prince ahmed and the fairy the arabian nights - mocomi

8/14/2019 Prince Ahmed And The Fairy The Arabian Nights - Mocomi

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The Arabian Nigh ts

Prince Ahmed and the Fairy

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Prince Ahmed and the Fa

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Prince Houssain would not honour the feast withhis presence; he could scarcely endure to see theprincess in the arms of Prince Ali, who, he said,

did not deserve her better or love her more thanhimself. He left the court, and, renouncing allright of succession to the crown, turned dervish,and put himself under the discipline of a famoussheik, who had gained a reputation for his exem-plary life, and had taken up his abode, togetherwith his disciples, whose number was great, in anagreeable solitude.

Prince Ahmed did not assist at Prince Ali's andthe Princess Nouronnihar's wedding, any morethan his brother Houssain, but did not renouncethe world as he had done. He could not imaginewhat had become of his arrow, so he stole awayfrom his attendants, and resolved to search forit, that he might not have anything to reproach

himself with. With this intention, he went to theplace where the Princes Houssain's and Ali'swere gathered up, and going straight forwardfrom thence, looked carefully on both sides ofhim. He went so far, that at last he began tothink his labour was in vain; yet he could not help

going forwards, till he came to some steep,craggy rocks, which would have obliged him toreturn, had he been ever so anxious to proceed.

They were situated in a barren country, aboutfour leagues distant from whence he set out.When Prince Ahmed came near these rocks, heperceived an arrow, which he picked up, lookedearnestly at it, and was in the greatest astonish-ment to find it was the same he shot. 'Certainly,'said he to himself, 'neither I nor any man livingcould shoot an arrow so far'; and finding it laid

flat, not sticking into the ground, he judged thatit had rebounded from the rock. 'There must besome mystery in this,' said he to himself again,'and it may be to my advantage. Perhaps fortune,to make me amends for depriving me of what Ithought the greatest happiness of my life, mayhave reserved a greater blessing for my com-fort.' As these rocks were full of sharp points

and crevices between them, the prince, full ofthese thoughts, entered a cavity, and lookingabout, cast his eyes on an iron door, whichseemed to have no lock. He feared it was fas-tened; but pushing against it, it opened, and dis-covered an easy descent, but no steps. He walked




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down with his arrow in his hand. At first hethought he was going into a dark place, but pres-ently a quite different light succeeded that

which he had come out of. Coming upon a spacioussquare, fifty or sixty paces distant, he perceiveda magnificent palace; but he had not time to lookat it, for at the same moment a lady of majesticair, and of a beauty to which the richness of herclothes and the jewels which adorned her personadded nothing, advanced as far as the porch, at-tended by a troop of ladies, of whom it was diffi-

cult to distinguish which was the mistress.

As soon as Prince Ahmed perceived the lady, hehastened to pay his respects; and the lady, onher part, seeing him coming, was beforehandwith him. Raising her voice, she said, 'Come near,Prince Ahmed; you are welcome.'

It was no small surprise to the prince to hearhimself named in a palace he had never heard of,though so near his father's capital, and he couldnot comprehend how he should be known to a ladywho was a stranger to him. At last he returnedthe lady's salutation, by throwing himself at her

feet, and rising up again, said to her, 'Madam, Ireturn you a thousand thanks for welcoming meto a place where I had reason to believe my im-

prudent curiosity had made me penetrate toofar. But, madam, may I, without being guilty ofrudeness, presume to ask you how you know me?and why you, who live in the same neighbourhoodshould be so little known by me?'

'Prince,' said the lady, 'let us go into the hall;there I will gratify your request.'

After these words, the lady led Prince Ahmedinto the hall, the noble structure of which, andthe gold and azure which embellished the dome,and the inestimable richness of the furniture,appeared to him so wonderful that he had neverin his life beheld anything like it, and believedthat nothing was to be compared to it. 'I can

assure you,' replied the lady, 'that this is but asmall part of my palace, and you will say so when

you have seen all the apartments.' Then she satdown on a sofa; and when the prince at her en-treaty had seated himself, she said, 'You aresurprised, you say, that I should know you, and




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not be known by you; but you will no longer besurprised when I inform you who I am. Youcannot be ignorant that the world is inhabited by

genies as well as men: I am the daughter of oneof the most powerful and distinguished of thesegenies, and my name is Pari Banou: therefore Iknow you, the sultan your father, the princes

your brothers, and the Princess Nouronnihar. Iam no stranger to your love or your travels, ofwhich I could tell you all the circumstances, sinceit was I myself who exposed for sale the artifi-

cial apple which you bought at Samarcand, thecarpet which Prince Houssain met with at Bis-nagar, and the tube which Prince Ali broughtfrom Schiraz. This is sufficient to let you knowthat I am not unacquainted with anything thatrelates to you. The only thing I have to add is,that you seemed to me worthy of a still betterfortune than that of marrying the Princess Nou-

ronnihar. I was present when you drew yourarrow, and foresaw it would not go beyond PrinceHoussain's. I took it in the air, and made it strikeagainst the rocks near which you found it. It is in

your power to avail yourself of this favourableopportunity.'

As the fairy Pari Banou pronounced these wordsPrince Ahmed began to consider that the Prin-cess Nouronnihar could never be his, and that

the fairy Pari Banou excelled her infinitely inbeauty and agreeableness, and, so far as he could judge from the magnificence of the palace whereshe resided, in immense riches. 'Madam,' repliedhe, 'should I, all my life, have had the happinessof being your slave, I should think myself thehappiest of men. Pardon me my boldness, and donot refuse to admit into your court a prince who

is entirely devoted to you.'

