The Arabian Nights (New Deluxe Edition) (77 page)

After his father was buried, Nur al-Din returned with his family and friends, still weeping and sobbing, as if to say:

On Thursday night I bade adieu and stayed,

While they departed and left me alone,

Taking my soul with them, and when I said,

“Return,” it answered, “How can I go on

In a body reduced to rotting bones,

A frame where both the flesh and blood are gone,

Where the eyes are blinded by bitter tears,

And the ears hear not, being as deaf as stone?”

He continued to mourn his father deeply for a long time. One day . . .

But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said to her sister, “What a strange and entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night if the king spares me and lets me live!”

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The following night Shahrazad replied, “Very well,” and said:

I heard, O happy King, that one day, as the vizier's son Nur al-Din sat in his father's palace, there was a knock at the door. He rose and, opening the door, found one of his father's friends and companions, who kissed his hand and said to him, “My lord, he who has left the like of you is not dead. My lord Nur al-Din Ali, take comfort, be cheerful, and stop mourning.” So Nur al-Din rose and went to the guest hall and, transporting there whatever he needed for entertainment, invited his friends, ten of the sons of merchants, and asked his girl Anis al-Jalis to join him. Then he began to eat and drink, giving one banquet after another and dispensing gifts, favors, and honors until his steward came to him one day and said, “My lord Nur al-Din, have you not heard the saying ‘He who spends without reckoning, becomes poor without knowing it'? My lord, this enormous expense and lavish giving will erode even mountains.” When Nur al-Din heard his steward's words, he looked at him and said, “I will not listen to one word of yours. Haven't you heard the poet say:

If I have wealth and be not liberal,

May my hand wither and my foot be stilled.

Show me the niggard who has glory won;

Show me the man who by giving was killed.”

Nur al-Din added, “It is my wish that if you have enough for my morning meal, worry me not about my supper a great deal.” The steward said, “Is this what you wish?” Nur al-Din replied, “Yes.” Then the steward left him and went away while he continued to pursue his pleasures and his lavish ways, so that if someone chanced to say to him, “My lord Nur al-Din, such and such an orchard of yours is lovely,” he would reply, “It is yours as an irrevocable gift from a friend,” and if the man asked for the deed, he would not hesitate to give it to him; if another said to him, “Such and such a house,” another, “My lord, that other house,” and a third, “Such and such a bath,” he would give them all to them. In this way he lived an entire year, giving daily banquets, one in the morning, a second in the evening, and a third at midnight.

One day, as he sat listening to Anis al-Jalis sing these verses:

You thought well of the days when they were good,

Oblivious to the ills fate brings to one.

You were deluded by the peaceful nights,

Yet in the peace of night does sorrow stun,

there was knocking at the door. One of the guests said, “My lord Nur al-Din, there is knocking . . .”

But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said to her sister, “What a strange and entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night if the king spares me and lets me live!”

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The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that one of the guests said, “There is knocking at the door.” So Nur al-Din Ali rose and went to the door, but, without knowing it, he was followed by one of his companions. When he opened the door, he found the steward standing there, and when he asked him, “What is the matter?” the steward replied, “My lord, what I feared has come to pass.” Nur al-Din asked, “How so?” The steward replied, “To put it briefly, you should know that there is not even a dirham's worth left of your possessions in my hands; here is the record of what was entrusted to your servant in my lord's own handwriting.” When Nur al-Din heard this, he bowed his head and said, “This is God's wish, for there is no power, save in God.”

As soon as the man who had secretly followed Nur al-Din heard what the steward said, he returned to his companions and said to them, “You should consider what to do, for Nur al-Din is bankrupt and destitute.” They replied, “We will not stay with him.” Meanwhile Nur al-Din dismissed the steward and returned to them with a troubled look. Then one of them rose and, turning to him, said, “My lord, perhaps you will give me leave to depart.” Nur al-Din asked, “For what reason?” The man replied, “My wife is due to give birth today, and I cannot be absent from her and wish to be with her.” Nur al-Din gave him leave, and another rose, made an excuse, and departed. Then each in turn gave excuse until all ten companions were gone and Nur al-Din was left alone.

