Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 06 (22 page)

'We all three were born at the same time,' said the Jew, obeying
the command of Sumi at a sign from the Cadi, 'and are the sons of
the famous Nathan Ben-Sadi, who gave us the names of Izif, Izouf,
and Izaf. From our earliest years we were taught the secrets of
magic, and as we were all born under the same stars we shared the
same happiness and the same troubles.

'Our mother died before I can remember, and when we were fifteen
our father was seized with a dangerous illness which no spells
could cure. Feeling death draw near, he called us to his bedside
and took leave of us in these words:

'"My sons, I have no riches to bequeath to you; my only wealth
was those secrets of magic which you know. Some stones you
already have, engraved with mystic signs, and long ago I taught
you how to make others. But you still lack the most precious of
all talismans—the three rings belonging to the daughters of
Siroco. Try to get possession of them, but take heed on beholding
these young girls that you do not fall under the power of their
beauty. Their religion is different from yours, and further, they
are the betrothed brides of the sons of the Bassa of the Sea. And
to preserve you from a love which can bring you nothing but
sorrow, I counsel you in time of peril to seek out the daughter
of Moizes the Rabbi, who cherishes a hidden passion for Izaf, and
possesses the Book of Spells, which her father himself wrote with
the sacred ink that was used for the Talmud." So saying, our
father fell back on his cushions and died, leaving us burning
with desire for the three rings of the daughters of Siroco.

'No sooner were our sad duties finished than we began to make
inquiries where these young ladies were to be found, and we
learned after much trouble that Siroco, their father, had fought
in many wars, and that his daughters, whose beauty was famous
throughout all the land, were named Aurora, Argentine, and
Zelida.'

At the second of these names, both the Bassa and his son gave a
start of surprise, but they said nothing and Izaf went on with
his story.

'The first thing to be done was to put on a disguise, and it was
in the dress of foreign merchants that we at length approached
the young ladies, taking care to carry with us a collection of
fine stones which we had hired for the occasion. But alas! it was
to no purpose that Nathan Ben-Sadi had warned us to close our
hearts against their charms! The peerless Aurora was clothed in a
garment of golden hue, studded all over with flashing jewels; the
fair-haired Argentine wore a dress of silver, and the young
Zelida, loveliest of them all, the costume of a Persian lady.

'Among other curiosities that we had brought with us, was a flask
containing an elixir which had the quality of exciting love in
the breasts of any man or woman who drank of it. This had been
given me by the fair Sumi, who had used it herself and was full
of wrath because I refused to drink it likewise, and so return
her passion. I showed this liquid to the three maidens who were
engaged in examining the precious stones, and choosing those that
pleased them best; and I was in the act of pouring some in a
crystal cup, when Zelida's eyes fell on a paper wrapped round the
flask containing these words. "Beware lest you drink this water
with any other man than him who will one day be your husband."
"Ah, traitor!" she exclaimed, "what snare have you laid for me?"
and glancing where her finger pointed I recognised the writing of
Sumi.

'By this time my two brothers had already got possession of the
rings of Aurora and Argentine in exchange for some merchandise
which they coveted, and no sooner had the magic circles left
their hands than the two sisters vanished completely, and in
their place nothing was to be seen but a watch of gold and one of
silver. At this instant the old slave whom we had bribed to let
us enter the house, rushed into the room announcing the return of
Zelida's father. My brothers, trembling with fright, hid the
watches in their turbans, and while the slave was attending to
Zelida, who had sunk fainting to the ground, we managed to make
our escape.

'Fearing to be traced by the enraged Siroco, we did not dare to
go back to the house where we lodged, but took refuge with Sumi.

'"Unhappy wretches!" cried she, "is it thus that you have
followed the counsels of your father? This very morning I
consulted my magic books, and saw you in the act of abandoning
your hearts to the fatal passion which will one day be your ruin.
No, do not think I will tamely bear this insult! It was I who
wrote the letter which stopped Zelida in the act of drinking the
elixir of love! As for you," she went on, turning to my brothers,
"you do not yet know what those two watches will cost you! But
you can learn it now, and the knowledge of the truth will only
serve to render your lives still more miserable."

