46-3
- The
Fisherman and the Genie:
The Young Man's Story
The
young man began his story - "I am the son of King Mahamood, the King
of this country - the Kingdom of Black Isles which takes its name from the
four little neighboring mountains, because these mountains were islands
before. Our capital was where the pond now is. My father died at the age
of 70 and I succeeded him no sooner than I was married to my cousin. This
relationship lasted for five years and then I felt that she was not
interested in me.
One
day I wanted to sleep, so I lay down on sofa and and closed my eyes. Two
of her women came, one sat at my head and the other sat at my feet, and
started fanning me. They thought that I was asleep so they started talking
in a very low voice, but since I was not asleep, I heard their whole
conversation. One said - "Is not the Queen wrong not to love such an
amiable person like this Prince?" The second said - "Yes, But
doesn't the Prince know this?" The first one said - "Oh, How
to make him know this? The poor Prince doesn't know that every evening she
mixes a kind of herb in his drink and because of that drink he sleeps so
sound that she can go anywhere she likes and she wakes him by smelling him
something."
You
can imagine, Sir, how much I was surprised to hear this. Although I was in my
senses and tried to keep myself awake still I pretended as if I had not heard anything. The Queen
came and gave me the drink which I used to drink every evening, but
this time I did not drink it. I got up, went towards a window and threw
that drink out of the window in such a way that she could not notice it. I
returned the cup to her and lay down on my couch. When she had made sure
that I had slept, she rose saying "Sleep, and may you never wake up
again." so loudly that I heard it very clearly.
As
soon as she had gone, I also got up and followed her with a small dagger
in my hand. I soon caught him in front of me. She passed through several
gates opening them by some magical words and the last one was of the
garden one. I stopped here lest somebody sees me. I followed her by my
eyes as far as I could see, then I took another path and caught her. She
was walking with a man. I heard her say - "You just have to command
me. You know my power. I can, if you desire, before the sunrise, change
this great city and this fine palace in frightful ruins which shall be
inhabited only by wild animals."
Here
the Queen and that man took a turn and passed in front of me. I just took
out my dagger, struck it on his neck. He fell down on the ground. I
thought I had killed him so I ran away from there very fast without making
myself known to the Queen. I did not kill the Queen because she was my
cousin. She revived him by her magic in such a way that he was neither dead
nor alive. But my Queen was crying for him. I came home, slept as before
and when I woke up in the morning, the Queen was there too.
I got
up naturally, did all my day's work as usual and when I came home, she was
standing clad in mourning dress. She said - "Sir, I beg you, not to
be surprised seeing me in this dress. I have just heard three bad
news." "And what are those three bad news?" She said -
"The death of my dear mother, my father is also killed in battle, and one of
my brothers who fell from from a cliff." I knew that she made up
these news to hide the real cause of her grief, but I said - "I am
also very sorry to hear this. How you will tolerate such bad news. I hope
only the time will lessen your grief."
She
mourned for one year and then she begged to give her a place for his
burying and remain there till the end of her days. I agreed, and she built
a stately palace which she called the Palace of Tears. She brought that
man there to whom she gave the drink to save him from dying. She daily
gave that drink to him. In spite of all of her efforts she could not cure
him. He could not walk, he could not speak, he had no sign of life except
his looks. She visited him twice a day regularly, I knew it but I
pretended that I knew nothing of it.
One
day I went to the palace just to see how she was living there. I heard her
speak to that man - "I am very distressed to see you in this
condition. I always speak to you and you never say a word to me, how long
you will be silent? Speak at least one word to me." Hearing this, I
appeared before her and said to her - "Madam, You have mourned
enough. It is time to give over this mourn which is not good for both of
us. You have forgotten what you owe to yourself and me." She said -
"Please do not stop me to mourn because this grief is not going to
lessen by time." When she didn't listen to me, I came back, and she
mourned for two whole years.
I went
there second time when I heard her speak - "You have not spoken to me
for three years. Tell me what by what miracle you have become like
this?" I tried to see who it was, he was a black Indian, a native of
that country. I was so angry that I appeared all of a sudden there, and
addressing the tomb, cried - "O tomb, Why don't you
swallow up these two monsters?" I had scarcely finished these words
that the Queen cried - "You are the reason of my grief. I have
tolerated you for so long and you have come to me to insult me?"
I took
out my dagger, and wanted to hit her that she spoke some magic words and
said - "I command you to be half man and half marble."
Immediately I became as you are seeing me now, a dead man among the living
and a living among the dead. By another magic she brought me here, she
destroyed my capital and reduced it to a pond. The fishes of four colors
in the pond are - the white are Muslims, the red are Persians who worship
fire, the blue are the Christians, and the yellow are the Jews. The four
little hills were the our islands that gave the name to this kingdom. I
knew all this from the same magician. But this is not all. She comes here
and beats me on my naked shoulder 100 times with an ox tail, then
she first covers me with a coarse stuff of goat's hair and then this
brocade."
The
Sultaan was also so sorry to hear all this that he could not even console
the young man. After a while he spoke - "Tell me, Where are those
magician and the wretched man?" The Prince said - "The wretched
man is in the Palace of Tears in a handsome tomb in the form of a dome,
and that palace joins the castle on the side of the gate. I don't know
about the magician where does she live, but everyday at sunrise she goes
to see him after beating me. You can see that I am not able to defend
myself. She carries the drink to cure him."
The
Sultaan showed his sympathy to him and told him who he was, why did he
enter the castle and to release him and to punish the magician. The
night was about to pass by now, so the Sultaan took some rest, but the
Prince couldn't sleep at all. He had not slept since he was turned in this
form.
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