Arabian Nights: 295th Night: Ala-ed-Din & The Wonder Lamp -11

The following night Shahrazad said:

Ala-ed-Din commanded the slave to shift the palace from the land of Africa to the land of China, and the slave went to commission the job.

Ala-ed-Din ordered the maids to set the table and spread the clothes. 

After they have had their food, they went into their private chamber to have wine and pleasure.

Sultan was in deep grief in his palace. He had lost his only daughter. Still every morning and evening he would look through his window as if there existed the palace of Ala-ed-Din. And one fine morning as he looked through the window, there the palace stood. He could not believe the sight. He rubbed his eyes and looked again to ensure that it was not a dream. He immediately ordered his horse. 

Ala-ed-Din saw the Sultan, and he along with Lady Bedr-el-Budur stepped down to receive him. They met at the foot of the stairs in the hall;  the Sultan embraced his daughter and kissed her. 

Ala-ed-Din, together with the Sultan arranged the burial of the dead body of the Moor. 

Sultan told Ala-ed-Din that the loss of his only daughter was a sudden shock and asked him to pardon his wild behaviour. Ala-ed-Din consoled his father-in-law, "O king of the Age, you did nothing to me against the law, and I did not sin against thee." 

Then the Sultan commanded the herald to proclaim a festival to celebrate the reunion of the Prince and the Princess. But a danger had been lurking behind Ala-ed-Din; the Moor had a brother more wicked, and more skilled in sorcery, astrology and divination. It so happened one day that he wanted to know the whereabouts of his brother. Through astrology and divination, he found that his brother was in the abode of a tomb. Not convinced of his calculations, he again drew his tables, placed cowries at different points in the table, and pronounced certain incantations. This time he found that his brother was slaughtered by Ala-ed-Din. Then he set out in search of the killer of his brother and arrived at the city of the Sultan. He hired a room in a tavern where merchants used to stay. 

Soon he entered a coffee house in the market. It was a large coffee house provided with facilities for many entertainment. There were tables for mancala [1], backgammon, and chess. He would sit down among the players as an onlooker and listen to what people talked. The general talk centred on a pious woman, Fatimah who stayed on the outskirts of the city. It was known that she worked miracles, but she rarely  comes to the market. The brother of the Moor marked her to accomplish his purpose. He found out the people who were talking about Fatimah and sought the help of an ascetic to get to her house. The ascetic took him by hand, led him to the outskirts of the city; showed him the way to her house. The Moor praised the ascetic, thanked him, and returned to his tavern.

Next day Fatimah came to the town. The brother of the Moor went to the town and spotted her in the crowd. Sick people came to her and received her blessings. And when she touched them they were recovered. When the last man was gone she stood alone for some time; and then she returned. The brother of the Moor followed her, and to his surprise she was withdrawing to a cave. She was a cave dweller.The brother of the Moor returned to his tavern. He was satisfied that he could now locate the cave without anybody's help. 

When the night had fallen, he went to a wine seller, had a cup of wine, and went straightway to the cave of Fatimah. The woman was lying on her back upon a piece of mat. He sneaked into the cave, stood over her, being his legs apart, she lay in dead sleep, the only sound: her snoring. He drew his dagger, knelt down and sat upon her breast. Her eyes were opened. A Morocco man! The point of his dagger was under her chin. "Listen," he uttered, "give me your robes and your skin and make me like you." 

"Let me rise," she whispered. He got up from her, and said, "Give me your clothes and take mine." She gave him her clothes, headbands, veil and cloak. "You must anoint me with your colour," said the brother of the Moor. She went into the corner and brought a pot of ointment; took some of it in her palm. She rubbed it on his face till its colour assumed that of hers. She gave him her staff, and taught how to walk and talk like her in the city. She put her rosary round his neck. Finally she gave him a mirror and said, "Look, now you are not different from me a whit." He looked at the mirror and satisfied himself. But when he obtained his wish, he asked her a rope, which she brought him, he seized her and strangled her with the rope, and threw her into a pit nearby, and returned to her cave and went to sleep till the day broke.

He went to the palace of Ala-ed-Din, and stationed himself beneath the apartment of Ala-ed-Din. The people gathered around him, thinking that he was Fatimah, the ascetic. He began to do as she did. He laid his hands on the suffering people; recited verses from Quran for people who sought them, and prayed for others.

The crowd and clamour reached the ears of Lady Bedr-el-Budur, and she said to her maids, "See the crowd below, and their sound and noise. What is going on there?" 

An elder eunuch went to see what was happening.

He returned and said, "O my mistress, it is on account of Seyyideh Fatimah, and if you wish I will bring her before you." The Lady replied, "Bring her to me, I have heard of her miracles." 

Thus the brother of the Moor got an entry into the palace of Ala-ed-Din. None of the inmates of the palace doubted the identity of Fatimah, the ascetic. The lady stood up and greeted her, and seated beside her.