'Prince,' answered the fairy, 'as I have been along time my own mistress, and am not dependenton my parents' consent, it is not as a slave that Iwould admit you into my court, but as my hus-band, pledging your faith to me. I am, as I said,mistress here; and must add, that the same cus-

toms are not observed among fairies as amongother ladies.'

Prince Ahmed made no answer, but was so full ofgratitude that he thought he could not expressit better than by coming to kiss the hem of her




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garment. 'Then,' answered the fairy, 'you are myhusband, and I am your wife. But as I suppose,'continued she, 'that you have eaten nothingto-day, a slight repast shall be served up for youwhile preparations are making for our weddingfeast this evening, and then I will show you theapartments of my palace, and you shall judge ifthis hall is the smallest part of it.'

Some of the fairy's women who came into thehall with them, and guessed her intentions, im-

mediately went out, and returned presently withsome excellent meat and wine.

When Prince Ahmed had eaten and drunk asmuch as he wanted, the fairy Pari Banou took himthrough all the rooms, where he saw diamonds,rubies, emeralds, and all sorts of fine jewels, in-termixed with pearls, agate, jasper, porphyry,

and all kinds of the most precious marbles; not tomention the richness of the furniture, every-thing was in such profusion, that the prince ac-knowledged that there could not be anything inthe world that could come up to it. 'Prince,' saidthe fairy, 'if you admire so much my palace,

which is indeed very beautiful, what would yousay to the palaces of the chiefs of our genies,which are much more beautiful, spacious, and

magnificent? I could also charm you with mygarden; but we will leave that till another time.Night draws near, and it will be time for supper.'

The next hall into which the fairy led the prince,where the cloth was laid for the feast, was theonly room the prince had not seen, and it was notin the least inferior to the others. He admired

the infinite number of wax candles perfumedwith amber which formed an agreeable andpleasant sight. A large sideboard was set outwith all sorts of gold plate, so finely wroughtthat the workmanship was much more valuablethan the weight of the gold. Several beautifulwomen richly dressed, whose voices were ravish-ing, began a concert, accompanied with all kinds

of the most harmonious instruments he had everheard. When they had sat down to table, thefairy Pari Banou took care to help Prince Ahmedto most delicious meats, which the prince hadnever heard of, but found so nice that he com-mended them in the highest terms, saying that




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they far surpassed those among men. He foundalso the same excellence in the wines, which nei-ther he nor the fairy tasted till the dessert wasserved up, which consisted of the choicestsweetmeats and fruits.

After the dessert, the fairy Pari Banou andPrince Ahmed rose from the table, which was im-mediately carried away, and sat on a sofa withcushions of fine silk, curiously embroidered withall sorts of large flowers, at their backs, and a

great number of genie and fairies danced beforethem.

The days following the wedding were a continualfeast, which the fairy Pari Banou, who could do itwith the utmost ease, knew how to diversify bynew dishes, new concerts, new dances, newshows, and new diversions; which were all so ex-

traordinary, that Prince Ahmed, if he had lived athousand years among men, could not have imag-ined.

At the end of six months, Prince Ahmed, whoalways loved and honoured the sultan his father,

felt a great desire to know how he was; and asthat desire could not be satisfied without his ab-senting himself to go and hear it in person, he

mentioned it to the fairy, and desired she wouldgive him leave.

This discourse alarmed the fairy, and made herfear it was only an excuse to leave her.

'My queen,' replied the prince, 'if you are of-fended at the leave I asked, I entreat you to

forgive me, and I will make all the reparation Ican. I did not do it with any intention of displeas-ing you, but from a motive of respect towards myfather, whom I wish to free from the afflictionin which my long absence must have overwhelmedhim; indeed I have reason to think he believes medead.'

'Prince,' said she, 'I am so fully convinced that Ican depend upon your sincerity, that I grant youleave to go, on condition that your absence shallnot be long.'

Prince Ahmed would have thrown himself at the




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fairy's feet, to show his gratitude; but she pre-vented him.

'Prince,' said she, 'go when you please; but firstdo not take it amiss if I give you some advice how you shall conduct yourself where you are going.First, I do not think it proper for you to tell thesultan your father of our marriage, nor what Iam, nor the place where you are settled. Beg himto be satisfied with knowing that you are happy,and that you desire no more; and let him know

that the sole end of your visit is to make himeasy about your fate.'

She appointed twenty horsemen, well mountedand equipped, to attend him. When all was ready,Prince Ahmed took leave of the fairy, embracedher, and renewed his promise to return soon.Then his horse, which was as beautiful a creature

as any in the Sultan of the Indies' stables, wasbrought, and he mounted him with an extraordi-nary grace, which gave great pleasure to thefairy, and after he had bid her a last adieu, setout on his journey.

As it was not a great way to his father's capital,Prince Ahmed soon arrived there. The people,glad to see him again, received him with acclama-

tions, and followed him in crowds to the sultan'spalace. The sultan received and embraced himwith great joy; complaining at the same time witha fatherly tenderness, of the affliction his longabsence had been to him; which he said was themore grievous, since as fortune had decided infavour of Prince Ali his brother, he was afraid hemight have committed some act of despair.