'As she spoke she held out the sacred book written by Moizes, and
pointed to the following lines:

'"If at midnight the watches are wound with the key of gold and
the key of silver, they will resume their proper shapes during
the first hour of the day. They will always remain under the care
of a woman, and will come back to her wherever they may be. And
the woman appointed to guard them is the daughter of Moizes."

'My brothers were full of rage when they saw themselves
outwitted, but there was no help for it. The watches were
delivered up to Sumi and they went their way, while I remained
behind curious to see what would happen.

'As night wore on Sumi wound up both watches, and when midnight
struck Aurora and her sister made their appearance. They knew
nothing of what had occurred and supposed they had just awakened
from sleep, but when Sumi's story made them understand their
terrible fate, they both sobbed with despair and were only
consoled when Sumi promised never to forsake them. Then one
o'clock sounded, and they became watches again.

'All night long I was a prey to vague fears, and I felt as if
something unseen was pushing me on—in what direction I did not
know. At dawn I rose and went out, meeting Izif in the street
suffering from the same dread as myself. We agreed that
Constantinople was no place for us any longer, and calling to
Izouf to accompany us, we left the city together, but soon
determined to travel separately, so that we might not be so
easily recognised by the spies of Siroco.

'A few days later I found myself at the door of an old castle
near the sea, before which a tall slave was pacing to and fro.
The gift of one or two worthless jewels loosened his tongue, and
he informed me that he was in the service of the son of the Bassa
of the Sea, at that time making war in distant countries. The
youth, he told me, had been destined from his boyhood to marry
the daughter of Siroco, whose sisters were to be the brides of
his brothers, and went on to speak of the talisman that his
charge possessed. But I could think of nothing but the beautiful
Zelida, and my passion, which I thought I had conquered, awoke in
full force.

'In order to remove this dangerous rival from my path, I resolved
to kidnap him, and to this end I began to act a madman, and to
sing and dance loudly, crying to the slave to fetch the boy and
let him see my tricks. He consented, and both were so diverted
with my antics that they laughed till the tears ran down their
cheeks, and even tried to imitate me. Then I declared I felt
thirsty and begged the slave to fetch me some water, and while he
was absent I advised the youth to take off his turban, so as to
cool his head. He complied gladly, and in the twinkling of an eye
was changed into a pot. A cry from the slave warned me that I had
no time to lose if I would save my life, so I snatched up the pot
and fled with it like the wind.

'You have heard, my lords, what became of the pot, so I will only
say now that when I awoke it had disappeared; but I was partly
consoled for its loss by finding my two brothers fast asleep not
far from me. "How did you get here?" I inquired, "and what has
happened to you since we parted?"

'"Alas!" replied Izouf, "we were passing a wayside inn from which
came sounds of songs and laughter, and fools that we were—we
entered and sat down. Circassian girls of great beauty were
dancing for the amusement of several men, who not only received
us politely, but placed us near the two loveliest maidens. Our
happiness was complete, and time flew unknown to us, when one of
the Circassians leaned forward and said to her sister, 'Their
brother danced, and they must dance too.' What they meant by
these words I know not, but perhaps you can tell us?"

'"I understand quite well," I replied. "They were thinking of the
day that I stole the son of the Bassa, and had danced before
him."

'"Perhaps you are right," continued Izouf, "for the two ladies
took our hands and danced with us till we were quite exhausted,
and when at last we sat down a second time to table we drank more
wine than was good for us. Indeed, our heads grew so confused,
that when the men jumped up and threatened to kill us, we could
make no resistance and suffered ourselves to be robbed of
everything we had about us, including the most precious
possession of all, the two talismans of the daughters of Siroco."

