Thousand & One Nights: 44th Night: The Tale of Second Dervish contd.

The second dervish was the son of a king. The king himself taught his son to read and write. Later he studied the jurisprudence of al-shatibi. Then he studied calligraphy and poetry. A fellow king of another city invited him to his kingdom. The prince accepted the invitation and began his entourage to the host kingdom. On his way he and his aids were robbed and scattered. The prince continued his journey alone. After many days he happened to meet a tailor who provided him shelter and food. The tailor came to understand that the king of his city was an enemy of prince's father. He also observed that the prince's current knowledge and skills are not enough to earn his living. The knowledge and skill he acquired are not in demand.
So he advised the prince to keep his secret to himself. He also gave him a rope and an axe with an advice to pursue the trade of a wood cutter.
The prince took leave of the tailor and pursued the trade of wood cutter. One day, in the forest he found a stump and dug around it; shoveled the earth and saw a ring attached to a wooden plank. Beneath it was a staircase leading to a solid and beautiful palace. There was a beautiful girl. She was the daughter of Aftimarus the king of Ebony island. The king decided to marry her to her cousin. But, before the marriage, she was imprisoned by a demon, and brought her to the palace. Demon used to visit her once in ten days. She asked the wood cutter whether he could stay with her for the remaining days. He willingly joined her. 

The dervish in disguise of wood cutter began to continue the story, in the presence of three beautiful girls of Baghdad house. Besides the girls there were seven men in the house including the narrator:

As soon as I kicked up the step, there was thunder and lightning, the earth began to tremble and everything turned dark. I became sober at once and cried out to her, "What is happening"

She replied, "The demon is coming. Get up and run for your life."
I rose, put on my dresses, hurried to the flight of stairs. But I left my sandals and my iron axe behind. I saw the palace floor split and the demon appear. "What disaster has led you to trouble me," asked the demon.

She replied, "My lord, today I felt depressed and took a little wine to lighten my heart. Then I got up to relieve myself, but I felt tipsy and fell against the step."

The demon cried, "You are lying, you whore," he looked about and saw my sandals and axe.

"Whose are these?" he asked. 
She replied, "I have never set my eyes on them till this moment. They must have stuck to your clothes and you must have brought them with you." 

"I will not be deceived by this ruse, you slut," said the Demon. Then he seized her, stripped her naked, bound her hands and feet to four stakes, proceeded to torture her and make her confess.

It was not easy for me to hear her cries. Trembling with fear I climbed the staircase slowly until I was outside. Then I placed the trapdoor as it was before and covered it with earth. I felt sad and dejected. I thought of the girl. She is a beauty. She was kind and generous. I thought of my father, my childhood, all the knowledge I gained nothing to me. Whole my youth was wasted on redundant knowledge. I was happy and content with the daughter of Aftimarus. But it was a dream. I lost my axe. I blamed myself, and wept bitterly. I recited the following verses.
My fate my enemy; and it pursues me
Relentlessly. It treated me kindly and 
Punished me relentlessly in the night.

Then I walked to my friend, the tailor. I found him anxiously waiting for me.
"Where did you stay last night?" He asked me, "I was worried about you. Praise be to God for your safety." I thanked him for his kindness, and retiring to my recess, sat thinking about what had happened. I blamed myself for my rashness, for had I not kicked the step, nothing would have happened. The tailor had come to me
and said, "There is outside an old Persian gentleman, who has your iron axe and your sandals. He had taken them to the woodcutters, saying, 'I went out this morning to answer the call to prayer and stumbled upon this axe and these sandals. Take a look at them and tell me to whom they belong to and where I may find him.' The woodcutters recognised your axe and told him where to find you, saying, 'This axe belongs to a young man, a foreigner who lives with the tailor.' At this very moment he is sitting at the entrance of the shop. Go to him and take your axe from him." When I heard what he said, I felt faint and turned pale. Suddenly the floor of my recess split, and there appeared the old Persian gentleman, the very demon. He had tortured the girl to near death, but she did not confess. So he took the axe and sandals, saying, "If I am truly the son of Satan's daughter, I shall bring you back the owner of the axe." Then in the guise of Persian gentleman came in search of me.

The Break of Dawn 


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