Tales of the Marvellous and News of the Strange (Hardcover Classics) (22 page)

At that point the greengrocer came back with food of various kinds, which he put in front of Badr and ate with him. They addressed each other, and the greengrocer asked Badr what had brought him there. After telling his story, Badr went on: ‘I wanted to come up to the island from the sea but horses, cows and camels – more than ten thousand of them – stopped me.’ The man said: ‘My son, this is a city of magicians with a tyrannical queen. The horses, mules, cows and camels that you saw were all men like you until that impious woman transformed them. Whoever wants to ride on a horse, a camel or anything else can take his pick of them, for they are all being punished, and it was because they pitied you that they tried to stop you from climbing up on shore, fearing
that she would enchant you and you would become like them. Now get up and look at the city to see how many people are there.’ ‘I’m afraid of them, Father,’ said Badr, but the man told him there was no need for that as all of them would fear him.

Badr said: ‘I got up and sat on the shop bench, from which I saw such huge numbers of people that only God could number them. When they saw me they asked: “Shaikh ‘Abdallah, is this a captive of yours?” “No, by God,” the man answered, “he is my nephew, and I sent for him because I am old and living alone with no son and no family.” That silenced them, and they made no reply. I stayed with him for ten days but then, while we were sitting on the bench, up came a thousand servants holding clubs of gold and silver, followed by a thousand Turkish mamluks, and after them rode a thousand maid-servants, in the middle of whom was the young queen.

‘When she came past ‘Abdallah’s shop she looked at me and stopped in front of me, while ‘Abdallah got up to kiss the ground respectfully. She asked him whether I was a captive of his, and he repeated that I was his nephew for whom he had sent because he was old and lonely. “Shaikh ‘Abdallah,” she said, “by the Fire and the Light, I am struck by his appearance and I want you to hand him over to me.” “On one condition,” ‘Abdallah said, and when she asked what this was, he went on: “Swear to me that you will do him no harm.” “Yes, I swear it,” she answered, and he told her: “I am satisfied and I shall hand him over to you, for no one on the face of the earth can injure him, as I am with him and you know me best of all.” “I am content,” she said, and he promised to hand me over next day when she came back from the
maidan
. She thanked him and left.

‘Abdallah called to me and when I answered he said: “This woman is a tyrannical evil-doer called Lab, which means Royal Sun. When she finds someone whom she admires, she takes him and enjoys him for forty days before transforming him into the shape of some animal. She then sends him off to the shore and looks for someone else, may God curse her and remove all trace of her.” “Father,” I told him, “I am afraid of her,” but he said: “No harm will come to you, as she will not dare to lift a hand against you while I am alive, as she thinks that you are my nephew, whom I regard as a son.”

‘I thanked him, and we spent the night. Next morning she came back, looking more radiant than the sun, and she greeted ‘Abdallah, who kissed the ground before her, as did I. “Get up,” she said, and ‘Abdallah
rose and took me by the hand, saying: “Take him, lady, and send him back when you have had enough of him.” She agreed, and I was given a horse with a golden saddle. I rode beside her as people admired my physique and my handsome face, feeling sorry that I was going to be put under a harmful spell.

‘When we reached the royal palace we went in and, after passing through a series of halls, we halted. Taking me by the hand, she led me into a house the like of which I had never seen. It was like paradise, with walls plated with gold, and around it and them were statues of women each holding a musical instrument. It was furnished with all sorts of silk brocade, and at its upper end was a dais on which was a throne of red gold inlaid with various types of gems, sapphires,
balkash
rubies
and emeralds.

‘The queen mounted the dais and took her seat on the throne, taking me up with her and seating me by her side, with her thigh over mine. For a time she issued commands and prohibitions, but then she called up a golden table encrusted with pearls and other gems, to which forty bowls of gold and silver were brought, containing various types of foods. As we ate she put spoonfuls in my mouth, and I kissed her hand until we had had enough. The table was removed, and we washed our hands, after which golden trays were brought in, on which were dishes of china and crystal containing sweetmeats of all kinds, dry, moist and pressed. More inlaid trays were brought with scents, and then came girls carrying musical instruments, each of whom went up to one of the statues, with the girl carrying a lute sitting beneath the statue of a lute girl, the girl with a flute sitting beneath a flautist and the one with cymbals sitting under a cymbal player, each one underneath the appropriate statue. They all began to sing in unison until I thought that the palace was rocking with me as I looked at the splendour of this luxury.

