Part 9

Next day after his arrival, the sultan gave all his courtiers a very ample account of the events which, contrary to his expectation, had detained him so long. He acquainted them with his having adopted the king of the four Black Islands, who was willing to leave a great kingdom, to accompany and live with him; and, in short, in reward of their loyalty, he made each of them presents according to their rank.

As for the fisherman, as he was the first cause of the deliverance of the young prince, the sultan gave him a plentiful fortune, which made him and his family happy the rest of their days.

Here Scheherazade made an end of the story of the Fisherman and the Genie. Dinarzade signified that she had taken a great deal of pleasure in it; and Schahriar having said the same thing, the sultaness told them, that she knew another which was much finer, and if the sultan would give her leave, she would tell it them next morning, for day began to appear. Schahriar, bethinking himself that he had granted the sultaness a month’s reprieve, and being curious moreover to know if this new story would be as agreeable as she promised, got up, with a desire to hear it next night.

TWENTY-EIGHTH NIGHT.

Dinarzade, according to custom, did not forget to call the sultaness when it was time. Madam, said she, I know not what is the matter with me, but I know very well, that one of the stories which you tell so agreeably would be a great relief against that melancholy which eats me up. Scheherazade, without answering her, began immediately, and told the sultan the following story:

The Story of the Three Calendars, [3] sons of Kings, and of the Five Ladies of Bagdad.

Sir, said she, in the reign of Caliph Haroun Alraschid, there was at Bagdad, the place of his residence, a porter, who, notwithstanding his mean and laborious business, was a fellow of wit and good humour. One morning, as he was at the place where he usually plied, with a great basket, waiting for employment, a handsome young lady, covered with a great muslin veil, accosted him, and said, with a pleasant air, Hark ye, porter, take your basket, and follow me. The porter, charmed with those few words, pronounced in so agreeable a manner, took his basket immediately, set it on his head, and followed the lady, saying, O, happy day! O, day of good luck!

The lady stopped presently before a gate that was shut, and knocked: a Christian, with a venerable long white beard, opened the gate, and she put money into his hand, without speaking one word: but the Christian, who knew what she wanted, went in, and in a little time after brought a large jug of excellent wine. Take this jug, said the lady to the porter, and put it in your basket. This being done, she commanded him to follow her; and as she went on, the porter said still, O, happy day! this is a day of agreeable surprise and joy!

The lady stopped at a fruit shop, where she bought several sorts of apples, apricots, peaches, quinces, lemons, citrons, oranges, myrtles, sweet basil, lilies, jessamin, and some other sorts of flowers and fragrant plants; she bade the porter put all into his basket, and follow her. As she went by a butcher’s stall, she made him weigh her twenty-five pounds of his best meat, which she ordered the porter to put also into his basket. At another shop she took capers, tarragon, cucumbers, sasafras, and other herbs, to be preserved in vinegar; at another shop she bought pistachios, walnuts, filberts, almonds, kernels of pine apples, and such other fruits; and at another she bought all sorts of confectionary. When the porter had put all those things into his basket, and perceived that it grew full, My good lady, said he, you ought to have given me notice that you had so much provision to carry, and then I would have got a horse, or rather a camel, to have carried them; for if you buy ever so little more, I shall not be able to carry it. The lady laughed at the fellow’s pleasant humour, and ordered him still to follow her.

Then she went to a druggist, where she furnished herself with all manner of sweet-scented waters, cloves, musk, pepper, ginger, and a great piece of ambergris, and several other Indian spices. This quite filled the porter’s basket, and she ordered him to follow her. They walked till they came to a magnificent house, whose front was adorned with fine columns, and which had a gate of ivory. There they stopped, and the lady knocked softly. Here Scheherazade, perceiving day, broke off.

I must own, sister, says Dinarzade, the beginning of this story has a great deal of curiosity; I fancy the sultan will not deprive himself of the pleasure of hearing the rest of it. And, indeed, Schahriar was so far from ordering the sultaness to be put to death, that he longed impatiently for next night, to know what passed in the fine house.

TWENTY-NINTH NIGHT.

Dinarzade being awake before day, addressed the sultaness thus: Sister, if you be awake, I would pray you to continue the history you began yesterday; and Scheherazade went on with it thus:

While the young lady and the porter staid for the opening of the gate, the porter had a thousand thoughts: he wondered that such a fine lady should come abroad to buy provisions: he concluded she could not be a slave, her air was too noble; and therefore he thought she must needs be a woman of quality. Just as he was about to ask her some questions upon that head, another lady came to open the gate, and appeared to him so beautiful, that he was perfectly surprised, or rather so much struck with her charms, that he had like to have let his basket fall, for he had never seen any beauty that equalled her.