'Not knowing what else to do, we all three returned to
Constantinople to ask the advice of Sumi, and found that she was
already aware of our misfortunes, having read about them in the
book of Moizes. The kind-hearted creature wept bitterly at our
story, but, being poor herself, could give us little help. At
last I proposed that every morning we should sell the silver
watch into which Argentine was changed, as it would return to
Sumi every evening unless it was wound up with the silver key—
which was not at all likely. Sumi consented, but only on the
condition that we would never sell the watch without ascertaining
the house where it was to be found, so that she might also take
Aurora thither, and thus Argentine would not be alone if by any
chance she was wound up at the mystic hour. For some weeks now we
have lived by this means, and the two daughters of Siroco have
never failed to return to Sumi each night. Yesterday Izouf sold
the silver watch to this young man, and in the evening placed the
gold watch on the steps by order of Sumi, just before his
customer entered the house; from which both watches came back
early this morning.'

'If I had only known!' cried Neangir. 'If I had had more presence
of mind, I should have seen the lovely Argentine, and if her
portrait is so fair, what must the original be!'

'It was not your fault,' replied the Cadi, 'you are no magician;
and who could guess that the watch must be wound at such an hour?
But I shall give orders that the merchant is to hand it over to
you, and this evening you will certainly not forget.'

'It is impossible to let you have it to-day,' answered Izouf,
'for it is already sold.'

'If that is so,' said the Cadi, 'you must return the three gold
pieces which the young man paid.'

The Jew, delighted to get off so easily, put his hand in his
pocket, when Neangir stopped him.

'No, no,' he exclaimed, 'it is not money I want, but the adorable
Argentine; without her everything is valueless.'

'My dear Cadi,' said the Bassa, 'he is right. The treasure that
my son has lost is absolutely priceless.'

'My lord,' replied the Cadi, 'your wisdom is greater than mine.
Give judgment I pray you in the matter.'

So the Bassa desired them all to accompany him to his house, and
commanded his slaves not to lose sight of the three Jewish
brothers.

When they arrived at the door of his dwelling, he noticed two
women sitting on a bench close by, thickly veiled and beautifully
dressed. Their wide satin trousers were embroidered in silver,
and their muslin robes were of the finest texture. In the hand of
one was a bag of pink silk tied with green ribbons, containing
something that seemed to move.

At the approach of the Bassa both ladies rose, and came towards
him. Then the one who held the bag addressed him saying, 'Noble
lord, buy, I pray you, this bag, without asking to see what it
contains.'

'How much do you want for it?' asked the Bassa.

'Three hundred sequins,' replied the unknown.

At these words the Bassa laughed contemptuously, and passed on
without speaking.

'You will not repent of your bargain,' went on the woman.
'Perhaps if we come back to-morrow you will be glad to give us
the four hundred sequins we shall then ask. And the next day the
price will be five hundred.'

'Come away,' said her companion, taking hold of her sleeve. 'Do
not let us stay here any longer. It may cry, and then our secret
will be discovered.' And so saying, the two young women
disappeared.

The Jews were left in the front hall under the care of the
slaves, and Neangir and Sumi followed the Bassa inside the house,
which was magnificently furnished. At one end of a large,
brilliantly-lighted room a lady of about thirty-five years old
reclined on a couch, still beautiful in spite of the sad
expression of her face.

'Incomparable Zambac,' said the Bassa, going up to her, 'give me
your thanks, for here is the lost son for whom you have shed so
many tears,' but before his mother could clasp him in her arms
Neangir had flung himself at her feet.

'Let the whole house rejoice with me,' continued the Bassa, 'and
let my two sons Ibrahim and Hassan be told, that they may embrace
their brother.'

'Alas! my lord!' said Zambac, 'do you forget that this is the
hour when Hassan weeps on his hand, and Ibrahim gathers up his
coral beads?'

'Let the command of the Prophet be obeyed,' replied the Bassa;
'then we will wait till the evening.'

'Forgive me, noble lord,' interrupted Sumi, 'but what is this
mystery? With the help of the Book of Spells perhaps I may be of
some use in the matter.'