‘We kept on drinking until it became dark, when candles were brought out on gold and silver candlesticks made of wax scented with camphor and amber. The queen was cheerful, and, as she became drunk, so did I. She turned to one of the girls, who was holding a lute in her hand, and said: “Get up! Your voice has changed, and it is killing me.” “By God, lady,” I objected, “she was singing well.” When I had reproved her, she said: “Let her go down and fetch the carved instrument from the wall under which the lute player is sitting.” This girl then sang in a voice such as I had never heard from any of them and played the lute in a way that I had never seen. The queen turned to me and said: “Darling, which of
them is the sweetest singer?” “That one,” I said, “for I have never heard a voice like this, and it has filled me with delight, as has her artistry.” The queen said: “These perform at night, and the others by day.” She called to the girls, who all got up and left, while the statues on the wall all came down and sat in their places and sang most beautifully and delightfully with the most entrancing of voices.

‘We sat until midnight when the queen got up and took me by the hand to a lovely chamber, in which there was a niche lined with gold, with cushions of brocade, rugs and mattresses of satin. We went up there, and the queen took off her clothes and got into bed, clasping me to her chest and kissing my face as I kissed hers. I enjoyed her until morning, when she sat up and put on her clothes. I had followed her example when her maids came in to take her to the baths. I got up with them, and they took me to the palace baths, after which I was provided with a robe of honour worth a thousand dinars.

‘I stayed like this for a month and then one day I got up and went out to the palace courtyard, where there was running water, in the middle of which were two birds, one white and one black, while on the palace battlements were birds of various colours, more in number than the drops of water. The black bird was going up and pulling feathers from their heads. I was astonished and I asked the queen to allow me to visit Shaikh ‘Abdallah and then return to her. “Yes, on condition that you don’t stay,” she said, and I agreed.

‘I left her and went to the shaikh, who welcomed me and asked how I was and how I passed my nights. I told him about the birds, and he told me that they had been enchanted by the queen. I told him that I had seen her doing this at midnight, and he said: “If you have seen her casting spells, she has taken against you. Sleep until midnight and then see what type of magic she is performing and then come back and tell me what it is so that I can counter it and, for God’s sake, don’t be too slow or that will be the end of you.” When I went back to the queen I found her waiting for me at the table. “Welcome, darling,” she said; “where have you been? May the world not exist after you have gone! Sit down.” I sat with her, and we ate, but my head was drooping, and she addressed me endearingly and asked me if I had been watching magic. “Yes, lady,” I said, and we sat until nightfall, when I went up to bed. She stayed with me until midnight, when she slowly got up. I opened my eyes and saw her open a chest, from which she took five containers, and from each of these she took red sand, which she scattered around, muttering a spell
over it. When it was opposite the couch a stream flowed through it, and then from a small box she removed barley, which she sowed there, and it immediately sprouted up and ripened. She took it, ground it up and made porridge, which she put in a bowl. She then swept up the sand and put it back in the box where it had been, and after all this she came back and lay down to sleep beside me.

‘Next morning she got up and went to the baths, while I went to Shaikh ‘Abdallah to tell him what I had seen. “God damn her!” he exclaimed, and he told me to sit there for a while, while he went to his room. He came back some time later, bringing with him two
ratls
of porridge. He called to me, and when I answered he said: “Take this gruel and go back to the queen. When she asks where you have been, tell her that you have been with a friend. She will say that she has porridge as good as yours, but you should tell her: ‘One good added to another is an increase of good. Let us eat them both.’ Then take a dish, put the porridge on it, moisten it with water and eat it, as it will do you no harm. When there are only two spoonfuls left, steal away one of them and leave it in your sleeve. She will fetch her own porridge, moisten it and tell you to eat. Pretend to be doing this but instead eat what you put in your sleeve. When she sees that you have eaten it she will say: ‘Leave this human shape of yours and assume the shape that I name.’ Nothing will happen to you, and at that she will show confusion and say that she was only playing with you. Do you then tell her to eat some of your porridge and when she is eating take some water in your hand and dash it in her face, saying: ‘Leave this human shape of yours, for another that I want.’ She will be transformed instantly, and be damned to her.” ’

