The Arabian Nights II (18 page)

Although 'Ala al-Din had told the magician how to find the house, he was about to go, when somebody knocked at the door. When he opened it, he recognized the African magician, who came in, loaded with bottles of wine and all kinds of fruits which he brought for the supper.

After the African magician handed 'Ala al-Din what he brought, he saluted 'Ala al-Din's mother and asked her to show him where his brother Mustafa used to sit on the sofa. When she showed him, he immediately bent down and kissed the place several times and, with tears in his eyes, cried out, “O my dear brother, how unfortunate I am not to have arrived soon enough to embrace you one more time before your death.” Although 'Ala al-Din's mother invited him to sit down in the same place, he refused, saying, “No, I would rather not, but allow me to sit facing it, so that, if I am deprived of the satisfaction of seeing in person the father of the family, so dear to me, I may at least look there as if he was present.” 'Ala al-Din's mother pressed him no further but left him at liberty to sit where he pleased.

When he sat down at the place he desired, he began to converse with 'Ala al-Din's mother. He said, “My good sister, do not be surprised at never having seen me the whole time you were married to my brother Mustafa, of happy memory. Forty years ago, I left this country, which is mine, as well as my late brother's. After I traveled in India, Persia, Arabia, Syria, and Egypt, and lived in the most beautiful cities of these countries, I went to Africa where I made a longer stay. At last, as it is natural for a man never to forget his native land and that of his relatives and those with whom he had been raised, no matter how far away he may be, I was seized by a strong desire to see mine again and to embrace my dear brother. Feeling that I still had the strength and courage to undertake such a long journey, I did not tarry in making my preparations and setting out. I will not tell you the
length of time it took me, all the obstacles I encountered, and all the burdens I endured to come here. I will only say to you that nothing has afflicted me and mortified me in all my travels so much as hearing of the death of a brother for whom I have always had brotherly love and friendship. I observed his features in the face of my nephew, your son, and I was able to distinguish him from among all the children he was with. He must have told you how I received the sad news that my brother was no longer in this world, but we must praise God for all things, for I find comfort to see him again in a son who has his most remarkable features.”

The African magician, perceiving that 'Ala al-Din's mother was moved by her renewed grief at the remembrance of her husband, changed the subject and, turning to 'Ala al-Din, asked him his name. He replied, “I am called 'Ala al-Din.” The magician asked, “Well, 'Ala al-Din, what do you do? Do you have a profession?” At this question, 'Ala al-Din looked down, feeling disconcerted, but his mother answered, “ 'Ala al-Din is an idle fellow. His father, when he was alive, did all he could to teach him his trade, but failed. Since his father's death, in spite of what I say to him, he does no work, but wastes his time playing with the children, as you saw him, without considering that he is no longer a child. If you do not make him ashamed of it and realize that it will do him no good, I despair of his amounting to anything. He knows that his father has left him nothing, and he sees that by spinning cotton all day long, as I do, I can hardly earn enough to buy us bread. I am determined to throw him out one of these days, and let him fend for himself.”

When 'Ala al-Din's mother finished her speech, bursting into tears, the African magician said to 'Ala al-Din, “Nephew, this is not good. You must think of helping yourself and making a living. There are all kinds of professions. See if there is one to which you are more inclined. Perhaps your father's trade displeases you, and you would be more suited for another. Do not hide your feelings on this, for I only wish to help you.” When he saw that 'Ala al-Din did not reply, he continued, “If you find it repugnant to learn any trade, and if you wish to be an honest man, I will take a shop for you and stock it with fine fabrics and linens and set you up to sell them, and with the money you make, you will buy other goods, and by this means you will live honorably. Consider this on your own, and tell me frankly what you think of it. You will always find me ready to keep my word.”

This proposal greatly flattered 'Ala al-Din, who disliked manual labor, all the more since he had enough sense to know that shops selling such goods were esteemed and frequented and that their owners were well-dressed and respected. He told the African magician that he looked at him as his uncle, that his inclination was more in this
direction than any other, and that he would be indebted to him all his life for his kindness. The African magician said, “Since this profession is agreeable to you, I will take you with me tomorrow and have you dressed in the fine clothes appropriate to one of the prominent merchants of the city, and after tomorrow, we will think of opening the shop I have in mind.”

