The Arabian Nights II (26 page)

Of the ten purses, 'Ala al-Din took four and gave them to his mother, telling her to use them for her needs, and left the other six in the hands of the slaves who brought them, ordering them to throw the money by the handfuls among the people, as they passed through the streets on their way to the king's palace. He ordered the six slaves to march before him with the others, three on the right and three on the left. Finally he presented the six slave-girls to his mother, telling her that they were hers to use as her slaves and that the suits they brought were for her. When 'Ala al-Din settled all these matters, he dismissed the demon, telling him that he would call him when he needed him, and the demon disappeared immediately. Now 'Ala al-Din's only thought was to respond to the desire the king had expressed to see him. He dispatched to the palace one of the forty slaves (I will not say the most handsome, for they were all equal), with an order to address himself to the chief of the officers and inquire when 'Ala al-Din might have the honor to come and throw himself at the king's feet. The slave did not take long to deliver his message and bring back the reply that the king was waiting for him impatiently.

'Ala al-Din immediately mounted his horse and marched in the order already described. Although he had never been on horseback before, he rode with such grace that the most experienced horseman would not have taken him for a novice. The streets through which he passed were almost instantly filled with innumerable bystanders, who made the air echo with their shouts of acclamation, admiration, and blessings, especially every time the six slaves who carried the purses threw handfuls of money into the air, to the right and left. These shouts of acclamation did not, however, come from those who pushed and bent down to pick up the money, but from a higher rank of people, who could not help expressing publicly the praise 'Ala al-Din deserved for his generosity. Those who knew him when he played in the streets as a grown-up urchin did not recognize him, and even those who had seen him recently hardly knew him, so much were his features altered, by virtue of the lamp, which had the power to procure by degrees for those who possessed it perfections in proportion to the state they attained by the right use of it. Much more attention was paid to 'Ala al-Din than to the pomp, which most people had seen on that same day, when the slaves marched, carrying the present. Nevertheless, the horse was especially admired by the connoisseurs, who were able to discern his beauties without being dazzled by the brilliance of the diamonds and other jewels with which he was covered.
As the news spread that the king was going to give Princess Badr al-Budur in marriage to 'Ala al-Din, without regard to his birth, no one envied his good fortune nor his elevation, for he seemed so worthy of it.

When he arrived at the palace, everything was prepared for his reception, and when he reached the second gate, he was about to dismount from his horse, following the custom observed by the grand vizier, the generals of the armies, and the governors of the provinces of the first rank, but the chief of the officers, who was ordered by the king to wait on him, prevented him and accompanied him to the audience hall and helped him to dismount, although 'Ala al-Din protested strongly, to no avail. Then the officers formed themselves in two rows at the entrance of the hall, and their chief put 'Ala al-Din on his right and, passing with him through the middle, led him to the king's throne.

When the king saw 'Ala al-Din, he was no less surprised to see him more richly and magnificently dressed than he himself had ever been than to see his handsome face, elegant figure, and a certain air of grandeur, very different from the mean aspect in which his mother had appeared before him. His surprise and amazement, however, did not hinder him from rising from his throne and descending two or three steps, quickly enough to prevent 'Ala al-Din from throwing himself at his feet, and to embrace him with all the demonstration of friendship. After this, 'Ala al-Din wanted again to throw himself at the king's feet, but the king held him by the hand and forced him to ascend and sit between him and the grand vizier.

Then 'Ala al-Din said, “My lord, as I receive the honor that your majesty, out of your goodness, is pleased to confer on me, permit me to say to you that I have never forgotten that I am your slave, that I know the greatness of your power, and that I recognize how much is my birth below the splendor and luster of the supreme rank to which I am being raised.” He continued, “If there is any way by which I could have merited such a favorable reception, I confess that I owe it only to the boldness that pure chance inspired in me to raise my eyes, my thoughts, and my aspirations to the divine princess, who is the object of my wishes. I ask your majesty's pardon for my temerity, but I cannot dissemble that I would die of grief, if I should lose my hope of seeing them fulfilled.” The king embraced him again and said, “Son, you do me wrong to doubt for a moment the sincerity of my promise. From now on, your life is too dear to me not to preserve it, by presenting you with the remedy that is at my disposal. I prefer the pleasure of seeing you and hearing you to all my treasures added to yours.”