The lady who brought the porter with her, perceiving his disorder, and what occasioned it, diverted herself with it, and took so much pleasure to examine his looks, that she forgot the gate was opened. Upon this the beautiful lady said to her, Pray, sister, come in; what do you stay for? Do you not see this poor man so heavily laden, that he is scarcely able to stand under it?

When she entered with the porter, the lady who opened the gate shut it, and all three, after having gone through a very fine porch, came into a spacious court, encompassed with an open gallery, which had a communication with several apartments on a floor, and extraordinarily magnificent. There was at the farther end of the court a sofa richly adorned, with a throne of amber in the middle of it, supported by four columns of ebony, enriched with diamonds and pearls of an extraordinary size, and covered with red satin embroidered with Indian gold of admirable workmanship. In the middle of the court there was a great fountain, faced with white marble, and full of clear water, which fell into it abundantly out of the mouth of a lion of brass.

The porter, though heavy laden, could not but admire the magnificence of this house, and the excellent order that every thing was placed in; but that which particularly captivated his attention was a third lady, who seemed to be a greater beauty than the second, and was seated upon the throne just now mentioned. She came down from it, as soon as she saw the two former ladies, and advanced towards them; he judged by the respect which the others showed her, that she was the chief, in which he was not mistaken. This lady was called Zobeide, she who opened the gate was called Safie, and Amine was the name of her who went out to buy the provisions.

Zobeide said to the two ladies, when she came to them, Sisters, do not you see that this honest man is ready to sink under his burden? Why do not you ease him of it? Then Amine and Safie took the basket, the one before and the other behind, and Zobeide also lent her hand, and all three together set it on the ground; then emptied it; and when they had done, the beautiful Amine took out money, and paid the porter liberally. Day-light appearing, Scheherazade was obliged to keep silence; but Schahriar, having a great desire to hear the rest of the story, ordered the sultaness to go on with it next night.

THIRTIETH NIGHT.

Next morning Dinarzade being awaked by her impatience to hear the rest of the story, said to the sultaness: For the sake of heaven, sister, if you be not asleep, give us an account of what the ladies did with the provisions brought by Amine. You shall quickly hear it, said Scheherazade, if you listen to my story, which she resumed as follows:

The porter, very well satisfied with the money he had received, was to have taken up his basket, and be gone; but he could not tell how to think on it. Do what he could, he found himself stopped by the pleasure of seeing three such beauties, who appeared to him equally charming; for Amine having now laid aside her veil, was as handsome as either of them. What surprised him most was, that he saw no man about the house, yet most of the provisions he brought in, as the dry fruits, and the several sorts of cakes and confections, were fit chiefly for those who could drink and make merry.

Zobeide thought at first, that the porter staid only to take breath; but perceiving that he staid too long, What do you wait for? said she: are you not well enough paid? And turning to Amine, said, Sister, give him something more, that he may depart satisfied. Madam, replied the porter, it is not that which keeps me, I am over and above paid; I am sensible that I am unmannerly to stay longer than I ought, but I hope you will be so good as to pardon me, if I tell you, that I am astonished to see that there is no man with three ladies of such extraordinary beauty; and you know that a company of women without men is as melancholy a thing as a company of men without women. To this he added several other pleasant things, to prove what he said, and did not forget the Bagdad proverb, That the table is not completely furnished, except there be four in company: and so concluded that since they were but three, they wanted a fourth.

The ladies fell a laughing at the porter’s discourse; after which, Zobeide said to him very gravely, Friend, you are a little too bold; and though you do not deserve that I should enter into particulars with you, yet I am willing to tell you, that we are three sisters, who do our business so secretly, that no body knows any thing of it. We have too great reason to be cautious of acquainting indiscreet persons with it; and a good author that we have read, says, “Keep your secret and do not reveal it to any body. He that reveals it is no longer master of it. If your own breast cannot keep your secret, how do you think that another person will keep it?”

My ladies, replied the porter, by your very air, I judged at first that you were persons of extraordinary merit, and I conceive that I am not mistaken; though fortune has not given me wealth enough to raise me above my mean profession, yet I have not failed to cultivate my mind as much as I could, by reading books of science and history: and allow me, if you please, to tell you, that I have also read in another author a maxim which I have always happily practised: “We do not conceal our secrets,” says he, “but from such persons as are known to all the world to want discretion, and would abuse the confidence we put in them; but we make no scruple to discover them to prudent persons, because we know they can keep them.” A secret with me is as sure as if it were in a closet, whose key is lost, and the door sealed up.

