The Arabian Nights II (32 page)

Some time after the African magician had failed in his attempt against 'Ala al-Din's happiness, his younger brother, who had not heard from him for a year and who was not in Africa, but in a far-off country, wanted to know in what part of the world his mother was, how he did, and what he was doing. As he, like his brother, always carried his geomantic square instrument with him wherever he went, he took it out, prepared the sand, cast the points, drew the figures, and formed the horoscope. On examining each figure, he discovered that his brother was no longer living, that he had been poisoned and died suddenly, that this had happened in one of the capitals of China, situated in such and such a place, and finally that the person who had poisoned him was not a man of high birth and was married to a princess, a king's daughter.

When the magician found out in this way his brother's sad fate, he did not waste any time in useless regrets, which could not restore his brother to life again, but resolving immediately to avenge his death, he
mounted a horse and set out to China, traversing plains, rivers, mountains, deserts, and a vast tract of land, without stopping. At last, after an incredibly arduous journey, he reached China and, a little time thereafter, the capital he discovered by geomancy. Certain that he was not mistaken and that he had not taken it for another country, he stopped there and took a lodging.

The next day, he went out and, walking in the city, not so much to see its fine sights, which were indifferent to him, but to take the proper measures to carry out his pernicious plan, he entered the most frequented places and listened to what was being said. In a place where people went to divert themselves with different kinds of games, and where some played while others chatted, exchanging news and discussing the affairs of the day or their own affairs, he heard talk of a woman called Fatima, who had withdrawn from the world, and of her virtue, piety, and the wonders and even miracles she performed. As he thought that this woman might be of use to him in his plan, he drew one of the men aside and asked him to give him more information, particularly who that holy woman was and what sort of miracles she performed. The man said to him, “What, have you never seen her or heard about her? She is the admiration of the whole town, for her fasting, her austerity, and her exemplary conduct. Except for Mondays and Fridays, she never goes out of her little cell, and on the days on which she comes to town, she does an infinite deal of good, and there is not a person with a headache who is not cured by a touch of her hands.”

The magician wished to hear no more on the subject, but only asked the man in which part of town was the cell of this holy woman. After the man told him, and he conceived and decided on his detestable plan, of which I will speak soon, he, in order to know the way with more assurance, watched all her steps the first day she went out after he had made his inquiry, without losing sight of her till evening, when he saw her reenter her cell. When he had fully marked the place, he went into one of those places where, as was mentioned earlier, they served a certain kind of hot liquor and where anyone might spend the night if he wished, particularly in the great heat, when the people of that country preferred to sleep on a mat rather than in a bed. About midnight, after he paid the proprietor for the little he owed, he went out and headed directly to the cell of Fatima the holy woman, a name by which she was known throughout the entire city. He had no difficulty in opening the door, which was fastened only with a latch, and entered, closing it behind, without making any noise. When he was inside, he saw Fatima by moonlight lying in the open on a sofa covered only with a miserable mat, with her head leaning against the wall. He went up to her, and pulling out a dagger he
carried on his side, awakened her. When poor Fatima opened her eyes, she was very much surprised to see a man about to stab her. With his dagger clapped at her breast, ready to be plunged into her heart, he said to her, “If you cry or make the slightest noise, I will kill you. Get up and do what I tell you.”

Fatima, who had slept in her clothes, got up, trembling with fear. The magician said to her, “Don't be afraid. All I want is your clothes. Give them to me, and take mine.” They made the exchange, and after the magician put on her clothes, he said to her, “Color my face like yours, to make me look like you, and in such a way that the color will not come off.” Seeing that she was still trembling, to assure her and to encourage her to do what he wished, he said to her, with more confidence, “I tell you again not to be afraid, and I swear by God that I will spare your life.” Fatima made him come into a corner of her cell, lighted her lamp and, dipping a brush into a certain liquid in a jar, brushed his face with it, assuring him that it would not come off and that his face was exactly the same color as hers. Then she put her own headdress on him, with a veil, showing him how to use it to hide his face as he went through the town. Finally, after she put around his neck a long rosary, which hung down in front to the middle of his body, and gave him the stick she used to walk with, she gave him a mirror and said, “Look, and you will see that you cannot resemble me any better.” The magician found himself as he had wished, but he did not keep the oath he solemnly swore to the good Fatima. In order not to leave any blood, instead of stabbing her, he strangled her, and when he saw that she was dead, he dragged her body by the feet and threw it in a cistern by the cell.