When the king finished, he gave a signal, and immediately the air
echoed with the sound of trumpets, oboes, and drums, and at the same time he led 'Ala al-Din to a magnificent hall where a superb banquet was prepared. The king and 'Ala al-Din ate by themselves, while the grand vizier and the lords of the court, each according to his status and rank, waited on them. The king, who took such a great pleasure in looking at 'Ala al-Din that he never took his eyes off him, spoke with him on a variety of subjects, and throughout their entire conversation during the meal, 'Ala al-Din spoke with so much knowledge and wisdom on every topic that he confirmed the king in the good opinion he had of him.

After they finished the meal, the king sent for the chief judge of the capital and ordered him to draw up immediately a marriage contract between his daughter, Princess Badr al-Budur, and 'Ala al-Din. In the meantime, the king and 'Ala al-Din conversed on different subjects in the presence of the grand vizier and the lords of the court, who all admired the soundness of his wit, the great ease with which he spoke and expressed himself, and the refined and keen sentiments with which he enlivened his conversation.

When the judge finished drawing up the contract in the requisite manner, the king asked 'Ala al-Din whether he wished to stay in the palace and conclude the wedding ceremony that same day. 'Ala al-Din replied, “My lord, although I am impatient to enjoy your majesty's kindness, I beg of you to give me leave to postpone it until I build a palace to receive the princess in, according to her dignity and merit. For this purpose, I beg you to grant me a piece of land within the grounds of your palace, in order that I may come the more frequently to pay my respects to you. I will do all I can to have it finished with all possible diligence.” The king said, “Son, take all the ground you deem proper. There is a large piece of land in front of my palace which is vacant and on which I myself had thought of building, but remember that I cannot see you soon enough united with my daughter, in order to make my joy complete.” Then he again embraced 'Ala al-Din, who took his leave of him, with as much courtesy as if he had been bred and had always lived at court.

'Ala al-Din mounted his horse and returned home, in the same order he came, through the same throngs of people, who acclaimed him and wished him all happiness and prosperity. As soon as he dismounted, he retired to his own room, took the lamp, and called the demon, as usual. The demon did not tarry, but appeared and offered his services. 'Ala al-Din said to him, “Demon, I have every reason to congratulate myself in that you have carried out faithfully and punctually everything I have asked of you till now, by the power of this lamp, your mistress. But now, for the sake of the lamp, you must, if possible, show more zeal and more diligence than before. I demand of
you to build me, as soon as you can, at a proper distance opposite the king's palace, a palace fit to receive my spouse Princess Badr al-Budur. I leave it to you to choose the materials, that is to say, porphyry, jasper, agate, lapis lazuli, and the finest marble of the most varied colors, and the rest of the building. I expect you to build at the top of the palace a large hall with a dome and four equal sides made entirely of alternate layers of heavy gold and silver and each containing six windows, the shutters of which, except one, which shall be left unfinished, shall be enriched artistically and symmetrically with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, in a way the like of which has never been seen anywhere in the world. I also want an outer court in front of the palace, an inner court, and a garden, but above all, there should be, in a place that you shall point out to me, a treasury full of gold and silver coins. I also want in this palace kitchens, offices, storerooms, and a place to store fine furniture for all seasons, fit for the magnificence of the palace. Besides, there must be stables full of the finest horses, with their riders and grooms and hunting equipment, and there must be officers to supervise the kitchens and offices, as well as slave-girls to wait on the princess. You understand what I mean. Go, and come back when all is finished.”