Zobeide perceiving that the porter did not want sense, but conceiving he had a mind to share in their treat, she replied to him, smiling, You know that we are about to have a treat, and you know also that we have been at a considerable expense, and it is not just that you should have a share of it, without contributing towards it. The beautiful Safie seconded her sister, and said to the porter, Friend, have you never heard that which is commonly said, “If you bring any thing with you, you shall be welcome; but if you bring nothing, you must get you gone with nothing?”

The porter, notwithstanding his rhetoric, must in all probability have retired in confusion, if Amine had not taken his part, and said to Zobeide and Safie, My dearest sisters, I conjure you to let him stay with us; I need not tell you that he will divert us, you see well enough that he is capable of that; I must needs tell you, that unless he had been very willing, as well as nimble, and hardy enough to follow me, I could not have done so much business in so little time: besides, should I repeat to you all the obliging expressions he used to me by the way, you would not be surprised at my protecting him.

At these words of Amine, the porter was so much transported with joy, that he fell on his knees, kissed the ground at the feet of that charming person, and raising himself up, said, Most beautiful lady, you began my good fortune to-day, and now you complete it by this generous action; I cannot enough testify my acknowledgment for it. As to what remains, my ladies, said he, addressing himself to all three sisters, since you do me so great honour, do not think that I will abuse it, or look upon myself as a person that deserves it. No, I shall always look upon myself as one of your most humble slaves. When he had spoken these words, he would have returned the money he had received, but the grave Zobeide ordered him to keep it. That which we have once given, said she, to reward those who have served us, we never take again. --Here day began to dawn, which put Scheherazade to silence.

Dinarzade, who listened with a great deal of attention, was much troubled at it, but had this comfort, however, that the sultan, who was as curious as she to know what passed betwixt the three beautiful ladies and the porter, ordered the sultaness to go on with the rest of the story next night, and rose up to go about his business.

THIRTY-FIRST NIGHT.

The next morning, Dinarzade did not fail to awaken the sultaness at the ordinary time, and said, Dear sister, if you are not asleep, I would pray you, (until break of day, which is near at hand,) to go on with that agreeable story you began. Upon which Scheherazade addressed the sultan thus: Sir, with your leave, I am willing to satisfy my sister’s curiosity; and at the same time, went on with the story of the Three Calenders.

Zobeide would not take back the money from the porter, but said, My friend, in consenting that you stay with us, I must forewarn you, that it is not only on condition that you keep secret what we have required you, but also that you observe exactly the rules of good manners and civility. In the mean time the charming Amine put off the apparel she went abroad with, put on her night-gown that she might be more easy, and covered the table, which she furnished with several sorts of meat, and upon a side-board she set bottles of wine and cups of gold. Soon after the ladies took their places, and made the porter sit down by them, who was overjoyed to see himself at table with three such admirable beauties. After they had eaten a little, Amine, who sat next the sideboard, took up a bottle and a cup, filled out wine, and drank first herself, according to the custom of the Arabians; then she filled the cup to her sisters, who drank in course as they sat; and at last she filled it the fourth time to the porter, who, as he received it, kissed Amine’s hand; and before he drank, sung a song to this purpose: That as the wind brings along with it the sweet scents of the perfumed places through which it passes, so the wine he was going to drink, coming from her fair hands, received a more exquisite taste than what it had of its own nature. This song pleased the ladies so much, that each of them sung another in their turn. In short, they were very merry all dinner-time, which lasted a long while, and nothing was wanting that could make it agreeable. The day being almost spent, Safie spoke in the name of the three ladies, and said to the porter, Arise, and be gone; it is time for you to depart. But the porter, not willing to leave so good company, cried, Alas! ladies, whither do you command me to go in the condition I am in? I am quite beside myself, by what I have seen since I came hither, and having also drank above my usual quantity, I shall never find the way home: allow me this night to repose in any place where you please, for no less time is necessary for me to recover myself; but go when I will, I shall leave the best part of myself behind me.

Amine pleaded the second time for the porter, saying, Sisters, he is in the right; I am pleased with the request, he having already diverted us so well; and, if you will take my advice, or if you love me as much as I think you do, let us keep him, to pass away the remaining part of the night. Sister, answered Zobeide, we can refuse you nothing; and then turning to the porter, said, We are willing once more to grant your request, but upon this new condition, that whatever we do in your presence relating to ourselves or any thing else, take heed you do not once open your mouth to ask the reason of it; for if you ask questions about that which does not belong to you, you may chance to know that which will be no way pleasing to you; beware, therefore, and do not be too curious to dive into the motives of our actions.

Madam, replied the porter, I promise to observe this condition with such exactness, that you shall have no cause to reproach me with breaking it, and far less to punish my indiscretion: my tongue shall be immoveable on this occasion, and my eye like a looking-glass, which retains nothing of the object that is set before it. And to show you, said Zobeide with a serious countenance, that what we demand of you is not a new thing among us, rise up, and read what is written over our gate on the inside.

