Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights Page 6

  When he heard this proclamation, Aladdin was seized with a great desire to see the Sultan’s daughter, for her loveliness was the talk of all the people. He began casting around for some way to look upon her, and at last decided that it was best to stand behind the door of the baths and see her face as she entered. Without losing a moment, he ran straight off to the baths and hid himself behind the great door where none could see him. Presently the Princess left the palace and, after riding through the streets and seeing the sights of the city, halted at the baths. She lifted her veil as she went in. Her face shone like the radiant sun.

  ‘Truly,’ murmured Aladdin to himself, ‘she is a credit to her Maker! Praise be to him who created her and gave her such beauty.’ He fell in love with her immediately.

  Many a time he had heard tell of Badr-al-Budur’s beauty, but he had never imagined her to be so lovely. He returned home in a daze. His mother questioned him anxiously, but he said nothing; she brought him his dinner, but he refused to eat.

  ‘What has come over you, my child?’ she asked. ‘Are you ill? Have you any pain? Tell me, my son, I beg you.’

  ‘Let me alone, Mother,’ he replied.

  She went on pressing him to eat, and at last he ate a little. Then he threw himself upon his bed, where he lay thinking about the Princess all night and throughout the following day. His mother grew anxious about him and said, ‘If you are in pain, my child, tell me and I will call the doctor. There is now an Arab doctor in our city; he was sent for by the Sultan. People everywhere are talking of his great skill. Shall I go and fetch him for you?’

  ‘I am not ill,’ Aladdin replied. ‘It is only this, Mother. Yesterday I saw the Princess Badr-al-Budur when she was going into the baths. I saw her face, for when she entered she lifted her veil. As I looked on her exquisite features, my heart quivered with love for her. I will have no rest until I have won her in marriage from her father the Sultan.’

  Hearing this, his mother thought he had gone mad.

  ‘Heaven protect you, my child!’ she exclaimed. ‘You must be out of your mind. Come, return to your senses.’

  ‘I am not mad, Mother,’ Aladdin replied. ‘Whatever you say, I will never change my mind. I cannot rest until I win the fair Badr-al-Budur, the treasure of my heart.’

  ‘Do not say such things,’ his mother implored. ‘If the neighbors hear you they will think you are insane. Why, who would demand such a thing of the Sultan? And even if you do decide to ask for her hand, who will have the audacity to present your suit?’

  ‘Who else should present my suit for me when I have you, Mother?’ he answered. ‘Whom can I trust more than you? I want you yourself to go and take my petition to the Sultan.’

  ‘Heaven preserve me from such folly!’ she exclaimed. ‘Do you think I am mad, too? Consider who you are, my child. Your father was the poorest tailor in this city, and I, your mother, come from scarcely nobler folk. How then can you presume to demand the Sultan’s daughter? Her father will marry her only to some illustrious prince no less powerful and noble than himself.’

  ‘I have thought about all this, Mother,’ replied Aladdin. ‘Nothing will turn me from my purpose. If you love me as your son, I beg you to do this kindness for me. Do not let me perish; for I will surely die if I fail to win my heart’s beloved. Remember, Mother. I am your son.’

  ‘Yes, my son,’ she said. ‘You are my only child. My dearest wish is to see you married, and to rejoice in your happiness. If you want to marry, I will find you a wife who is your equal. But even then I will not know how to answer when they ask me if you have any trade or property. And if I cannot give an answer to humble people like ourselves, how can I presume to ask the Sultan for his only daughter? Just think of it, my child. Who is it that wants to marry her? A tailor’s son! Why, I know for sure that if I speak of such a thing we shall be utterly ruined; it may even put us in danger of our lives. Besides, how can I gain access to the Sultan? If they ask me questions, what answer can I give them? And supposing that I do gain admittance to the Sultan, what gift can I present him with? Yes, my son, I know that our Sultan is very kind, but he bestows his favors only on those who deserve them. Now tell me, child, what have you done for the Sultan or his kingdom to be worthy of such a favor?’