'Sir,' replied Prince Ahmed, 'your majesty knowsthat when I shot my arrow the most extraordi-nary thing that ever befell anybody happened tome, that in so large and level a plain it should notbe possible to find my arrow. Though thus van-quished, I lost no time in vain complaints; but tosatisfy my perplexed mind, I gave my attendants

the slip, and returned back again alone to lookfor my arrow. I sought all about the place wherePrince Houssain's and Prince Ali's arrows werefound, and where I imagined mine must havefallen; but all my labour was in vain, until afterhaving gone four leagues, to that part of the




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plain where it is bounded by rocks, I perceived anarrow. I ran and took it up, and knew it to be thesame which I had shot. Far from thinking your

majesty had done me any injustice in declaringfor my brother Prince Ali, I interpreted whathad happened to me quite otherwise, and neverdoubted but there was a mystery in it to my ad-vantage; the discovery of which I ought not toneglect, and which I found out without going fur-ther from the spot. But as to this mystery, I beg

your majesty to let me remain silent, and that

you will be satisfied to know from my own mouththat I am happy and contented. This was the onlymotive which brought me hither; the only favourI ask of your majesty is to give me leave to comeoften and pay you my respects, and inquire after

your health.'

'Son,' answered the Sultan of the Indies, 'I

cannot refuse you the leave you ask me; but Iwould much rather you would resolve to stay withme. At least tell me where I may hear of you, if

you should fail to come, or when I may think yourpresence necessary.'

'Sir,' replied Prince Ahmed, 'what your majestyasks of me is part of the mystery I spoke of. Ibeg of you to give me leave to remain silent on

this head; for I shall come so frequently wheremy duty calls, that I am afraid I shall sooner bethought troublesome than be accused of negli-gence in my duty.'

The Sultan of the Indies pressed Prince Ahmedno more; but said to him, 'Son, I penetrate nofurther into your secrets, but leave you at your

liberty. I can only tell you, that you could not dome a greater pleasure than to come and by yourpresence restore to me the joy I have not feltfor a long time, and that you will always be wel-come when you come.'

Prince Ahmed stayed but three days at thesultan his father's court, and on the fourth re-

turned to the fairy Pari Banou, who received himwith great joy, as she did not expect him so soon.

A month after Prince Ahmed's return frompaying a visit to his father, as the fairy PariBanou had observed that since the time that the




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had made on his mind. He was, however, so muchalarmed that he resolved to have Prince Ahmedwatched, unknown to his grand vizier. For thisend he sent for a sorceress, who was introducedby a private door into his room. 'My son Ahmedcomes to my court every month; but I cannotlearn from him where he resides, and I do notwish to force his secret out of him; but I believe

you are capable of satisfying my curiosity, with-out letting him, or any of my court, know anythingof the matter. You know that at present he is

here with me, and is used to go away withouttaking leave of me, or any of my court. Go imme-diately out on the road, find out where he re-tires, and bring me word.'

The magician left the sultan, and knowing theplace where Prince Ahmed found his arrow, wentthither and hid herself near the rocks, so that

nobody could see her.

The next morning Prince Ahmed set out by day-break, without taking leave either of the sultanor of any of his court, according to custom. Themagician, seeing him coming, followed him with

her eyes, till all of a sudden she lost sight of himand his attendants.

The steepness of the rocks formed an insur-mountable barrier to men, whether on horsebackor on foot, so that the magician judged thatthere were but two ways; the prince had retiredeither into some cavern, or into some place un-derground, the abode of genies or fairies. Whenshe thought the prince and his attendants wereout of sight, she came out of the place where she

had hidden herself, and went direct to the hollowwhere she had seen them go in. She entered it,and proceeded to the spot where it terminatedin many windings, looking carefully about on allsides. But notwithstanding all her diligence shecould perceive no opening, nor the iron gatewhich Prince Ahmed discovered. For this doorwas to be seen by and opened to none but men,

and only to men whose presence was agreeable tothe fairy Pari Banou, and not at all to women.

The magician, who saw it was in vain for her tosearch any further, was obliged to be satisfiedwith the discovery she had made, and returned




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to give the sultan an account. When she had toldhim what she had done, she added, 'Your majestymay easily understand, after what I have had thehonour to tell you, that it will be no difficultmatter to give you the satisfaction you desireconcerning Prince Ahmed's conduct. To do this, Ionly ask time, and that you will have patience, andgive me leave to do it without inquiring what mea-sures I intend to take.'

The sultan was very well pleased with the magi-

cian's conduct, and said to her, 'Do as you thinkfit: I will wait patiently,' and to encourage her,he made her a present of a diamond of greatvalue, telling her it was only an earnest of theample reward she should receive when she haddone him that important service, which he left toher management.

As Prince Ahmed, after he had obtained thefairy Pari Banou's leave to go to the Sultan ofthe Indies' court, never failed once a month, andthe magician knew the time, she went a day ortwo before to the foot of the rock where shehad lost sight of the prince and his attendants,and waited there with a plan she had formed.

The next morning Prince Ahmed went out asusual at the iron gate with the same attendantsas before, and passed by the magician, whom heknew not to be such. Seeing her lie with her headon the rock, complaining as if she were in greatpain, he pitied her, turned his horse about andwent and asked her what was the matter, andwhat he could do to relieve her.

The artful sorceress, without lifting up herhead, looked at the prince, and answered in

broken words and sighs, as if she could hardlyfetch her breath, that she was going to the city,but on the way thither was taken with so violenta fever that her strength failed her, and she wasforced to stop and lie down, far from any habita-tion, and without any hope of assistance.

'Good woman,' replied Prince Ahmed, 'you are

not so far from help as you imagine. I am readyto assist you, and to convey you where you shallnot only have all possible care taken of you, butwhere you will find a speedy cure; only get up,and let one of my people take you.'




