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74-3-2 - The
Three Apples:
Noor al-Deen Alee and His son
Next
day Noor al-Deen went to the Sultaan and started his job. Sultaan was very happy
with his wits and good sense, so he loved him and took him to his intimacy. Deevaan was dismissed and Noor al-Deen replaced him. He came home and told
this to his father-in-law. He also got very happy to hear this. Noor
continued to work as Vazeer also and the Sultaan increased his stipend and
supplies, till he became the owner of ships that made trading voyages. He
laid out many estates and planted gardens.
When
his son Hasan was 4 years old, his father-in-law died, so he took the
responsibility of his education and he became 7 years old. He was coming
up nicely, so he brought all kinds of teachers - Faqeers, doctors of law
and religion, to educate him. They taught him in his father's palace. The
Sultaan also loved him and he had instructed his Vazeer to bring him to
his presence everyday. Noor did this till Hasan was of 20 years of age.
At
that time the Vazeer fell ill and he called his son Hasan and said -
"This world is Present, but is mortal; while the world of future is a
house of Eternity. I want you to listen to me carefully before I die."
Then he gave him the last instructions to deal with neighbors, managing
his affairs, then he remembered his brother and his home and wept. Then he
said - "I have a brother, your uncle, Shams al-Deen. He is the Vazeer
of Cairo. I came here against his will. Now take a sheet of paper and
write, what I ask you to write. Hasan wrote the whole account of his
father's journey from the beginning till end - his life of 40 years from
the day of his dispute. He said - "This is written at my
instruction, Allaah be with him, when I am gone." Then he folded the
paper, sealed it and said to his son - "Hasan, Keep this paper with
care, for it will establish your origin, and rank and lineage; and if
anything wrong happens to you, go to Cairo, ask for your uncle, show this
letter to him and say to him that I died as a stranger in a far place with a
desire to see him."
Hasan
made it as a Talismaan and sewed it between the inner and the upper cloth
of his skull cap. He wept for his father. Noor again said - "Hasan, I
will now tell you the five principles - (1) Be over-intimate with none,
nor be frequent to any, nor be familiar with any, thus you will be safe from his
mischief; for security lies in seclusion of thought. (2) The second
principle is - Deal harshly with none, lest fortune deal with you harshly;
for the fortune of this world is one day with you and another day against
you; and all worldly goods are but a loan to be repaid. (3) The third
principle is - Learn to be silent in society and let your own faults
distract your attention from the fault of other men; it is said that in
silence lives safety and by speaking you will repel many times. (4) The
fourth principle is - Beware of wine drinking because it destroys human
wits, it opens the gates wide to sins that kill. (5) The fifth one is - Keep your wealth and it will keep you, guard your money and it will guard
you. Waste it not lest you become a beggar. Save them to cure the wounds
of the world. Because if you do not have wealth, you have no friends
around. How many friends are there who lend their money to their
friends?"
After
saying all this Noor died. The Sultaan also grieved for him but Hasan
could not stop grieving for him for two months during which he never
mounted his horse, never came to the royal court. At last the Sultaan
appointed somebody else as his Vazeer instead of Hasan and sealed Hasan's all
property. So the new Vazeer went forth to seal the property of Hasan, to seize
him and
bring him to the Sultaan.
Now
there was a follower of the old Vazeer who heard this order and went to
Hasan's house immediately, for he could not tolerate to see the ruin of
his master. Hasan was sitting at the gate of his house with head hung down
for the loss of his father. He kissed his hand and said - "O son of
my Lord, Make haste lest ruin comes to you. The Sultaan is angry with you
and has issued a warrant against you, so flee for your life." He said
to the man - "Is there time so that I can collect some wealth from my
house." The slave replied - "Up at once and save yourself, leave
this house while it is yet time."
At
this, Hasan covered his face with the skirt of his garment ad ran away
till he came outside the city. He heard people saying - "The Sultaan
has sent his new Vazeer to Hasan's house to seize him to put him to death
and seize his all property." He ran away again till his Destiny
brought him to his father's tomb. He hid himself there. As he was hiding
there, a Jew came there. He was a money changer with a pair of saddle bags
full of gold. He kissed his hand asked him - "Where are you going? It
is very late in the day, and you have worn light clothes and I can guess some
signs of trouble on your face."
Hasan
said - "I was sleeping at this time that my father appeared in my
dream and told me that I had not visited his tomb, so I came hurriedly
here to visit it." The Jew said - "O Lord, Your father had many
merchants at the sea and some of them are now due to come, so you may buy the
cargo of the first ship whichever comes into the port with this 1,000 Deenars." Hasan said - "I agree." The Jew took out a
bag full of gold and counted 1,000 Deenaars from it and giving them to Hasan he said -
"Write me a letter of sale and seal it." Hasan took a paper
wrote these words in duplicate, "The writer Hasan Badar al-Deen, son
of Vazeer Noor al-Deen, has sold to Issac the Jew all the cargo of the
first of his father's ships which comes into port for a 1,000 Deenaars and
he has received the price in advance." The Jew took one copy himself
and gave another copy to Hasan and went away. But Hasan felt weeping as he
thought about the prosperity belonged to him.