  ‘What you say is quite true, Mother,’ Aladdin replied. ‘You ask me what present I have to offer the Sultan. Know then that I can offer him a gift the like of which no monarch has ever possessed. Those colored fruits that I brought with me from the treasure house, thinking them to be glass or crystal, are jewels of incalculable worth – not a king in the world has the least one of them. I have been going around with jewelers of late, and I know now that they are priceless gems. If you wish to judge them for yourself, bring me a large china dish and I will show you. I am convinced that with a present such as this your errand will be easy.’

  Half in doubt, the woman went and brought a large china dish. She set it before Aladdin, who took out the jewels from their hiding place and ranged them skillfully on the plate. As she looked upon them, her eyes were dazzled by their rich luster.

  ‘Don’t you see, Mother? Can there be a more magnificent present for the Sultan? I have no doubt that you will be well received and highly honored by him. Rise now, take the dish, and go to the Sultan’s palace.’

  ‘Yes, my son,’ she answered. ‘I admit that your present is both precious and unique. But who in heaven’s name could make so bold as to stand before the Sultan and demand his daughter? When he asks, “What do you want?” my courage will fail me and I will not know what to say. And suppose the Sultan were pleased to accept your present and asked me, as people do on such occasions, about your standing and your income, what would I tell him?’

  ‘The Sultan will never ask you such a question after seeing these splendid jewels,’ Aladdin replied. ‘Do not trouble your mind with groundless fears, but go boldly about your errand and offer him these gems. And remember: I have a lamp that brings me whatever I want. If the Sultan asks you such a question, the lamp will provide me with the answer.’

  They went on chatting together for the rest of that evening. In the morning, Aladdin’s mother made ready for her audience with a cheerful heart, now that she understood the properties of the lamp and all that it could do for them. After Aladdin had made her promise never to reveal the secret, she wrapped the dish of gems in a handsome shawl and set off for the Sultan’s palace at an early hour, so that she might enter the audience hall before it was crowded. When she arrived, the hall was not yet full. After a short while the ministers and courtiers, the nabobs and princes and great ones of the palace came in; then the Sultan himself entered, and everyone stood up in respectful silence. The great Sultan sat down on his throne, and at his bidding all present took their seats, according to their rank.

  The petitioners were now summoned before the throne and every case was judged upon its merits; but the greater part of them had to be dismissed for lack of time. Among these last was Aladdin’s mother, for, though she had arrived before the others, no one spoke to her or offered to take her before the Sultan. When the audience was finished and the Sultan had retired, she returned home. Aladdin, who was waiting on the doorstep, saw her come back with the present in her hand, but said nothing and waited until she came in and told him what had happened.

  ‘Be of good cheer, my son,’ she said at last. ‘I plucked up enough courage to enter the audience hall today, though, like many others, I could not speak to the Sultan. But have no fears: God willing, I will speak to him tomorrow.’

  Though vexed at the delay, Aladdin found comfort in his mother’s words and consoled himself with hope and patience. Next morning the woman took the present and went again to the Sultan’s palace, but found the audience chamber closed. The guards told her that the Sultan held an audience only three times a week, so she was obliged to return home. After that she went to the palace every day. When she found the hall open she would stand about helplessly and then, when the audience was
finished, would make her way home; on the other days she would find the hall closed. This went on for a whole week. At the end of the final session the Sultan said to his vizier as they left the court, ‘For six or seven days I have seen a poor woman come to the palace with something under her cloak. What does she want?’

  ‘Some trivial matter, I expect, Your Majesty,’ answered the vizier. ‘She probably has a complaint against her husband or one of her neighbors.’

  The Sultan, however, would not be put off by this reply. He ordered the vizier to bring the woman before him if she came once more.

  ‘I hear and obey, Your Majesty,’ answered the vizier, lifting his hand to his brow.

  Next morning, the Sultan saw Aladdin’s mother standing wearily in the audience hall, as on the previous days.

  ‘That is the woman about whom I spoke to you yesterday,’ he said to the vizier. ‘Bring her to me now, so that I can hear her petition and grant her request.’

  The vizier rose at once and led Aladdin’s mother before the Sultan. She fell on her knees and, kissing the ground before him, wished him long life and everlasting glory.