'Ala al-Din's mother, who never till then believed that the African magician was her husband's brother, no longer doubted it, after all the favors he promised her son. She thanked him for his good intentions, and after having exhorted 'Ala al-Din to make himself worthy of the favors his uncle had promised, she served the supper. They continued to talk about the same subject during the entire meal, until, perceiving that it was getting late, the African magician took his leave of the mother and son and departed.

The following morning, he came again to the widow of Mustafa the tailor, as he had promised, and took 'Ala al-Din with him to a great merchant who sold only ready-made clothes of fine fabrics for all ages and ranks. He asked to see some that fitted 'Ala al-Din, and having set aside those he liked and having rejected the others, which he did not find as beautiful, he said to 'Ala al-Din, “Nephew, choose from among these the one you like best.” 'Ala al-Din, charmed with the generosity of his new uncle, chose one, which the magician bought, together with all the accoutrements that went with it, and paid for it, without haggling.

When 'Ala al-Din saw himself so sumptuously dressed from head to toe, he offered his profuse thanks to his uncle, who repeated his promise never to abandon him, and to keep him always with him. He took 'Ala al-Din to the most frequented places in the city, particularly those in which the shops of the most prominent merchants were located, and when they were in the street where the richest fabrics and finest linens were sold, he said to 'Ala al-Din, “Since you will soon become a merchant like these, it is proper that you frequent these shops and become acquainted with them.” He also showed him the largest and finest mosques and took him to the inns where the foreign merchants stayed and to all the parts of the king's palace he was allowed to enter. At last, after they visited together the most beautiful spots in the city, they came to the inn where the magician had taken lodgings. There they met some merchants with whom he had become acquainted since his arrival and whom he assembled together, in order to entertain them and at the same time make them acquainted with his pretended nephew.

The entertainment lasted till night, when 'Ala al-Din wished to take leave of his uncle and go home, but the African magician, refusing to let him go alone, took him to his mother, who, when she saw her son
so finely dressed, was transported with joy and continued to invoke a thousand blessings on the magician for having spent so much on her son. She said to him, “Generous relative, I don't know how to thank you for your generosity. I know that my son does not deserve your favors and that he would be completely unworthy of them if he failed to thank you and to behave properly in response to your good intention of setting him up in such a fine business.” She added, “For my part, I thank you again with all my heart, and I wish that you may live long enough to witness my son's gratitude, which he cannot show better than by conducting himself according to your good advice.” The African magician replied, “ 'Ala al-Din is a good boy and listens to me well enough, and I believe that we will do very well. One thing bothers me, however, which is that I will not be able to carry out tomorrow what I promised him, because it is Friday, and the shops will be closed, and we will not be able to rent or stock one while the merchants are busy entertaining themselves. We will, therefore, postpone the matter till Saturday, but tomorrow I will come and take him with me for a walk in the gardens, where the fashionable people are usually found. Perhaps he has never seen these amusements, for till now he has associated only with children, but now he must see men.” Then he took leave of the mother and the son and departed. 'Ala al-Din, who was overjoyed to see himself so well dressed, anticipated the pleasure of walking in the gardens that lay around the city, for he had never been outside the city gates nor seen the surroundings, which were very beautiful and pleasant.

The following day, he rose and got dressed early in the morning, in order to be ready to go when his uncle came to fetch him. After having waited what seemed to him a long time, he became impatient and waited for the magician at the door, and as soon as he saw him, he told his mother and, taking leave of her, shut the door and ran to meet him. The African magician caressed 'Ala al-Din and said to him with a laugh, “Come along, my dear child. Today, I want to show you some beautiful things.” He led him through one of the gates of the city to some large, beautiful houses, or rather magnificent palaces, each of which had beautiful gardens open to the public. At every palace they came to, he asked 'Ala al-Din whether he thought it beautiful, and 'Ala al-Din, anticipating the question, when they came to another, would cry out, “Uncle, here is one that is more beautiful than any we have seen.” Meanwhile, they advanced farther and farther into the countryside, and the cunning magician, who had intended to go farther in order to execute his plan, took an opportunity to enter one of the gardens. He sat down by a large basin into which poured clear water from the mouth of a bronze lion. Pretending to be tired and wishing to let 'Ala al-Din rest, he said to him, “Nephew, you must be
as tired as I am. Let us rest here, in order to recover our strength and have more energy to continue our walk.”