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At these words, the magician, who pretended ill-ness only to know where the prince lived, did notrefuse the kind offer he made her so freely, andto show her acceptance rather by action than byword, she made many affected efforts to get up,pretending that her illness prevented her. At thesame time two of the prince's attendantsalighted off their horses, helped her up, and sether behind another. They mounted their horsesagain, and followed the prince, who turned backto the iron gate, which was opened by one of his

retinue who rode before. When he came into theouter court of the fairy's palace, without dis-mounting, he sent to tell her he wanted to speakto her.

The fairy Pari Banou came with all haste, notknowing what made Prince Ahmed return so soon.Not giving her time to ask him, he said, 'My prin-

cess, I desire you would have compassion on thisgood woman,' pointing to the magician, who wastaken off the horse by two of his retinue: 'Ifound her in the condition you see, and promisedher the assistance she stands in need of. I com-mend her to your care, and am persuaded that

you will not abandon her.'

The fairy Pari Banou, who had her eyes fixedupon the pretended sick woman all the time thatthe prince was talking, ordered two of the womenwho followed her to take her from the two menthat held her up, and carry her into the palace,and take as much care of her as they could.

Whilst the two women executed the fairy's com-mands, she went up to Prince Ahmed, and whis-pering in his ear said, 'Prince, I commend yourcompassion, which is worthy of you, but give me

leave to tell you that I am afraid it will be but illrewarded. This woman is not so ill as she pre-tends to be; and I am very much mistaken if sheis not sent hither on purpose to cause you greattrouble. But do not be concerned, let what will bedevised against you; be persuaded that I will de-liver you out of all the snares that may be laidfor you. Go and pursue your journey.'

This discourse of the fairy's did not in the leastalarm Prince Ahmed. 'My princess,' said he, 'as Ido not remember I ever did, or designed to do,anybody an injury, I cannot believe anybody canhave a thought of doing me one; but if they have,




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I shall not forbear doing good whenever I havean opportunity.' So saying, he took leave of thefairy, and set out again for his father's capital,where he soon arrived, and was received as usualby the sultan, who restrained himself as much aspossible, to disguise the trouble arising from thesuspicions suggested by his favourites.

In the meantime, the two women to whom thefairy Pari Banou had given her orders carried themagician into a very fine apartment, richly fur-

nished. First they set her down upon a sofa, withher back supported with a cushion of gold bro-cade, while they made a bed, the quilt of whichwas finely embroidered with silk, the sheets ofthe finest linen, and the coverlid cloth of gold.When they had put her into bed (for the old sor-ceress pretended that her fever was so violentthat she could not help herself in the least), one

of the women went out and soon returned againwith a china cup in her hand full of a certainliquor, which she presented to the magician,while the other helped her to sit up. 'Drink this,'said she, 'it is the water of the fountain of lions,and a sovereign remedy against all fevers what-

soever. You will find the effect of it in less thanan hour's time.'

The magician, to dissemble the better, took itafter a great deal of entreaty, as if she was verymuch averse to having it, but at last taking thechina cup, and shaking her head, as if she didgreat violence to herself, swallowed the liquor.When she had lain down again, the two womencovered her up. 'Lie quiet,' said she who broughther the china cup, 'and get a little sleep if you

can; we will leave you, and hope to find you per-fectly cured when we come an hour hence.'

The magician, who came not to act a sick partlong, but only to discover Prince Ahmed's re-treat, and what made him leave his father'scourt, being fully satisfied in what she wanted toknow, would willingly have declared that the

potion had had its effects then, so great was herdesire to return to the sultan, and inform him ofthe success of her commission; but as she hadbeen told that the potion did not operate imme-diately, she was forced to await the women'sreturn.




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Ahmed brought her in, and after she had takenher leave of them, and thanked them for theirtrouble, they opened it, and wished her a pleas-ant journey.

After the magician had gone a little way, sheturned back again to observe the door and knowit again, but all in vain, for, as was before ob-served, it was invisible to her and all otherwomen. Except in this, she was very well satis-fied with her work, and posted away to the

sultan. When she came to the capital, she wentby a great many by-ways to the private door ofthe palace. The sultan being informed of her ar-rival, sent for her into his apartment and per-ceiving a melancholy look on her countenance, hethought she had not succeeded, and said to her,'By your looks I guess that you have not madethe discovery I expected from you.'

'Sir,' replied the magician, 'your majesty mustgive me leave to represent that you ought not to

judge by my looks whether or no I have acquittedmyself well as regards the commands you werepleased to honour me with. The melancholy you

observe proceeds from another cause than thewant of success.'

Then the magician related to the Sultan of theIndies the whole story of all that happened frombeginning to end.

When the magician had ended, she said, 'Whatdoes your majesty think of these unheard-ofriches of the fairy? Perhaps you will say you re-

joice at the good fortune of Prince Ahmed your

son. For my part, sir, I beg of your majesty toforgive me if I take the liberty to say that Ithink otherwise, and that I shudder when I con-sider the misfortunes which may happen to you.And this is the cause of the melancholy which

you perceived. I would believe that PrinceAhmed, by his own good disposition, is incapableof undertaking anything against your majesty;

but who can say that the fairy, by the influenceshe already has over him, may not inspire himwith a dangerous design of dethroning your maj-esty, and seizing the crown of the Indies? This iswhat your majesty ought to consider serious andof the utmost importance.'