"O Fatimah! Stay with me always and bless me, and I would learn from you the path of piety and charity," said Lady Bedr-el-Budur.

"O my lady," said Fatimah, "I am a poor woman dwelling in deserts, and not worthy of a stay in the palace." 

"O mistress Fatimah, be comfortable here, this is your palace," said Lady Bedr-el-Budur, "You can serve God here, better than anywhere else" 

"O my lady," said Fatimah, "I shall not deny you. I only beg you to have me a separate room for eating, drinking and sitting. I do not want any delicious food or drink. But every day send to me a piece of bread and a cup of water by the handmaid. I shall have it in my room alone."

And the Princess replied, "O my mistress, then come with me. I shall show you the room." She led Fatimah to her room, and she thanked her in return.

Bedr-el-Budur took Fatimah, the brother of Moor to her kiosk, which had twenty four windows with lattices and decorated with jewels.

"What you think of," asked Lady Bedr-el-Budur to Fatimah, "this kiosk?"

"Splendid and wonderful," replied Fatimah, "but one thing is wanting in its make."

"What's it?" asked Lady Bedr-el-Budur.

"An egg of rukh. It should hang from its dome."

"An egg of rukh? I have not heard of such a bird?"

"O my lady, the rukh is a huge bird that lifts camels and elephants in its claw, and flies off with them. This bird is chiefly found in mountains of Kaf [2] He who built this kiosk can bring you one of its eggs." 

It was time for dinner, and the bell rang. The maids had laid the tables and spread the clothes. Lady Bedr-el-Budur sat herself to dinner and invitef Fatimah. But she refused and retired to her room.

Evening. Ala-ed-Din returned from hunting. He found that Lady Bedr-el-Budur was in a pensive mood. What had she been thinking so seriously?

Ala-ed-Din asked his wife, "My beloved, what has come over you? Something is disturbing your mind."

She said, "Something is lacking with our kiosk. I fancy the egg of a rukh, hanging from its dome may make it the wonder of the world."

Ala-ed-Din went to his chamber, took the lamp and rubbed it. The slave appeared and said, "Please tell, what you want." 

"Bring me an egg of rukh to hang from the dome of kiosk." 

"You are ignorant of a danger hiding in your palace. The brother of the Moor, whom you have killed reside under this roof. He is disguised as Fatimah the ascetic. He has ignited this spark in Lady Bedr-el-Budur. He is here to take revenge on you for the death of his brother. I pardon your ignorance." The slave disappeared.

Ala-ed-Din feigned headache and went to Lady Bedr-el-Budur. The Lady called for her maids, and asked them to take their master to Fatimah. This was what Ala-ed-Din wanted: a meeting with Fatimah whom the slave condemned as the brother of the slained Moor in disguise. Ala-ed-Din wanted to confirm it. Previously his innocent wife had brought the Moor himself as an exchange seller of new lamps for old one and hoodwinked her, and took away the wonderful Lamp; now his brother in disguise of Fatimah the ascetic, to take revenge upon him.

"A touch of hers would," said Bedr-el-Budur to her husband, "heal you of your head-ache," as he went to the chamber of Fatimah. The maid accompanied Ala-ed-Din upto the entrance of Fatimah and said, "You alone would meet her, because she is afraid that her power would be vitiated in the presence of a third party." Ala-ed-Din was now convinced that the Moor's brother has been waiting for an opportunity to take vengeance on him. He covered himself with a long cloak that extended from shoulders upto knees. The brother of the Moor was rejoiced to see Ala-ed-Din, and raised from her seat and advanced towards his enemy, and when they were close to each other, Fatimah raised her hand to bless Ala-ed-Din, and he in his turn, removed the viel of his opponent and saw her face covered with beards. Ala-ed-Din stretched his hand and caught hold of the hilt of his dagger. The sharp point of the dagger went down the throat of the villain and He fell down.

When the Lady Bedr-el-Budur saw her husband's hands stained with blood she said alarmingly, "What has Fatimah the ascetic done that you should place the burden of blood upon your soul?" Ala-ed-Din said, "It was not I that killed Fatimah the ascetic, look at his face and see him." Bedr-el-Budur looked at the bearded face of the man on the floor, and let a sharp cry. "This is the brother of the Moor whom I have killed. He came to take vengeance on me." 

"O my beloved," said Bedr-el-Budur, "twice I have brought you to the shore of death!" 

"O God! No harm is done. You are blessed by the Almighty. I accept all that comes from you with perfect delight." The princess advanced towards Ala-ed-Din, embraced and kissed him, and he held her to his bosom.

Sultan came and they apprised him of the situation. Sultan ordered that the body to be burned and the ashes scattered in the wind.

Notes:-

1. One of the count and capture board games of ancient African origin, where players move seeds or pebbles between pits. The name comes from Arabic word naqala meaning move.

2. A legendary emerald mountain in Persian mythology. Likewise Ruc is a mythological bird.