After they sat down, the African magician pulled out from a wrapping cloth attached to his belt several cakes and all kinds of fruits, which he had brought with him as provisions, and laid them on the edge of the basin. He divided one of the cakes between himself and 'Ala al-Din and left him at liberty to choose the fruits he liked best. During this little meal, he talked with his pretended nephew, giving him advice and exhorting him to forsake the company of children and seek that of wise and prudent men, in order to listen to them and profit from their conversation. He said to him, “Soon you will grow up to be a man like them, and you cannot learn soon enough to speak as well as they do.” After they finished the little meal, they got up and continued their walk through the gardens, which were separated from one another only by little ditches that marked their borders without impeding access. Such was the good faith of the inhabitants of this city that they took no further measures to safeguard their interests. Thus the African magician led 'Ala al-Din imperceptibly far beyond the gardens and crossed the open country until they almost reached the mountains.

'Ala al-Din, who had never been so far in his life, felt very tired after such a long walk and said to the African magician, “Uncle, where are we going? We have left the gardens very far behind us, and I see nothing but mountains. If we go much farther, I don't know whether I will have enough strength to return to the city.” The fake uncle replied, “Take courage, nephew. I want to show you a garden that surpasses all the ones you have seen. It is not far off, just a step from here. When we get there, you yourself will tell me whether you would not have been sorry not to have seen it, after you had been so close.” 'Ala al-Din was persuaded, and the magician led him much farther, telling him many entertaining stories, to make the way seem less tedious and the fatigue more bearable.

At last they came to a place between two mountains of moderate height, separated by a narrow valley. It was the place where the African magician had intended to bring 'Ala al-Din, in order to carry out the grand plan that had brought him from the farthest reaches of Africa to China. He said to 'Ala al-Din, “We will not go any farther. I want to show you here some extraordinary things unknown to any man, and when you see them, you will thank me for having seen so many marvels, unseen by anyone in the world but you, but while I strike fire, gather the most dry sticks you can find for kindling.”

There was such a great quantity of kindling sticks that 'Ala al-Din soon gathered a more than sufficient pile, while the magician was still lighting a match. The magician set them on fire, and as soon as they
began to blaze, he threw in some incense he had ready, raising a heavy cloud of smoke, which he dispersed on each side, while pronouncing some magic words of which 'Ala al-Din understood nothing.

At that very moment, the earth trembled a litde and opened before the magician and 'Ala al-Din, revealing a rectangular stone about one and a half feet wide and one foot high, laid horizontally, with a brass ring fixed into the middle, to raise it with. 'Ala al-Din, frightened by what he saw, was about to run away, but as he was needed for that mysterious business, the magician caught hold of him, scolded him, and gave him such a hard blow that he knocked him down and almost pushed his teeth into his mouth, which was bleeding. Poor 'Ala al-Din, trembling and with tears in his eyes, cried out to the magician, “Uncle, what have I done to deserve such a harsh beating by you?” The magician replied, “I have my reasons for it. I am your uncle, acting in place of your father, and you ought not to answer back.” Then softening, he added, “But, child, don't be afraid of anything. I ask nothing of you, except that you obey me exacdy, if you wish to profit and be worthy of the great advantages I wish to offer you.” These fair promises of the magician somewhat calmed 'Ala al-Din's fears and resentment, and when the magician saw that he had become completely reassured, he said to him, “You see what I have done by virtue of my incense and the words I pronounced. You should now know that under the stone there is a hidden treasure that is destined for you and which will make you one day richer than the greatest king in the world. Indeed, there is no one in the world, save you, who is permitted to touch this stone and to lift it, in order to enter. Even I myself am forbidden to touch it and to set foot in this treasure when it is opened. For this reason, you should, without fail, follow point by point what I shall ask you to do, for it is a matter of great consequence, both to you and to me.”