Tales of the Marvellous and News of the Strange (Hardcover Classics) (15 page)

‘The man said: “I am Sa‘ada, son of al-Malik al-Akhdar, one of the descendants of ‘Abd al-Malik al-Akbar. I passed by an island in the Indian Ocean, where I came across a cave belonging to the great Shaddad, who ruled the East and the West. I was not able to open it up and remove its contents as I am a poor man without wealth or helpers. So I have brought the matter to you, and should you want to have the cave investigated, let me know and help me to open it up so that you may add to your wealth.”

‘Chosroe agreed to give him a hundred skilled men and ordered that he be provided with suitable picks, axes and other tools and he then sent him off with his workmen. They sailed from
Ubulla
with a fair wind and after just over three months they reached the island. The wind then strengthened against them and, fearing disaster, they anchored and disembarked, after which they helped themselves to water and fruit.

‘As they were wandering around the island, admiring the quantity of its trees, its fine fruits and the sweetness of its waters, they suddenly heard a loud noise. When they looked up they saw a huge bird with a body bigger than that of an elephant whose wings obscured the horizon.

[
First person narrative of one of Chosroe’s men]

‘ “It swooped down on us and snatched up two of us with its talons before soaring off with them into the sky. We never saw them again. I told the others to hurry back to the ship before the bird destroyed us, but they said that they would spend the night there as it would not come back and they could go to the ship early next morning.

‘ “Before an hour had passed, that night we heard a noise of clapping coming from the sea and a mixture of voices. Mermaids came out of the
sea and, on reaching the island, they approached us and smiled in our faces. They showed no sign of fear when we got up to go to them nor did they run away. Each one of us took one of them and we spent the most delightful and pleasant of nights, discovering that the only difference between them and our own women was that their skins had the roughness of small shells.

‘ “Dawn disturbed them and we could not hold them back as they rushed to the sea and dived in. ‘Let us take the opportunity to save ourselves,’ one of us then said, ‘as we cannot be sure that the bird will not come back.’ So we took what water and fruits we could and, running before the wind, we sailed for a month on a sea that was boiling like a cauldron and which contained creatures any one of which could smash our ship if it touched it with the edge of its wing. So whenever any of them came near we would beat drums and blow on trumpets, at which they would turn away.

‘ “We went on like that until Sa‘ada asked us if we could see anything ahead of us. ‘There is something white like the light of the sun,’ we said, at which he prostrated himself in thankfulness to Almighty God, exclaiming: ‘This is our goal!’ We sailed on until we reached a huge island white as camphor, where we anchored and disembarked. I asked Sa‘ada whether there was anything there for us to fear, and he said: ‘No, you can safely go wherever you want.’ So we went around without seeing anything dangerous but finding completely unknown trees and fruits the like of which we had never seen before, softer than butter and sweeter than honey.

‘ “Because the paths were so narrow and the trees so thickly interwoven Sa‘ada lost his way to the cave and went to and fro bewildered and distressed. We went with him through trackless thickets, wandering around and looking for the cave until suddenly he came across it and prostrated himself in thankfulness to Almighty God. He told us to pitch camp and rest for the remainder of the day, which we did.

‘ “Next day we brought out the picks and axes and he told us to clear all around a rock, where we dug for a number of days. We then fastened ropes and chains around the rock and encouraged one another with shouts until we had moved it away from the cave entrance. ‘Come on, boys!’ Sa‘ada said to us. ‘We shall draw lots and whoever wins can go in, look around and tell us whether there is anything unpleasant or dangerous.’

‘ “We all took part in this, and the lot fell to a young man who was
one of the bravest and most steadfast of our company. When he had got to the entrance of the cave and was standing on the threshold, a brazen statue of a lion with steel teeth sprang out and attacked him violently, carrying him off. We heard a single scream and the lion then dropped him and went back to its place, while we heard the noise of a body falling into a well. ‘Damn you!’ we said to Sa‘ada. ‘What made you risk your own life and that of your man?’ ‘Don’t judge me hastily,’ he replied, ‘for anyone who is serious in pursuit of a great quest must take risks and enter dangerous places, but there is a way to put this talisman out of action at least for a time.’