Badr said: ‘I blessed him and thanked him, after which I took the porridge and went back to the queen in her palace. She greeted me fondly and asked where I had been, at which I told her that I had been with a friend. She said: “We have some porridge,” and I suggested that we should eat both hers and mine. I then took a dish and, after having moistened my porridge, I ate it, but hid away a spoonful in my sleeve. When there was none left she said: “Darling, try my porridge to see which is better, yours or mine.” After this she took her porridge, moistened it and told me to eat it. I pretended to do this, and she saw me chewing. She said: “What am I going to do with you?” Then she took a handful of water and threw it in my face, saying: “Change from this shape to that of an ugly, grimy mule.” When nothing happened to me she got up, and I could see that she had changed colour. She said:
“Darling, don’t hold this against me, for I was playing a joke on you,” but I took some water in my own hand, threw it in her face and said: “Change your shape to that of a dark black mule.” She threw herself on the ground and turned into a mule, with tears pouring down her cheeks. She rubbed her cheeks against my leg, and I tried but failed to bridle her.

‘I left her and went to the shaikh, who asked me what I had done, and I told him the whole story of how I had turned the queen into a mule. He got up and fetched a bridle from his shop, telling me to take it back to her, as when she saw that I had it she would become docile and I could then bridle her and ride her wherever I wanted to go. He added: “You cannot stay anywhere on this island as that would be fatal for you. I would not be able to save you and I want to protect myself.”

‘I thanked him and left with his bridle. When the mule saw it she stretched out her head towards me, and I saddled and bridled her before mounting her and riding out of the city. When I had been travelling for three days I came within sight of a city more beautiful than that of the queen. When I entered it I was met by a handsome man, who greeted me and asked me where I had come from. When I told him that this was the Sorcerers’ City he welcomed me and asked me to go home with him. When he had taken me there he told me to dismount. Shaikh ‘Abdallah had told me that when I did that I was not to let the bridle out of my hand for the blink of an eye, but when my host told me to dismount he shouted to a servant to take the mule to the stable and tie it up there, treating it well. I said: “Sir I cannot be parted from this mule for a single instant, and if you can’t let it into the house with me, then allow me to go on my way.” “If the mule is lost, I’ll give you a thousand dinars as its price,” he said.

‘As he went on talking an old woman came up and stood beside us. “There is no god but God,” she said, adding: “Master, this mule resembles one belonging to my son which died and he still grieves for it. Would you sell it for whatever price you want? I’ll give you a thousand dinars if you ask so that I may content him if only for an hour.” I asked myself: “How can this old woman get a thousand dinars?” and I told her to produce the money and I would sell it to her. At that she produced from beneath her clothes a purse with a thousand dinars and told me to hand over the mule. “I’m not going to sell it,” I told her but my host said: “Don’t do that. You agreed to the sale so take the gold. In this city of ours we don’t recognize lies and only accept fair dealing. You sold the mule and you cannot take back what you said.”

‘I took the purse with the gold and handed over the mule. I took the gold to the mosque and poured it out on my lap, only to discover that these were rounded bits of pottery made to look like gold. I struck myself on the face until blood flowed from my nose and I then left the city only to find three people, including the old woman to whom I had sold the mule and the queen. On seeing me, the queen snorted and said: “Welcome, by God!” The old woman was her mother and had broken the spell, so the queen seized my hand and whistled thrice on three different notes. Immediately an
‘ifrit
the size of a huge mountain appeared and set me on his shoulder, and within the blink of an eye we were back in her palace.