The porter went thither, and read these words, written in large characters of gold: “He who speaks of things that do not concern him, shall hear of things that will not please him.” Returning again to the three sisters, Ladies, said he, I give you my oath, that you shall never hear me speak any thing which does not concern me, or wherein you may have any concern.

This agreement being made, Amine brought in supper, and after the room was set round with tapers, that were mixed with aloes and ambergris, which gave a most agreeable scent, as well as a delicate light, she sat down at table with her sisters and the porter. They began again to eat and drink, sing, and repeat verses. The ladies took pleasure to fuddle the porter, under pretext of causing him to drink their healths, and abundance of witty sentences passed on both sides. In short, as they were all in the best humour in the world, they heard a knocking at the gate.

Scheherazade was obliged to stop here, because she observed day-light appearing.

The sultan, not doubting the sequel of this history deserved to be heard, put it off till the day following, and so arose.

THIRTY-SECOND NIGHT.

The next night being almost at an end, Dinarzade called to the sultaness; for heaven’s sake, sister, if you are awake, let me pray you to continue the story of the three fair ladies: I am very impatient till I know who it was that knocked at their gate. You shall hear it immediately, said she; I am sure that what I am now going to relate is worthy of my lord the sultan’s attention.

When the ladies, said she, heard the knocking, they all three got up to open the gate; but Safie, to whom this office particularly belonged, was the nimblest; which her other two sisters perceiving, sat down till she came back, to acquaint them who it could be that had any business with them so late. Safie returning, said, Sisters, we have here a very fine opportunity to pass a good part of the night with much satisfaction, and if you be of the same mind with me, we shall not let it slip. There are three calenders at our gate, at least they appear to be such by their habit; but that which you will most admire is, they are all three blind of the right eye, and have their heads, beards, and eye-brows shaved, and, as they say, are but just come to Bagdad, where they never were before; and it being night, and not knowing where to find any lodging, they happened by chance to knock at this gate, and pray us, for the love of heaven, to have compassion on them, and receive them into the house; they care not what place we put them in, provided they may be under shelter; they would be satisfied with a stable; they are young and handsome enough, and seem also to be men of good sense; but I cannot without laughing think of their pleasant and uniform figure. Here Safie fell a laughing so heartily, that it put the two sisters and the porter into the same mood. My dear sisters, said she, are you content that they come in? it is impossible but with such persons as I have already described them to be, we shall finish the day better than we began it; they will afford us diversion enough, and put us to no charge, because they desire shelter only for this night, and resolve to leave us as soon as day appears.

Zobeide and Amine made some difficulty to grant Safie’s request, for reasons they well knew; but she having so great a desire to obtain this favour, they could not refuse her. Go then, said Zobeide, and bring them in; but do not forget to acquaint them that they must not speak of any thing which does not concern them, and cause them to read what is written over the gate. Safie ran out with a great deal of joy, and in a little time after returned with the three calenders in her company.

At their entrance they made a profound bow to the ladies, who rose up to receive them, told them most obligingly that they were very welcome, that they were glad to have met with an opportunity to oblige them, and to contribute towards relieving them from the fatigue of their journey, and at last invited them to sit down with them.

The magnificence of the place, and the civility they received in it, made the calenders conceive a great idea of these handsome ladies; but, before they sat down, having by chance cast their eyes upon the porter, whom they saw clad almost like one of those other calenders with whom they are in controversy about several points of discipline, because they never shave their beards nor eyebrows; one of them said, Look here, I believe we have got one of our revolted Arabian brethren.

The porter being half asleep, and having his head warm with wine, was affronted at these words, and with a fierce look, without stirring from his place, answered, Sit you down, and do not meddle with what does not concern you. Have you not read the inscription over the gate? Do not pretend to make people live after your fashion, but follow ours.

Honest man, said the calender, do not put yourself in a passion; we should be very sorry to give you the least occasion; on the contrary, we are ready to receive your commands. Upon which, to put an end to the dispute, the ladies interposed, and pacified them. When the calenders sat down at table, the ladies served them with meat; and Safie, being most pleased with them, did not let them want for drink.

Scheherazade stopped her discourse, because she saw day appear, and the sultan got up to follow his affairs, and promised to hear the rest of the story next day; for he had a great desire to know why those three calenders were blind, and all three of the same eye.

THIRTY-THIRD NIGHT.

An hour before day, Dinarzade being awake, said to the sultaness, Dear sister, pray let me know what passed between the ladies and the calenders. With all my heart, replied Scheherazade, and continued her story in the manner following: