be ‘Arus.

‘ “Do you recognize me?” she asked. “How could I not recognize you,” I said, “when you are ‘Arus, the king’s daughter? What reward do I have from you?” “Don’t talk so much,” she said; “I cannot enjoy life when I see you walking around. Go back so that I can see that you stay in prison for the rest of your life. I shall look after you and your family, but be sure that if you leave prison I shall kill you or get you burned.” “Damn you,” I told her; “fear God and think of death and the Judgement,” but she repeated that it would be better for me if I returned to prison. “How can I do this when I have spent a whole year there and have only just got out?” She said: “I’ll go with you to the chief of police and tell him you’re my son. If he asks you, agree that I am your mother and be very careful not to give me the lie, for you know my wiles and how I have the power to destroy you.”

‘When I had agreed, she dressed as an old Sufi woman and went with me until we stood before the emir, with whom were the shaikhs and the leaders of the people. She introduced me to him as her son, and when he asked me I confirmed this. He then asked her what she wanted from me, and she told him that I had approached her when she was asleep and tried to get from her what a man gets from his wife. Everyone there laughed at what she said but thought that this was something monstrous.

‘I regretted what I had said and I told the emir that I hadn’t known that she would tell this lie about me, but everyone there cursed me and asked God to clear them of any blood debt for me, saying: “This is a Magian, who deserves to be stoned to death.” ‘Arus said: “I don’t want him killed, but let the emir order him to be imprisoned, for this is what he deserves.”

‘The emir ordered that I be given two hundred lashes, chained and
put in prison, where I am now in my third year. When you wanted to free me just now I told you: “Have pity on me and send me back to prison so I may smell the scent of this world and enjoy living until death comes, as this is better for me than meeting the damned ‘Arus, who will kill me.” This is what she promised to do if she saw me out of prison and this is my story which I have unfolded for you, emir.’

The narrator continued: When the police chief heard the story of the one-eyed man and this damned woman he left a guard to watch over the man and rode off to the king’s palace, where he repeated it from beginning to end. The astonished king ordered the man to be brought to him and when he came the king seated him near to him and told him to go over his story again in the presence of his courtiers and viziers. When he had done this everyone there was amazed and taken aback, and they called for ‘Arus to be put to death. The king asked the man if he knew where ‘Arus was living at the moment and when he said that he did, the police chief went off and, after having identified the house, he came back and said: ‘She is in the house of a merchant with whom she is living as his wife.’

The king sent ten servants armed with clubs, who brought her to stand in front of him, and when she saw the one-eyed man there she realized what had happened. The king ordered her to unveil and when she did he was amazed by her loveliness, which exceeded the description he had been given. He asked her whether she was ‘Arus al-‘Ara’is and when she said she was he asked whether what the man had said about her was true. ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘and there is much more that you have not been told.’

The king asked his courtiers what they thought should be done about her, and the vizier got up and said: ‘My advice, Your Majesty, is that we should dig a ditch for her here, fill it with firewood, light it, wait till it is glowing and then throw her into it in front of you.’ Everyone approved, agreeing that the vizier’s advice was good.

The king gave the order, and all this was done, but as the servants came forward to seize ‘Arus, she said: ‘Wait a little, O king, and hear what I have to say.’ ‘Speak,’ said the king, ‘but I know that there cannot be anything good in what you say.’ ‘O king,’ she said, ‘I know for certain that I must suffer this punishment that you have prepared for me, but there are four things that I want you to do, one for me, one concerning you and two that are between me and this one-eyed man.’

‘Tell me what you want,’ the king said. ‘Get someone to bring me a jug
of water so that I can perform the ritual ablution before praying with two
rak‘as
, and so ending my life and my work.’ The king told a servant to give her what she wanted, and when he had brought her the water she went aside and began to perform the ablution. When she had finished she got up and gave the servant the jug with the remains of the water still in it. ‘Keep the water,’ she told him, ‘and when you see that the king has had me thrown into the fire, pour it in after me.’ The man, who didn’t know what she had done with the water, promised to do this.

‘Arus went back to the king, who asked her what she wanted from him. She said: ‘The merchant from whose house you took me killed a cousin of his and buried him in its orchard. Put him to death for this and take his goods and his wealth for yourself.’ The king laughed at what she had said about her husband as he was astonished at how eager she was to have people destroyed. He ordered the man to be brought to him and when this was done he asked him why he had killed his cousin. The man was so bewildered that he lost his wits and could not answer, at which the king ordered men to go to the orchard and if they found a buried corpse they were to tell him. They went off to dig there and when they came back they told him that they had found it.

The king ordered the man to be kept on one side until he had finished with the affair of ‘Arus and the one-eyed man. This was done and he then asked ‘Arus what were the two things between her and the man. She said: ‘First ask him to absolve me of responsibility for what happened between us.’ The king put the question to him, saying that it would not do her any good, and the man agreed to her request, while she in her turn absolved him. The king was astonished at how scrupulously she was treating him after the terrible things that she had done in her lifetime. He asked what the second thing was, and she said: ‘King, I had a leaden ring that I passed to him long ago and I want you to ask him to give it back, while I myself have a ring of his inscribed with the name of the Great and Glorious God. Tell him to take it back from me, as it is better that he should make good use of it than that it should be burned with me.’ ‘You could not have asked for anything simpler,’ the king replied.

He told the man to hand her her ring and take back his own. All the while the fire was burning in the pit, and when the man came near the edge ‘Arus stretched out her hand as though to take the ring. She talked to him for a time but then gave him so violent a tug that he fell head first into the fire, after which she jumped in after him, and they were both burned up.

The king laughed so heartily that he fell over backwards in astonishment at what she had done with the poor man. ‘By God,’ he exclaimed, ‘that damned woman did nothing to anyone that was more remarkable than how she treated this poor fellow. She kept her promise that she would have him burned, and if she had not thrown him in I would have done it myself because of the blindness of his heart and the fact that he followed her time after time, trusting her in spite of the fact that he knew what she was doing.’