‘ “From his sleeve he took out a book and, after looking through its pages, he told us to come out with him. He measured the distance from where the lion was to the entrance of the cave and then did the same thing along the ground in reverse. ‘Dig here,’ he told us, and when we did we got to the edge of the well. We used our axes to break it down and at this point we heard the lion falling into the opening that lay in front of it.

‘ “We then returned to the entrance of the cave. He told us to fetch planks, and we laid these from the entrance to the edge of the well. ‘You can now enter safely,’ he told us, and after we had done this all we could see was darkness. ‘We daren’t risk our lives by going in here without knowing what to expect,’ we told him, but he said: ‘I am with you,’ and he went on ahead of us. We could see him calling us to follow, and as we walked along a dark passage he kept telling us that there was nothing there to fear.

‘ “He led us out into a wide space where there was an iron door with a lock. He took a club and struck the lock with a blow that shattered it before opening the door. ‘Good news!’ he told us. ‘The end of the task is near, so draw lots for one of you to go in and tell us what he sees.’ We did this and the winner entered and saw a flight of stairs at the bottom of which was a statue lying on its face. When he put his foot on the first step the statue moved and sat up; when he stood on the second step it took up a sword that was lying beside it. He reached the third step and it stood up and when he got to the fourth step it turned on a spiral spring and struck him a blow that cut him in half.

‘ “ ‘Don’t be afraid at what you see,’ our leader told us, ‘for if a man’s time is up he will die on his bed, and whoever does not come will not get enough to live on. There is nothing left for you to fear, so get me a large piece of wood from one of the trees.’ One of us did that, and when
he brought it back the leader told us that he would save us the trouble and run the risk for us. He then took the piece of wood in his hand and started to go down one step after another. The statue moved as it had done before, and when he got to the fourth step it turned and struck with its sword. The man met it with the wood, in which the sword stuck, leaving the statue motionless. ‘You can come in safely,’ our leader told us, ‘as there is no trick left that you have to fear.’

‘ “Following him, we came to an open space with fine trees in leaf and water gushing from the mouths of lions and birds’ beaks into a pool lined with gold, whose radiance dazzled the eyes. From the statues came tuneful sounds that captivated the heart. Standing over this was a huge palace by a great river, with a door of red gold studded with pearls and other gems. At the upper end was a silver couch on which lay a shrouded corpse with a tablet of green topaz at its head on which was the following inscription: ‘I am Shaddad the Great. I conquered a thousand cities; a thousand white elephants were collected for me; I lived for a thousand years and my kingdom covered both east and west, but when death came to me nothing of all that I had gathered was of any avail. You who see me, take heed, for Time is not to be trusted. I stored all the wealth and the jewels that I collected in three caves, of which this is one. Its contents lie on the other side of my couch through a door which I constructed through my knowledge of astrology. No man can open it until the lucky stars are in the right place and this is due to happen on one day a year. Let no one who comes to it wear himself out for he will not get through to it until the stars give him the opportunity.’

‘ “Sa‘ada said: ‘What is written here is true, so be careful of what food you have and store it away, only eating enough to keep you alive, although there are also fruits on the island. We have to wait until the door opens, for if all the people in the world used every means that they could think of to hurry it on, they would not be able to get through.’

‘ “We stayed like that for four months, but then there was a great earth tremor, and we rushed in a panic to the door, which we found open. ‘We don’t know how long it will stay open,’ Sa‘ada told us, ‘so look after yourselves and fetch timbers to set between the two halves of the door until you get what you want.’

‘ “We did that and went through to a room filled with jewels, gold and silver, from which we took all that we could and loaded our ship until there was no room for more. We removed the wood that we had put up as props so that anyone else who came would have the same trouble
that we did and would have to wait as we had waited. We then took the topaz tablet with its description of the door and, after going back up, we replaced the stone that had covered the door and left.