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Though the Sultan of the Indies was very surethat Prince Ahmed's natural disposition wasgood, yet he could not help being uneasy at theremarks of the old sorceress, and said, 'I thank

you for the pains you have taken, and your whole-some caution. I am so aware of the great impor-tance it is to me, that I shall take advice upon it.'

He had been consulting with his favourites, whenhe was told of the magician's arrival. He orderedher to follow him to them. He acquainted them

with what he had learnt, and communicated tothem also the reason he had to fear the fairy'sinfluence over the prince, and asked them whatmeasures they thought most proper to preventso great a misfortune. One of the favourites,taking upon himself to speak for the rest, said,'Your majesty knows who must be the author ofthis mischief. In order to prevent it, now that he

is in your court, and in your power, you ought notto hesitate to put him under arrest: I will not saytake away his life, for that would make too muchnoise; but make him a close prisoner while helives.' This advice all the other favourites unani-mously applauded.

The magician, who thought it too violent, askedthe sultan leave to speak, which being granted,she said, 'Sir, I am persuaded that the zeal of

your councillors for your majesty's interestmakes them propose arresting Prince Ahmed: butthey will not take it amiss if I suggest to yourand their consideration, that if you arrest theprince, you must also detain his retinue. But theyare all genies. Do they think it will be so easy tosurprise, seize, and secure their persons? Willthey not disappear, by the property they possess

of rendering themselves invisible, and transportthemselves instantly to the fairy, and give her anaccount of the insult offered to her husband?And can it be supposed she will let it go unre-venged? But it would be better, if, by any othermeans which might not make so great a noise, thesultan could secure himself against any ill designsPrince Ahmed may have against him, and not in-

volve his majesty's honour. If his majesty hasany confidence in my advice, as genies and fairiescan do things impracticable to men, he will touchPrince Ahmed's honour, and engage him, bymeans of the fairy, to procure certain advan-tages. For example, every time your majesty




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takes the field you are obliged to go to a greatexpense, not only in pavilions and tents for your-self and army, but likewise in mules and camels,and other beasts of burden, to carry their bag-gage. Might you not request him to use his inter-est with the fairy to procure you a tent whichmight be carried in a man's hand, and whichshould be large enough to shelter your wholearmy?

'I need say no more to your majesty. If the

prince brings such a tent, you may make a greatmany other demands of the same nature, so thatat last he may sink under the difficulties and theimpossibility of executing them, however fertilein invention the fairy who has enticed him from

you by her enchantments may be; so that in timehe will be ashamed to appear, and will be forcedto pass the rest of his life with his fairy, ex-

cluded from any connection with this world; andthen your majesty will have nothing to fear, andcannot be reproached with so detestable anaction as the shedding of a son's blood, or con-fining him in a prison for life.'

When the magician had finished her speech, thesultan asked his favourites if they had anythingbetter to propose; and finding them all silent,determined to follow the magician's advice, asthe most reasonable and the most suited to hismild manner of government.

The next day, when the prince came into his fa-ther's presence and had sat down by him, after aconversation on different subjects, the sultansaid, 'Son, when you came and dispelled those

clouds of melancholy which your long absence hadbrought upon me, you made the place you hadchosen for your retreat a mystery to me. I wassatisfied with seeing you again, and knowing that

you were content with your condition, withoutwishing to penetrate into your secret, which Ifound you did not care I should. I know not whatreason you had thus to treat a father. I know

your good fortune; I rejoice with you, and verymuch approve of your conduct in marrying a fairyso worthy of your love, and so rich and powerful,as I am informed. Powerful as I am, it was notpossible for me to have procured so great amatch for you. Now that you are raised to so high




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a rank as to be envied by everybody but a fatherlike me, I not only desire you to preserve thegood understanding we have lived in hitherto, butto use all your credit with your fairy to obtainfor me her assistance when I want it. I there-fore will make a trial this day.

'I am persuaded you could easily procure fromher a pavilion that might be carried in a man'shand, yet which would extend over my wholearmy; especially when you let her know it is for

me. Though it may be a difficult thing, she willnot refuse you. All the world knows that fairiesare capable of doing the most extraordinarythings.'

Prince Ahmed never expected that the sultan hisfather would have asked a thing which, at firstsight, appeared to him so difficult, not to say im-

possible. Though he knew not absolutely howgreat the power of genies and fairies was, hedoubted whether it extended so far as to fur-nish a tent such as his father desired. Moreover,he had never asked anything like it of the fairyPari Banou, but was satisfied with her continual

kindness; therefore he was in the greatest em-barrassment what answer to make. At last he re-plied, 'If, sir, I have concealed from your maj-esty what happened to me and what course Itook after finding my arrow, the reason was thatI thought it was of no great importance to you tobe informed of them; and though I know not howthis mystery has been revealed to you, I cannotdeny that your information is correct. I havemarried the fairy you speak of. I love her, and ampersuaded she loves me. But I can say nothing as

to the influence your majesty believes I haveover her. It is what I have not yet made any ex-periment of or thought of, and should be veryglad if you would dispense with my undertakingit, and let me enjoy the happiness of loving andbeing beloved with all the disinterestedness Iproposed to myself. But the demand of a fatheris a command upon every child who, like me,

thinks it his duty to obey him in everything. Andthough it is with the greatest reluctance imagin-able, I will not fail to ask my wife the favour yourmajesty desires, but will not promise to obtain it;and if I should not have the honour to come againto pay you my respects, that shall be the sign




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that I have not had success: but I desire you toforgive me beforehand, and consider that you

yourself have reduced me to this extremity.'