  ‘Woman,’ said the Sultan, ‘I have seen you come to the audience hall a number of times and stand there without a word. Make your request known to me that I may grant it.’

  Aladdin’s mother again called down blessings upon the Sultan and, once more kissing the ground, said, ‘Before I speak of the extraordinary cause that compels me to appear before you, I beg Your Majesty to pardon and forgive the boldness of the plea I am about to make.’

  Being of a kind and generous nature, the Sultan ordered the audience chamber to be cleared so that she might be free to explain herself. When all but the vizier had been dismissed, he turned to Aladdin’s mother and bade her speak out without fear.

  ‘I have a son who is called Aladdin, Your Majesty,’ she began. ‘One day he heard the crier proclaim through the streets that Princess Badr-al-Budur was going to the baths. He was so anxious to see her face that he hid himself behind the door of the baths and saw her as she went in. He loved her from that instant, and has not known a moment’s rest ever since. My son asked me to entreat Your Majesty to marry her to him; and, try as I might, I could not free his mind of this obsession. “Mother,” he said to me, “if I do not win the Princess in marriage I will die.” I beg you, great Sultan, to be indulgent and to forgive me and my son for the audacity of this request.’

  When she had finished speaking the Sultan laughed good-naturedly.

  ‘Now tell me what you are carrying in that bundle,’ he said. Noticing that the Sultan was not angry, Aladdin’s mother undid the shawl and presented him with the plate of jewels. At once the entire hall was lit up as if by chandeliers and colored torches. The dumbfounded Sultan gazed at the jewels and marveled at their brilliance, their size, and their beauty.

  ‘Never in all my life have I seen the like of these jewels!’ he exclaimed. ‘I do not think there is a single stone in my treasuries to be compared with them. What do you say, vizier? Have you ever seen such marvels?’

  ‘Never, Your Majesty,’ agreed the vizier. ‘I doubt if the smallest of them is to be found among your treasures.’

  ‘Then do you not think,’ said the Sultan, ‘that the young man who sent them to me is worthier of my daughter’s hand than any other?’

  The vizier was greatly troubled to hear this, and did not know what to answer; for the Sultan had promised Badr-al-Budur to his own son.

  ‘Great Sultan,’ he said in a whisper, ‘forgive me if I remind Your Majesty that you have promised the Princess to my son. I therefore beg you to allow him a delay of three months in which to find, with God’s help, a present more valuable than this.’

  The Sultan knew well enough that neither the vizier nor the richest king in the world could find him a present equal to the treasure he had just received; but, as he did not wish to offend his minister, he granted him the delay he had requested.

  ‘Go to your son,’ he said, turning to Aladdin’s mother, ‘and tell him that my daughter shall be his. Only the marriage cannot take place for three months, as there are preparations to be made.’

  She thanked the Sultan and called down blessings upon him, then hurried home in a transport of joy. When Aladdin saw her return without the present, and noticed her happy smile, he felt sure she had brought him good news.

  ‘I pray that the jewels have won the Sultan’s heart,’ he exclaimed. ‘He received you graciously and listened to your request, I hope.’

  His mother told him how the Sultan had accepted the jewels and marveled at their size and beauty.

  ‘He promised that the Princess should be yours,’ she went on. ‘But the vizier whispered something to him and after that he said the marriage could not take place for three months. My son, I fear that the vizier may use his cunning to change the Sultan’s mind.’

  Ignoring this fear, Aladdin was overjoyed at the Sultan’s promise and warmly thanked his mother for her labors.

  ‘Surely now I am the richest and happiest of men!’ he exclaimed.

  For two months Aladdin patiently counted the days that separated him from the great occasion. Then, one evening, his mother went out to buy some oil and, as she walked down the street, she noticed that most of the shops were closed and that the city was adorned with lights. Windows were hung with flowers and candles, and the squares thronged with troops and mounted dignitaries carrying torches. Puzzled by all this, the old woman entered an oil shop that was open and, after buying what she needed, asked the reason for the commotion.