After
weeping for a long time, he slept near the tomb of his father. Now there
are many Genies of True Believers haunting the cemetery, so presently came
a Geneeyaa who saw Hasan, a young beauty, sleeping there. She flew in the
sky and met an Ifrit and asked him - "Where are you coming
from?" "From Cairo?" "Will you come with me and look
upon the beauty who is sleeping here in a burial place?" "I
will." So they both came to the place where that boy was sleeping.
The Ifrit said - "By Allaah, He has no equal to his beauty. But I have
seen his counterpart in Egypt. She is the daughter of the Vazeer Shams.
When she was 19 years old, the Sultaan heard about her beauty. He sent for
his Vazeer and said to him - "I have heard that you have
a daughter. I wish to demand her in marriage."
Shams
replied - "Please sympathize with me. You know that I have a brother,
who was partner with me as Vazeer, he disappeared many years ago and we
don't know where he is. The cause of his departure was that one night we
were talking about our wives and children to come that we had some
unpleasant words and he left the house. But I had decided that I would
marry my daughter to the son of my brother on the day her mother gave her
birth. I have heard that my brother has died at Basaraa. He married the
daughter of the Vazeer of Basaraa and she bore him a son. I will marry my daughter
only to him in my brother's memory. I have checked their birth dates and I
think that her name is also like his name."
Hearing
this the Sultaan got angry, and said - "When people hear such
proposals, they feel honor and you are rejected me? I will marry her,
staking my life, to the meanest of my men in spite of your
interference." Now there was a horse-groom in the palace, Gobbo, a
hunchback. The Sultaan called him and married her to him, and today is his
wedding night. The Vazeer's daughter is just sitting amongst women weeping
and wailing, for the Sultaan has forbidden her father to come near her. I
have never seen anyone more ugly than that hunchback, and fairer than that
lady."
The
Geneeyaa cried at him - "You are lying, this youth is handsomer than
anyone. In fact what I am saying that this boy deserves her, because they
resemble each other." The Geneeyaa said - "Then let us take him to Cairo, so
that we may compare them." Ifrit lifted him, took him to Cairo and
set him on a stone bench and woke him up. As he woke up he found himself
in a strange place, so he wanted to cry but Ifrit kept him silent. He
brought him good clothes, got him ready and said to him - "I have brought
you here to do your good. Take this torch and mix with these people who
are going inside through the door of bathroom. Enter the great saloon, do
not fear anyone, and stand to the right of the Hunchback groom. Put
your hand into your pocket, there is gold in it, take it out and throw the
gold onto them and spare not, because as often as you will put your
hand in your pocket, you will find it full of coins. Do not fear, and
trust upon Him."
When
Badar al-Deen Hasan heard these words, he thought to himself - "What
is this and what does this mean?" However he obeyed Ifrit, he came to
Hunchback on horseback throwing gold coins as often as he could. All were
amazed at his beauty and attire. He had come to the mansion of the Vazeer
(his uncle), where all were pushed back except the singing girls. The
maids said - "We will not enter unless this young man enters with us.
We will not display the bride unless he is present." So they took him
inside the hall, and seated him.
There
stood many respected women who when saw Hasan, they fell for him. The
singing girls said - "This man has filled our hands with red gold, so
comply with his orders no matter what he asks for." So all the women
crowded around him and said - "Happy will be she to whom he
belongs." And they cursed the Hunchback groom or marrying the
Vazeer's daughter. At the same time Vazeer's daughter came in. The most
notable part of her dress was a loose robe which she wore over her other
clothes and which was adorned by wild beasts and birds' figures. As she
came, her Hunchback husband stood up to meet her; but she turned away from
him and went towards Hasan, the son of her uncle.
People
sitting there cried with happiness and Badar cast another handful coins
upon the singing girls. The groom was sitting alone in dark. When the
bride was shown to all, she looked like full Moon. She was wearing red
dress. Badar got very happy to see her. They showed her in all seven color
dresses. the girl prayed Allaah to give her this man a her bridegroom and
save from the Hunchback. Then all were sent out except the Hunchback and
Hasan. he Hunchback came to Hasan and said to him - "You have cheered
us, but now why don't you go?" So he rose and proceeded towards door,
that Ifrit met him and said to him - "Go back, and when the Hunchback
goes closer to him, you also go with him and quickly sit in the room; and
when the bride comes in, tell her, "It is I who is your husband, the
King has devised this trick to remove evil eye from you." Then walk
boldly, and unveil her face."
While
Ifrit was talking to Hasan, the Hunchback went and sat on the stool; but
as he sat there, that Ifrit came there in the form of a rat and
squeaked. The Hunchback tried to look for it, that it increased it size to
a large cat, "Meeaau"; then to a dog and barked, "Bhaun,
Bhaun". When the bridegroom saw this, he got frightened and ran away
from there; that the dog became an ass and brayed; then the ass became a
buffalo and became a wall before him and spoke in human voice - "O
filthiest groom." Gobbo said - "I surrender." Ifrit set him
head down and asked him to be in the same position till morning.
Then
he took Hasan and seated him in the middle of the room. The bride came and
was surprised to see Hasan there. Hasan said - "Your father had hired
him for 10 Deenaars, and now he has gone." He kept the bag of 1,000
Deenaars, which he took from the Jew, under the bed and enjoyed with the
Princess. She conceived the very same night.
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