Then he called Anis al-Jalis, and when she came, he said to her, “O Anis al-Jalis, do you see what has happened to me?” and he related to her what the steward had told him. She said, “My lord, your family and friends have warned you, but you refused to listen. O my lord, some nights ago I intended to speak to you about the matter, but I heard you recite these verses:

If fortune befriend you be kind to all,

Before she slips away and lets you down.

Munificence will not undo it if she smile,

And avarice will not preserve it if she frown.

When I heard you, I kept quiet and decided not to open the subject.” Nur al-Din said to her, “O Anis al-Jalis, you know that I have spent my money on none save my ten friends, and I don't think that they will leave me destitute.” She replied, “By God, my lord, they will never help you.” Nur al-Din said, “I will rise at once and go to them and maybe I will get enough from them to use as capital to trade with and leave off idle pursuits.”

Then Nur al-Din rose and went until he came to a certain street, where all his ten companions happened to live. He went to the first door, and when he knocked, a maid came out and asked, “Who are you?” He replied, “O girl, say to your master, ‘My lord Nur al-Din Ali ibn-Khaqan stands at the door and wishes to kiss your hand and greet you.'” The girl went in and told her master, who yelled at her, saying, “Go out and say to him, ‘My master is not at home,'” and the girl came out and said to Nur al-Din, “My master is not at home.” Nur al-Din said to himself . . .

But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said to her sister, “What a strange and entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night if the king spares me and lets me live!”

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The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that Nur al-Din said to himself, “Though this fellow is a bastard who has turned me away, another may not be so.” Then he went to the second door, and when he knocked, a maid came out, and he repeated what he had said to the first girl. She disappeared, then returned, saying, “Sir, he ain't here.” Nur al-Din smiled and said to himself, “Maybe I will find another who will help me.” So he went to the third door, saying to himself, “I will send him the same message.” But when the third turned him away too, he regretted coming, wept, and recited the following verses:

When affluent, a man is like a tree,

Round which people collect as long as fruit they see.

But when the fruit is gone, they turn away

And leave the tree to dust and misery.

Perish the people of this age; not one

In ten can as a friend be counted on.

Then Nur al-Din returned to Anis al-Jalis, feeling even more depressed than before, and she said to him, “My lord, do you believe me now?” He replied, “By God, not one of them would take any notice of me or ask me in.” She said, “My lord, sell some of the furniture and utensils in the house until the Almighty, Exalted, and Glorious God provides.” So Nur al-Din began to sell the articles, little by little, and to live on the proceeds until there was nothing left. Then he turned to Anis al-Jalis and asked, “What is left to sell now?” She replied, “O my lord, it is my advice that you should rise at once and take me down to the market and sell me. You know that your father bought me for ten thousand dinars; perhaps the Exalted and Glorious God will help you get close to this amount for me, and if it is His will to reunite us, we will meet again.” Nur al-Din replied, “O Anis al-Jalis, by God, I cannot endure to be parted from you one single hour.” She said, “By God, my lord, nor can I; but necessity compels, as the poet says:

Necessity compels us to resort

Sometimes to ways that decent men oppose.

No man forces himself to do a thing,

Except what is dictated by the cause.”

Then Nur al-Din rose and took Anis al-Jalis with him, with his tears running profusely over his cheeks, as if to say:

Stay and give me a final look before we part,

So that I may console my heart, which wastes away.

But if you deem this burdensome, I'd rather die

Of love than on you such a burden lay.

When Nur al-Din entered the market with Anis al-Jalis, he delivered her one of the brokers, saying to him, “Haj Hasan, you should know the value of the girl you are going to auction. The broker replied, “O my lord Nur al-Din, your interest is protected,” adding, “Isn't she Anis al-Jalis, whom your father bought some time ago for ten thousand dinars?” Nur al-Din replied, “Yes, she is.” Then the broker looked around and, seeing that many merchants were still absent, waited until the market began to get very active and all kinds of girls were sold, Nubians, Europeans, Greeks, Circassians, Turks, Tartars, and others. When the broker saw that the market was very active, he rose and, going up to the merchants, cried out, “O merchants . . .”

But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said to her sister, “What a strange and entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night if the king spares me and lets me live! It will be even stranger.”