'Son,' replied the Sultan of the Indies, 'I shouldbe very sorry that what I ask of you should pre-vent my ever seeing you again. Go, only ask her.Think with yourself, that as you love her, youcould refuse her nothing; therefore, if she loves

you, she will not deny your request.'

All this discourse of the Sultan of the Indiescould not persuade Prince Ahmed, who wouldrather he had asked anything than the risk ofdispleasing his dear Pari Banou; and so great washis vexation, that he left the court two dayssooner than usual.

When he returned, the fairy, to whom he had

always before appeared with a cheerful counte-nance, asked him the reason of the alteration;and finding that instead of answering her, he in-quired after her health to avoid satisfying her,she said to him, 'I will answer your question when

you have answered mine.' The prince declined it

a long time, protesting that nothing was thematter with him; but the more he denied it, themore she pressed him, and said, 'I cannot bear tosee you in this condition: tell me what makes youso uneasy, that I may remove the cause of it,whatever it may be; for it must be very extraor-dinary if it is out of my power.'

Prince Ahmed could not long withstand the fairy.'Madam,' said he, 'God prolong the sultan my fa-ther's life, and bless him to the end of his days.

I left him alive, and in perfect health: thereforethat is not the cause of the melancholy you per-ceive in me. The sultan has imposed upon me thedisagreeable task of worrying you. You know thecare I have taken, with your approbation, to con-ceal from him my happiness at home with you.How he has been informed of it I cannot tell.'

Here the fairy Pari Banou interrupted PrinceAhmed, and said, 'But I know. Remember what Itold you of the woman who made you believe shewas ill, on whom you took so much compassion. Itis she who has acquainted the sultan your fatherwith what you took so much care to hide from




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him. I told you that she was no more sick than you or I, for, after the two women whom Icharged to take care of her had given her thewater sovereign against all fevers, which, how-ever, she had no occasion for, she pretendedthat the water had cured her, and was broughtto take leave of me, that she might go sooner togive an account of the success of her undertak-ing. She was in so much haste that she wouldhave gone away without seeing my palace, if I hadnot, by bidding my two women show it her, given

her to understand that it was worth her seeing.But go on and tell me what is the necessity yourfather has imposed on you which has made youfeel troublesome to me, which I desire you willbe persuaded you can never be.'

'Madam,' pursued Prince Ahmed, 'you may haveobserved that hitherto I have never asked you

any favour, for what, after the possession of sokind a wife, can I desire more? I know how great your power is, but I have taken care not to maketrial of it. Consider then, I beg you, that it is notme, but the sultan my father, who, indiscreetly,as I think, asks of you a pavilion large enough to

shelter him, his court, and his army, from theviolence of the weather, when he takes the field,and yet small enough for a man to carry in hishand. Once more remember it is not I, but thesultan my father who asks this favour.'

'Prince,' replied the fairy, smiling, 'I am sorrythat so small a matter should disturb you, andmake you so uneasy. I see plainly two things havecontributed towards it: one is, the law you haveimposed upon yourself, to be content with loving

me and being beloved by me, and to deny yourselfthe liberty of asking me the least favour thatmight try my power. The other, I do not doubt,whatever you may say, was that you thought what

your father asked of me was out of my power. Asto the first, I commend you for it, and shall love

you the better, if possible; and for the second, Imust tell you that what the sultan your father

asks of me is a trifle; and upon occasion, I can domuch more difficult things. Therefore be easy,and persuaded that, far from feeling worried, Ishall always take great pleasure in whatever youcan desire me to do for your sake.' Then thefairy sent for her treasurer, to whom she said




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'Nourgihan' (which was her name), 'bring me thelargest pavilion in my treasury.' Nourgihan re-turned presently with a pavilion, which could notonly be held but concealed in the palm of thehand when it was closed, and presented it to hermistress, who gave it to Prince Ahmed to look at.

When Prince Ahmed saw the pavilion, which thefairy called the largest in her treasury, he fan-cied she was joking, and his surprise appeared inhis face. Pari Banou burst out laughing. 'What!

Prince,' cried she, 'do you think I jest with you?You will see presently that I am in earnest. Nour-gihan' said she to her treasurer, taking the tentout of Prince Ahmed's hands, 'go and set it up,that the prince may judge whether the sultan hisfather will think it large enough.'

The treasurer immediately went out from the

palace, and carried it to such a distance thatwhen she had set it up one end reached to thepalace. The prince, so far from thinking it small,found it large enough to shelter two armies asnumerous as that of the sultan his father; andthen said to Pari Banou, 'I ask my princess a

thousand pardons for my incredulity: after whatI have seen, I believe there is nothing impossibleto you.'

'You see,' said the fairy, 'that the pavilion islarger than your father may have occasion for;but you are to observe that it becomes larger orsmaller, according to the army it is to cover,without being touched.'

The treasurer took down the tent again, reduced

it to its first size, and brought it and put it intothe prince's hands. He took it, and next daymounted his horse and went with the usual atten-dants to the sultan his father.

The sultan, who was persuaded that such a tentas he asked for was beyond all possibility, was ingreat surprise at the prince's diligence. He took

the tent and admired its smallness. But when hehad set it up in the great plain, and found it largeenough to shelter an army twice as large as hecould bring into the field, his amazement was sogreat that he could not recover himself. As hethought this might be troublesome in use, Prince

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Ahmed told him that its size would always beproportionate to his army.