‘ “We sailed off for some distance with a fair wind and we then experienced more of the perils and the marvels of the sea with its various types of beasts than we had seen on our way out. When we reached
Hilla
we gave thanks to Almighty God and wrote to the king to tell him what had happened and to say that we were in fear of Bedouin robbers on our way back. He sent us a thousand horsemen as well as many camels and mules. We loaded them with all we had and brought them to the king, who thanked God for what He had granted him. ‘You have not fallen short!’ he told us and he gave each of us enough to make him wealthy. We were all then numbered amongst his intimates until death separated us.” ’

The story is told that Aban son of al-‘As came on an errand to ‘Abd al-Malik son of Marwan, but was kept waiting at his door for some days without being allowed in. He was followed by
al-Sha‘bi
, who stopped at the door but was then admitted. Aban had told him that he had not been able to get in and had asked him to tell this to the caliph. Al-Sha‘bi had willingly agreed, and when the caliph sent for him that night he went in, greeted him and was told to sit.

After a general conversation ‘Abd al-Malik told him that he would like to hear something of the sea and its marvels, for he was passionately interested in this. Al-Sha‘bi said: ‘Caliph, at your door is Aban son of
Sa‘id son of al-‘As
, who has sailed the seas, seen their wonders and heard their stories, and who is, besides this, a pleasant and genial companion.’ ‘Abd al-Malik told his chamberlain to fetch in Aban, and he went out and did so.

Aban entered and saluted the caliph with the appropriate greeting, after which he was allowed to sit. When he was seated ‘Abd al-Malik asked him whether he knew something of the wonders of the sea that would help pass the night. ‘Yes indeed, Commander of the Faithful,’ said Aban, ‘and would you like me to begin with what I have seen or what I have heard?’
[lac.]

‘
Mu‘awiya son of Abi Sufyan
supplied me with a hundred thousand
dirhams, and I went to
Kufa
, where I spent ninety thousand, leaving me with only ten thousand. “This is all that there is between me and poverty,” I told myself, “but I shall travel somewhere else and it may be that I will bring back a profit.”

‘In my mind I reviewed the various lands, but God prompted me to go to India. I went to Kufa and bought trade goods before boarding a Persian ship called
Al-Zarin
. We sailed off with a favourable wind, but the journey took so long that I was filled with regret for what I had done. I saw that I needed friendship and I told myself that I should talk to those who were on the ship with me and make friends with them. We went on talking together until we had all become brothers, and this continued until we reached Serendib, which seemed to me to be a land of great importance.

‘When we had disembarked I hired a fine house. I began to go around the place and find out about it until I came to an idol temple. When I went in and looked around I saw in a corner a man busy with prostrations and
rak‘as
. He had a censer in his hand from which was coming the scent of aloes and ambergris. He was eating from a plate, but I did not know what was on it. I asked someone there what he was doing and was told: “This is a man who is looking for something, asking about it and wanting a reply, but although he has been here for a year he has not got one.”

‘I was perplexed and astonished at a man who was prostrating himself to an idol and asking it for something. Then some days later I heard the sound of drums, trumpets and cymbals, and there was the man, surrounded by people, riding on an elephant. I followed him to his house and when he entered it I went in with the crowd. He took his seat, and after the people had congratulated him they went off, leaving me sitting there.

‘ “Is there something you want?” he asked me, and when I told him there was, he said: “Tell me.” I said: “I saw you seeking for something in front of an idol and, as I now see that you are happy and pleased, I wonder if your prayer was answered and your request granted.” He said that it had been, and I told him that I was glad and asked whether he would be good enough to tell me what it was that he had asked for and what had been the reply. I had left my own country in search of marvels and I didn’t think that I could hear anything more marvellous than his story. He laughed and told me to stay with him. He then had food produced and after we had eaten he brought out wine and we drank.

‘When the wine had had its effect on him he asked me where I had come from and when I had told him that this was Kufa he asked me for my name, which I said was Aban son of Sa‘id. “God preserve you,” he said, adding: “By God, I shall tell you the most wonderful thing. I am a man who searches for wonders and marvels just as you do. One day I came across a sheet of paper and I discovered on reading it that it described a quest for one of the crowns of the ancients. The man who wrote it grudged the crown to his successors and so had left it in a place that he described.”