Arabian Nights: 249th Night: Jullanar of the Sea - 20

The following night Shahrazad said:

Sayih said to al-Shamandal, "The sage says, 'If you wish to be denied, ask for what can't be supplied,' but my wish is one that the king is able to grant, for it is at his disposal and he is to give."

al-Shamandal said, "Explain your case, tell me your need, and ask your wish." 
Sayih said, "O King of the age, I come to you as a suitor, seeking the unique pearl, the priceless jewel, and the glorious princess Jauhara, daughter of our lord the king.  O king do not disappoint your suitor, but desire him who desires your daughter."   The king laughed in derision, until he fell on his back. 

Then he said, "O Sayih, I thought you an excellent and wise young man who is reasonable and uttered nothing but what is sensible.  What has possessed you and urged you to embark on such a grave venture, and dangerous adventure to seek in marriage the daughter of the king who rules over cities and provinces and also command armies and retinues.  Is your self-esteem so high and your sense so little that you dare affront me with such a demand?"

Sayih said, "O king, may God guide you.  I do not seek your daughter for myself, and even if I did, I am her match and more, for you know that my father was one of the kings of the sea, and that our kingdom has been taken from us.  I seek her for none other than king Badr, the king of Persia, whose might and fame you know.  He is also a great king like you, indeed he is greater than you. 
Your daughter has beauty, charm, and grace. My nephew is equally charming and graceful. Indeed he has no equal in discernment, fairness, courtesy, and generosity.  O
King you know that Princess Jauhara, the daughter of our lord king, must have a husband, for the sage says, 'A girl needs a husband or a grave,' and if you intend to marry her at all, my nephew is worthier of her than any other man."

King al-Shamandal was furious and lost his senses and his soul left his body.  He said, "O dog, shall the like of you dare speak to me like this and freely mention my daughter's name in public gatherings, saying that your nephew is a match for her?  Who are you, who is your father, who is your sister, who is your nephew, and who is his dog of a father that you should speak such words to me and address me in this manner? Guards, seize this good-for-nothing and strike off his head."

The guards drew their swords, and attacked Sayih, who fled to the palace gate, where he found his cousins, relatives, followers and servants.

Morning overtook and Shahrazad lapsed into silence.

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 Erythraean Sea: Thirteen

In the previous section Gaurdafui and Tohen on the Red Sea coast were described. Gaurdafui is on the apex of The Horn.Tohen is around 10 kilometres south of Gaurdafui. Gaurdafui's strategic position in relation to Gulf of Aden helped it to align it with known trade routes connecting East Africa to Arabia and India. Continue reading Thirteen. Beyond Taba (modern day Tohen), after four hundred stadia, there is the village of Pano . And then, after sailing four hundred stadia, along a promontory, towards which place the current also draws you, there is another market-town called Opone , into which the same things are imported, as those already mentioned, and in it the greatest quantity of cinnamon is produced, (the arebo, and moto), and slaves of better sort, which are brought to Egypt in increasing numbers and a great quantity of tortoise shell, better than that found elsewhere. My Search:- The village of Pano may be somewhere between Tohen and Hafun. It is widely accepted by scholar...
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