To outward appearance the sultan expressedgreat obligation to the prince his son for so noblea present, desiring him to return his thanks tothe fairy Pari Banou; and to show what a value heset on it, he ordered it to be carefully laid up inhis treasury. But within himself he became more

jealous than ever; considering that by the fairy'sassistance the prince his son might perform

things that were infinitely above his own power,notwithstanding his greatness and riches; and,therefore, more intent upon his ruin, he went toconsult the magician again, who advised him torequest the prince to bring him some of thewater of the fountain of lions.

In the evening, when the sultan was surrounded

as usual by all his court, and the prince came topay his respects among the rest, he said to him:'Son, I have already expressed how much I amobliged to you for the present of the tent youhave procured me, which I look upon as the mostvaluable thing in my treasury; but you must do

one thing more for me. I am informed that thefairy your wife makes use of a certain water,called the water of the fountain of lions, whichcures all sorts of fevers, even the most danger-ous; and as I am perfectly sure that my health isdear to you, I do not doubt that you will ask herfor a bottle of that water for me, and bring it meas a sovereign remedy, which I may make use ofwhen I have occasion. Do me this service, andcomplete the duty of a good son towards atender father.'

Prince Ahmed, who had believed that the sultanhis father would have been satisfied with so sin-gular and useful a tent as that which he hadbrought, and that he would not have imposed anynew task upon him which might hazard thefairy's displeasure; was thunderstruck at thisnew request, notwithstanding the assurance she

had given him of granting him whatever lay in herpower. After a long silence, he said, 'I beg of your majesty to be assured that there is nothingI would not undertake to prolong your life, but Iwish it might not be by means of my wife. Forthis reason I dare not promise to bring the



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bottle without alighting, and then return withthe same speed. The lions will be so busy eatingthat they will let you pass.'

Prince Ahmed set out the next morning at thetime appointed by the fairy, and followed her di-rections carefully. When he arrived at the gatesof the castle, he distributed the quarters of thesheep among the four lions, and passing throughthe midst of them with haste, got to the foun-tain, filled his bottle, and returned as safe and

sound as he went. When he was a little distancefrom the castle gates, he turned round; and per-ceiving two of the lions coming after him, hedrew his sabre, and prepared for defence. But ashe went forward, he saw one of them turned offthe road, and showed by his head and tail that hedid not come to do him any harm, but only to gobefore him, and that the other stayed behind to

follow. He therefore put his sword again into itsscabbard. Guarded in this manner he arrived atthe capital of the Indies; but the lions never lefthim till they had conducted him to the gates ofthe sultan's palace; after which they returnedthe way they came, though not without frighten-

ing all that saw them, who fled or hid themselves,though they walked gently, and showed no signsof fierceness.

A great many officers came to attend the princewhile he dismounted, and conducted him to theapartments of the sultan, who was at that timeconversing with his favourites. He approachedthe throne, laid the bottle at the sultan's feet,kissed the rich carpet which covered the foot-stool, and rising, said, 'I have brought you, sir,

the health-giving water which your majesty somuch desired to keep in your treasury; but at thesame time wish you such health that you maynever have occasion to make use of it.'

After the prince had finished speaking, thesultan placed him on his right hand, and thensaid, 'Son, I am very much obliged to you for this

valuable present; also for the great danger youhave exposed yourself to upon my account, whichI have been informed of by the magician whoknows the fountain of lions; but do me the plea-sure,' continued he, 'to tell me by what incred-ible power you have been preserved.'

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'Sir,' replied Prince Ahmed, 'I have no share inthe compliment your majesty is pleased to makeme; all the honour is due to the fairy my wife; Imerely followed her good advice.' The sultanshowed outwardly all the demonstrations of joy,but secretly became more and more jealous, re-tired into an inner apartment, and sent for themagician.

After conferring with her, the sultan next daysaid to the prince, in the midst of all his court-

iers, 'Son, I have one thing more to ask of you;after which, I shall expect nothing more from your obedience, nor your influence with yourwife. This request is, to bring me a man not abovea foot and a half high, whose beard is thirty feetlong, who carries upon his shoulders a bar of ironof five hundredweight which he uses as a quar-terstaff, and who can speak.'

Prince Ahmed, who did not believe that therewas such a man in the world as his father de-scribed, would gladly have excused himself; butthe sultan persisted in his demand, and told himthat the fairy could do more incredible things.

Next day the prince returned to the subterra-nean kingdom of Pari Banou, to whom he told hisfather's new demand, which, he said, he lookedupon as more impossible than the first two; 'for,'added he, 'I cannot imagine that there is or canbe such a man in the world: either he has a mindto try whether I am silly enough to go and seekhim; or if there is such a man, he seeks my ruin.How can he suppose that I should get hold of aman so small, armed as he describes? What armscould I make use of to reduce him to submis-

sion?'

'Do not affright yourself, prince,' replied thefairy; 'you ran a risk in fetching the water of thefountain of lions for your father; but there is nodanger in finding this man. It is my brother,Schaibar, who is so far from being like me,though we both had the same father, that he is

of so violent a nature that nothing can preventhis giving gory marks of his resentment for aslight offence; yet, on the other hand, he is sogood as to oblige any one in whatever theydesire. He is made exactly as the sultan yourfather has described him; and he has no other

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arms than a bar of iron five hundred pounds inweight, without which he never stirs, and whichmakes him respected. I will send for him, and youshall judge of the truth of what I tell you; andprepare not to be frightened when you see him.'

'What! my queen,' replied Prince Ahmed, 'do yousay Schaibar is your brother? Let him be ever sougly or deformed, I shall love and honour him,and consider him as my nearest relation.'

