Thousand & One Nights: 55th Night: Tale of 3rd Dervish -3

The frame story was told by Shahrazad to her sister Dinarzad. But the stories attracted the attention of the Indian king Shahriar who went berserk after he happened to see his queen in compromising posture with a black slave. Earlier his brother Shahzaman witnessed a same situation involving his queen with the kitchen boy. Many of the stories are veiled attacks on the concept of virginity and chastity.

This is an inner story within the frame story, presented by the third dervish before the three independent girls of Baghdad house. 

The story told by the man who lives secretly in lonely Island, to the third dervish:

My lady, when I asked the young man to tell his story, he was happy and regained his composure, he asked me to come near him.

"O, my brother," he began, "My tale is strange and amazing. My father is a very wealthy jeweller who deals with kings. He has a number of slaves, both white and black. He has many traders who travel in his ship and trade for him. But he was not blessed with a child. One night he had a dream that he was going to have a son, but he will have a short life span. He woke up in the morning feeling depressed. My mother happened to conceive on the following night and my father took note of it. Months passed. And she gave birth to me. Father was exceedingly happy. Astrologers and wise men came and read my horoscope. "'Your son will live fifteen years, after which there will be a conjunction of the stars, and if he can escape it he will live. There stands in the salty sea a mountain called the magnetic stone, on top of which stands a brass horseman riding on a brass horse and holding in his mouth a lead tablet. Fifty days after this horseman falls from the horse, your son will die, and his killer will the man who will have thrown the horseman off the horse. A man named Ajib, son of King Khasib."' My father was stricken with grief. He wept bitterly and became mad. He built this house for me, and brought everything that I need for fifty days. Ten days have already passed, and there remain only forty days until the conjunction of stars is over, and my father will come back to take me home. This is my story. The cause of my isolation. My loneliness."

My lady, when I heard this narrative, I said to myself, '"I am the one who overthrew the horseman, and I am the son of King Khasib, but my God I will never kill him."'

Then I said to him, "O my lord, you may be spared from death, and be safe from harm. God willing there is nothing to fear or worry about. I will stay with you to serve you and entertain you these forty days. I will help you and go home with you, and you in turn, will help me to return to my native land, and God will reward you." My words pleased him, and I sat to chat with him.

Night came. I got up and lit a candle. I filled and lit three oil lamps. Offered him a box of sweets. We chatted most of the night enjoying the sweets. When he fell asleep I covered him. I too lay down and fell asleep.

In this way we passed many days and nights, and we became intimate friends. I felt great affection for him and forgot my worries. On the night of fortieth day, feeling glad at his escape, he said, "Brother, I have now completed forty days. Praise be to God who saved me. I shall make my father reward you and send you to your native land. But, brother, kindly heat some water for me, so that I may wash my body and change my clothes."

I heated some water, and took the young man to a little room, where I gave him a good bath and put on him fresh clothes. Then I spread for him a high bed, covered with leather mat, and there he lay down to rest. He said to me, "Brother, cut me up a watermelon, and sweeten the juice with sugar." I rose and bringing back a fine watermelon, set it on a platter, saying, "My lord, do you know where the knife is?"

He said, "Here it is, on the high shelf over my head."

I sprang up, and reaching over him in haste, drew the knife from the sheath, and as I stepped back, I slipped on the leather mat, as had been foreordained, and fell on the young man, and the knife, which was in my hand, pierced his heart and killed him instantly. When I saw that he was dead, and realized that it was I who had killed him, I let out a loud scream, beat my face, tore my clothes, and cried, "O people, O God's creatures, there remained for this young man only one day out of forty, yet, he still met his death at my hand. O God, I ask for your forgiveness, wishing that I had died before him. These my afflictions I suffer, draught by bitter draught, so that God's will may be fulfilled."

End of the Night 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

( 16 )CHARLES DICKENS: DAVID COPPERFIELD: CHAPTER 16: I AM A NEW BOY IN MORE SENSES THAN ONE

Next morning, after breakfast, I entered on school life again.  I went, accompanied by Mr Wickfield to the scene of my future studies- a grave building in a courtyard, with a learned air about it that suited very well to the stray rooks and jackdaws who came down from the Cathedral tower to walk with a clerkly bearing on the grass plot - and was introduced to my new master, Doctor Strong. Doctor Strong looked almost as rusty, to my thinking, as the tall iron rails and gates outside the house; and almost as stiff and heavy as the great stone urn that flanked them, and were set up, on the top of red brick wall, at regular distances all round the court, like sublimated skittles for Time to play at.  Doctor Strong was in his library, with his clothes not particularly well brushed, and his hair not particularly combed, his knee-small unbraced, his long black gaiters unbuttoned, and his shoes  yawning like two caverns on the hearth-rug.  Turning upon me a lustreless eye, t...
Read more

Sailing Around Erethraean Sea: Three

Updated 29/11/2024 Below the Calf-Eaters there is a little market-town on the shore after sailing about four thousand stadia from Berenice, called Ptolemais of Hunts, from which the hunters started for the interior under the dynasty of Ptolemies. This market town has true land to rtoise in small quantities; it is white and smaller in the shells. And here also is found a little ivory, like that of Adulis. But the place has no harbour, and is reached by small boats. 1. Calf-Eaters: Cattle rearing nomadic tribes. 2. Stadia is the plural of stadion. Ten  stadia= one mile. 3. Ptolemais of Hunts: Ptolemies Theron is the exact Greek term,  located at the Bay of Anfile or Amphila Bay on the coast of Eritrea. Facing the bay is Hando island. It is, in fact, a double bay, an inner bay within, between promontories M'edr and Lelisa. End of the Section 
Read more

Sailing Around Erythraean Sea: Seven

In Section six the unknown sailor was at Zula (ancient Adulis). He had been giving an account of imports and exports to Zula and other ports he covered earlier. From this place the Arabian Gulf trends toward the east and become narrow just before the Gulf of Avalites.  After about four thousand stadia [about four hundred miles or six hundred and forty kilometres] for those sailing eastward along the same coast there are other Berber market-towns, known as the "far-side ports; lying at intervals one after the other without harbours but having roadsteads where ships can anchor and lie in good weather. The first is called Avalites; to this place the voyage from Arabia to far-side coast is shortest. Here there is a small market-town called Avalites, which must be reached by boats and rafts. There are imported into this place, flint glass assorted, juice of sour grapes from Diospolis,  dressed cloth assorted, made for the Berbers; wheat, wine and a little tin. There are exported f...
Read more