Thus disguised as Fatima the holy woman, the magician, after he had committed that horrible murder, spent the rest of the night in the cell. The next morning, one or two hours after sunrise, even though it was not a day on which the holy woman used to go out, he went out of the cell, convinced that nobody would question him about it and that, even if someone did, he would know how to respond. As one of the first things he had done upon his arrival was to find out where 'Ala al-Din's palace was situated, where he had intended to play his role, he went directly there.

As soon as the people saw what they thought to be the holy woman, a great crowd gathered around the magician. Some asked for his blessing, others kissed his hand, and others, more reserved, kissed only the hem of his gown, while others, whether they had a headache or wished to be protected from one, bent their heads before him, in order that he might touch them with his hands. He did so, muttering some words in the guise of prayer, and imitated the holy woman so well that everybody took him for her.

After stopping frequently to satisfy such people, who received neither good nor ill from this touch of the hands, he came at last to the square before 'Ala al-Din's palace, where, as the crowd grew greater, the eagerness to get to him increased accordingly. The strongest and most zealous shoved their way to make room for themselves, and this caused such quarrels that their noise was heard at the hall with the twenty-four windows, where Princess Badr al-Budur was sitting.

The princess asked what caused that noise, and as no one could tell her, she asked someone to go and find out and report to her. Without leaving the hall, one of the slave-girls looked through one of the shutters and came back to tell her that the noise came from a crowd of people who gathered around the holy woman, to be cured of the headache by the touch of her hands. The princess, who had for a long time heard a great deal of the holy woman but who had never seen her, was curious to see her and converse with her. As she gave some indication of this, the chief of the eunuchs, who was present, told her that it was easy to bring the woman to her, if she so wished, and that all she had to do was to command it. The princess consented, and he immediately sent four eunuchs to bring the pretended holy woman.

As soon as the crowd saw the eunuchs come out of the gate of 'Ala al-Din's palace and head toward the disguised magician, they dispersed, and the magician, finding himself alone and perceiving that the eunuchs were coming for him, advanced to meet them, overjoyed to see his deceit working so well. One of the eunuchs said, “Holy woman, the princess wishes to see you. Follow us.” The fake Fatima replied, “The princess does me a great honor,” and followed the eunuchs, who had already headed toward the palace.

When the magician, who, under a holy garment disguised a wicked heart, was ushered into the hall with the twenty-four windows and saw the princess, he began with a prayer that contained a long enumeration of vows and good wishes for her health, her prosperity, and the fulfillment of everything she might desire. Then he deployed all his false and hypocritical rhetoric, to insinuate himself into the princess's favor, under the cloak of great pity. This was very easy to do, since the princess, who was good by nature, believed that everyone was as good as she, especially those who devoted themselves to serving God in solitary retreat.

When the false Fatima finished his long harangue, the princess said to him, “Good mother, I thank you for your good prayers. I have great confidence in them and hope that God will grant them. Come and sit beside me.” The false Fatima sat down with affected modesty. Then the princess, resuming her conversation, said, “Good mother, I ask you for one thing, which you must do for me, and I beg of you not to refuse me, that is, to stay with me, to discuss your way of life, so
that I may learn by your good example how I should serve God.” The false Fatima replied, “I beg you not to ask me for what I cannot consent to, without distracting myself and neglecting my devotions and prayers.” The princess said, “This should not cause you any problem, since I have several apartments that are not occupied. You shall choose the one you like best and shall perform your devotions as freely as if you were in your own cell.”