The sun had just set when 'Ala al-Din finished charging the demon with the construction of the palace of his imagination. The next day, at dawn, 'Ala al-Din, whose love for the princess did not let him sleep restfully, was hardly up, when the demon presented himself and said, “My lord, your palace is finished. Come and see if you are satisfied.” No sooner had 'Ala al-Din expressed his strong desire to see it, than the demon transported him there instantly, and he found it so much beyond his expectation that he could not admire it well enough. The demon led him through every part, and everywhere he found nothing but neatness, richness, and magnificence, with officers and slaves all dressed according to their rank and function. The demon did not forget to show him, as one of the principal parts, the treasury, the door to which was opened by the treasurer and in which 'Ala al-Din saw heaps of purses, of different sizes, according to the amount of money they contained, piled up to the ceiling and arranged in a pleasing order. As they left, the demon assured him of the trustworthiness of the treasurer. Then he led him to the stables, where the demon showed 'Ala al-Din some of the finest horses in the world and the grooms busy in grooming them. He then led him through the storerooms, which were filled with all the necessary food and trappings for the horses.

After 'Ala al-Din inspected the entire palace from top to bottom, apartment after apartment, particularly the hall with the twenty-four
windows, and found it so rich and magnificent and well-furnished, beyond his expectation, he said to the demon, “Demon, no one can be more satisfied than I, and I should be remiss to complain. There is only one thing lacking, which I forgot to mention, that is, to lay from the gate of the king's palace to the door of the apartment designed for the princess a carpet of the finest velvet for her to walk on, when she comes from the king's palace.” The demon, saying, “I will return in a moment,” disappeared, and a short time later, 'Ala al-Din was surprised to see what he desired carried out, without knowing how it was done. Then the demon reappeared and carried 'Ala al-Din home, just as the gatekeepers were opening the gate of the king's palace.

When the gatekeepers, who were used to an open view at the side where 'Ala al-Din's palace stood, opened the gates, they were very much surprised to find it obstructed and to see a velvet carpet that stretched from there to the gate of the king's palace. At first, they did not see very well what that obstruction was, but when they saw clearly 'Ala al-Din's superb palace, their surprise increased. The news of such an extraordinary wonder spread rapidly throughout the king's palace. The grand vizier, who arrived almost at the opening of the gate, was no less surprised then the other people by this new sight. He was the first to inform the king, and he tried to make him believe that it was all enchantment. But the king said, “Vizier, why do you think it to be an enchantment? You know as well as I do that it is 'Ala al-Din's palace, which I gave him, in your presence, permission to build for my daughter, the princess. After the manifestations we have seen of his riches, can we think it strange that he has built this palace in such a short time? He wanted to surprise us and make us see what miracles one can achieve with ready money, from one day to another. Confess with me that the enchantment you talk of comes from a little envy.” The conversation ended, as it was time to go to the council.

When 'Ala al-Din had been carried home and had dismissed the demon, he found his mother up, dressing herself in one of the suits brought for her. By the time the king returned from the council, 'Ala al-Din prepared his mother to go to the palace with the six slave-girls who had been brought by the demon. He asked her, if she saw the king, to tell him that she came to have the honor to accompany the princess, toward evening, to her palace, when she was ready. So she departed, but although she and the slave-girls, who followed her, were dressed like queens, the crowd that watched them pass was not as large, because they were veiled and because an appropriate cloak concealed the richness and magnificence of their clothes. Meanwhile, 'Ala al-Din mounted his horse, and after leaving his paternal home forever, without forgetting the magic lamp, which was so helpful to him
in attaining the height of happiness, he went to his palace, with the same pomp as on the previous day, when he went to present himself to the king.

As soon as the gatekeepers of the king's palace saw 'Ala al-Din's mother, they informed the king, and the order was immediately given to the bands of trumpets, drums, tambourines, fifes, and oboes which had been stationed at different parts of the terrace of the palace, and instantly the air resounded with fanfares and concerts, announcing the rejoicing to the whole city. The merchants began to adorn their shops with fine carpets and cushions, as well as boughs, and to prepare illuminations for the night. The artisans left their work, and all the people rushed to the great square between the king's palace and that of 'Ala al-Din. The latter drew their attention, not so much because they were used to see that of the king, but because there was no comparison between the two. But what amazed them most was to comprehend by what an unheard-of miracle they saw such a magnificent palace standing at a place that, the day before, had neither foundations nor building materials.