The fairy ordered a gold chafing-dish to be setwith a fire in it under the porch of her palace,with a box of the same metal. Taking some in-cense out of this, and throwing it into the fire,there arose a thick cloud of smoke.

Some moments after, the fairy said to PrinceAhmed, 'Prince, here comes my brother; do you

see him?'

The prince immediately perceived Schaibar, whowas but a foot and a half high, coming gravelywith his heavy bar on his shoulder; his beard,thirty feet long, supported itself before him,

and a pair of thick moustaches were tucked up tohis ears, almost covering his face: his eyes werevery small, like a pig's, and sunk deep in his head,which was of an enormous size, and on which hewore a pointed cap: besides all this, he had ahump behind and before.

If Prince Ahmed had not known that Schaibarwas Pari Banou's brother, he would not have beenable to look at him without fear; but knowing be-forehand who he was, he waited for him with the

fairy, and received him without the least con-cern.

Schaibar, as he came forward, looked at theprince with an eye that might have chilled hissoul in his body, and asked Pari Banou who thatman was.

To which she replied: 'He is my husband,brother; his name is Ahmed; he is son to theSultan of the Indies. The reason why I did notinvite you to my wedding was that I was unwillingto divert you from the expedition you were en-gaged in, and from which I heard with pleasure

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that you returned victorious; on his account Ihave taken the liberty now to send for you.'

At these words, Schaibar, looking at PrinceAhmed with a favourable eye, which however di-minished neither his fierceness nor his savagelook, said, 'Is there anything, sister, in which Ican serve him? he has only to speak. It is enoughfor me that he is your husband.'

'The sultan his father,' replied Pari Banou, 'has a

curiosity to see you, and I desire he may be yourguide to the Sultan's court.'

'He need but lead the way; I will follow him,' re-plied Schaibar.

'Brother,' replied Pari Banou, 'it is too late to goto-day, therefore stay till to-morrow morning;

and in the meantime, as it is desirable that youshould know all that has passed between theSultan of the Indies and Prince Ahmed since ourmarriage, I will tell you this evening.'

Next morning, after Schaibar had been informed

of all that was proper for him to know, he set outwith Prince Ahmed, who was to present him tothe sultan. When they arrived at the gates ofthe capital, the people no sooner saw Schaibar

than they ran and hid themselves in their shopsand houses, and shut their doors; while otherstook to their heels, and communicated their fearto all they met, who did not wait to look behindthem, but ran too; insomuch that Schaibar andPrince Ahmed, as they went along, found all thestreets and squares deserted, till they came tothe palace, where the porters, instead of pre-venting Schaibar from entering, also ran away; sothat the prince and he advanced without any ob-stacle to the council-hall, where the sultan wasseated on his throne giving audience. Here like-wise the officers, at the approach of Schaibar,abandoned their posts.

Schaibar, carrying his head erect, went fiercelyup to the throne, without waiting to be intro-duced by Prince Ahmed, and accosted the Sultanof the Indies in these words:

'You have asked for me, see, here I am: what do you want with me?'

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The sultan, instead of answering, clapt his handsbefore his eyes, and turned away his head, toavoid the sight of so terrible an object. Schaibarwas so much provoked at this uncivil and rude re-ception, after the Sultan had given him thetrouble to come so far, that he instantly liftedup his iron bar, and saying, 'Speak then,' let itfall on his head, and killed him before PrinceAhmed could intercede in his behalf. All that hecould do was to prevent his killing the grandvizier, who sat not far from him on his righthand, representing to him that he had alwaysgiven the sultan his father good advice.

'These are they then,' said Schaibar, 'who gavehim bad advice;' and as he pronounced thesewords, he killed all the other viziers on the rightand left, flatterers and favourites of the sultan,who were Prince Ahmed's enemies. Every time he

struck, he killed some one or other, and none es-caped but they who, not rendered motionless byfear, saved themselves by flight.

When this terrible execution was over, Schaibarcame out of the council-hall into the midst of thecourt-yard with the iron bar on his shoulder, andlooking at the grand vizier, who owed his life toPrince Ahmed, he said, 'I know there is a certainsorceress, who is a greater enemy of the princemy brother-in-law than all those base favouritesI have chastised; let her be brought to me atonce.' The grand vizier immediately sent for her,and as soon as she was brought, Schaibar said,knocking her down with his iron bar, 'Take the

reward of thy pernicious counsel, and learn tofeign illness again:' and left her dead on thespot.

After this he said, 'This is not enough; I willtreat the whole city in the same manner, if theydo not immediately acknowledge Prince Ahmedmy brother-in-law for their sultan, and Sultan of

the Indies.' Then all that were present made theair ring with the repeated acclamations of 'Longlife to Sultan Ahmed'; and immediately after-wards he was proclaimed throughout the wholetown Schaibar made him be clothed in the royalvestments, installed him on the throne, and after

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he had made all do homage and fidelity to him,went and fetched his sister Pari Banou, whom hebrought with great pomp, and made her acknowl-edged Sultaness of the Indies.

As for Prince Ali and Princess Nouronnihar, asthey had no hand in the conspiracy against PrinceAhmed, nor knew of any such conspiracy, PrinceAhmed assigned them a considerable province,with its capital, where they spent the rest oftheir lives.

Afterwards he sent an officer to Prince Hous-sain to acquaint him with the change, and to makehim an offer of whichever province he liked best;but that prince thought himself so happy in his

solitude that he bade the officer return theSultan his brother thanks for his kindness, as-suring him of his submission; and saying that theonly favour he desired was leave to live retired inthe place he had made choice of for his retreat.

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