The magician, whose sole aim was to gain access to 'Ala al-Din's palace, where it would be much easier for him to carry out his pernicious plan, under the auspices and protection of the princess, than if he had been forced to go back and forth between the palace and the cell, did not press much to excuse himself from accepting the obliging offer of the princess. He said to her, “Princess, whatever resolution a poor wretched woman like me may have made to renounce the pomp and grandeur of this world, I dare not presume to resist the wish and command of such a pious and charitable princess.” When the princess heard this reply, she got up and said, “Rise, and come with me, so that I may show you the unoccupied apartments I have and you may make your choice.” He followed Princess Badr al-Budur, and from among all the apartments she showed him, he chose the one that seemed to him to be the least neat and worst furnished, saying hypocritically that it was too good for him and that he accepted it only to comply with her wishes.

The princess wanted to take the imposter back to the hall with the twenty-four windows, to have him dine with her, but since, in order to eat, he would have had to uncover his face, which he had always kept veiled, and fearing that the princess might discover that he was not Fatima the holy woman, as she had believed, he begged her earnestly to dispense with him, telling her that she ate nothing but bread and a few dried fruits, and asked her to let him eat his little meal in his apartment. She agreed, saying, “Good mother, you may be as free as if you were in your own cell. I will have dinner brought to you, but remember that I expect you as soon as you have finished your meal.”

After the princess finished dining, and the false Fatima was informed of it by one of the eunuchs, the magician did not fail to rejoin her. The princess said to him, “Good mother, I am delighted to have with me a holy woman like you, who will bless this palace. Speaking of this palace, what do you think of it? But before I show it to you, room by room, tell me first what you think of this hall in particular.” Upon this question, the false Fatima, who, the better to play his part, had till then affected to bow his head down, without even looking sideways, at last raised it and, surveying the hall from one end to the other, reflected for a while and said to the princess, “This hall is truly admirable and very beautiful; however, as far as a solitary being like
me, who is not acquainted with what the world considers beautiful, can judge, it seems to me that this hall lacks only one thing.” The princess asked, “What is it? Tell me; I entreat you. For my part I have always believed and heard it said that it lacked nothing, but if it does, it should be remedied.” The false Fatima replied, with great guile, “Princess, forgive me the liberty I have taken, but my opinion, if it has any importance, is that if a Rukh's egg is suspended from the middle of the dome, this hall would have no parallel in the four quarters of the world, and your palace would be the wonder of the universe.” The princess asked, “What kind of bird is the Rukh, and where can one get an egg?” The false Fatima replied, “Princess, it is a bird of prodigious size which inhabits the peak of Mount Caucasus. The architect who built your palace can get you one.”

After Princess Badr al-Budur thanked the false Fatima for what she believed to be her good advice, she conversed with her on other subjects, but she did not forget the Rukh's egg, which she planned on mentioning to 'Ala al-Din, as soon as he returned from the hunt. He had been gone for six days, and the magician, who knew that, wanted to take advantage of his absence, but 'Ala al-Din returned that same evening, just after the false Fatima had taken leave of the princess to retire to her apartment. As soon as he arrived, he went up directly to the princess's apartment, which she had just entered, and saluted her and embraced her, but she seemed to receive him coldly. He said, “My princess, I do not find you as cheerful as you are usually. Has something happened during my absence to displease you and cause you any trouble or dissatisfaction? For God's sake, do not hide it from me, for there is nothing in my power I will not do to dispel.” The princess replied, “It is a trifling matter that gives me so little concern, that I did not think it would show on my face and make you notice, but since, contrary to my intention, you have noticed some alteration, I will not hide from you the cause, which is of little consequence. I have always believed, as you have, that our palace was the most superb, the most magnificent, and the most perfect in the world. But I will tell you now what has occurred to me, after I had carefully examined the hall with the twenty-four windows. Do you not find, as I do, that it would leave nothing to be desired, if a Rukh's egg was suspended from the middle of the dome?” 'Ala al-Din replied, “Princess, it is enough for me that you think that a Rukh's egg is lacking, to find the same fault. You shall see by my diligence to remedy the matter that there is nothing I will not do for your sake.”