  ‘Why, good woman!’ replied the oil vendor. ‘You must surely be a stranger here, not to know that this is the bridal night of Princess Badr-al-Budur and the vizier’s son. He will soon be coming out of the baths; those officers and soldiers will escort him to the palace, where the Sultan’s daughter is waiting for him.’

  Aladdin’s mother was very upset to hear this. She returned home with a heavy heart, not knowing how to break the alarming news to her son.

  ‘My child,’ said she, as soon as she entered the house, ‘I have some bad news. I am afraid it will distress you.’

  ‘What is it, Mother?’ Aladdin asked impatiently.

  ‘The Sultan has broken his promise to you, my child,’ she answered. ‘This very night the vizier’s son is to marry the Princess. Oh, how I feared that the vizier would change the Sultan’s mind! I told you he whispered something to him after he had accepted your proposal.’

  ‘And how do you know,’ Aladdin asked, ‘that the vizier’s son is to marry the Princess tonight?’

  His mother described to him all that she had seen in the city: the lights and decorations, the soldiers and dignitaries waiting to escort the vizier’s son on his bridal night. On hearing this, Aladdin was seized with a terrible rage; but he soon remembered the lamp and regained possession of himself.

  ‘Upon your life, Mother,’ he said, ‘I do not think the vizier’s son will be so happy tonight as he expects to be. Let us say no more about this. Get up and cook the dinner. Then I will go into my room and see what can be done. All will be well, I promise you.’

  After dinner, Aladdin shut himself in his own room and locked the door. He then brought out the lamp and rubbed it, and at once the jinnee appeared.

  ‘Ask what you will,’ the jinnee said. ‘I am your slave, and the slave of him who holds the lamp: I and the other slaves of the lamp will do your bidding.’

  ‘Listen carefully,’ Aladdin said. ‘I asked the Sultan for his daughter and he promised that I should wed her after three months. He has now broken his promise and is marrying her to the vizier’s son instead. The wedding takes place tonight. Now I command you, if you are indeed a trustworthy slave of the lamp, to take up the bride and bridegroom as soon as they have retired to sleep and bring them here in their bed. I will look after the rest myself.’

  This was no sooner said than done, and the jinnee carried in the royal bed and set it down before Aladdin.

>   ‘Now take away this wretch,’ Aladdin commanded, ‘and lock him in the cellar.’

  At once the jinnee carried away the vizier’s son, laid him down in the cellar, and, breathing upon his body, left him paralyzed in every limb. Then he returned to Aladdin.

  ‘Master, what else do you require?’ he asked. ‘Speak, and it shall be done.’

  ‘Come again in the morning,’ Aladdin answered.

  ‘I hear and obey,’ replied the jinnee; and so saying he vanished.

  Aladdin could scarcely believe that all this had really happened, and that he was alone with the Princess whom he loved with a consuming passion.

  ‘Adorable Princess,’ he said, ‘do not think that I have brought you here to harm you. Heaven forbid! I did this only to make sure that no one else would wed you, for your father, the Sultan, gave me his word that you would be my bride. Do not be alarmed; you will be safe here.’

  When the Princess suddenly found herself in that dark and humble dwelling, and heard Aladdin’s words, she was so terrified that she uttered not a word. Presently Aladdin laid himself down beside her on the bed, placing an unsheathed sword between them. But because of her fright the Princess did not sleep a wink all night. Nor did the vizier’s son, who lay motionless on the floor of the filthy cellar.

  Next morning the jinnee returned, without Aladdin’s rubbing the lamp.

  ‘Master,’ he said, ‘command, and I will gladly do your bidding.’

  ‘Go,’ cried Aladdin. ‘Carry the bride and bridegroom back to the Sultan’s palace.’

  In a twinkling the jinnee did as Aladdin told him. He laid the vizier’s son beside the Princess and took them both to the royal palace, so swiftly that the terrified couple could not see who had thus transported them. Scarcely had the jinnee set them down and disappeared than the Sultan came in to visit his daughter. This greatly distressed the vizier’s son, for he was just beginning to feel warmer after his cold night in the cellar. However, he jumped to his feet, and put on his clothes.