THE STORY OF THE BEAUTIFUL GIRL WHO HAD HER WISH
The teller of tales says that, once upon a time, there lived a woman whose only child was a daughter, so beautiful that, of all who saw her, not one had ever beheld her equal. And this daughter not only was fair to look upon, she was gentle and kind to everyone and very loving and obedient to her mother. Indeed, there seemed to be nothing wanting to the happiness of these two.
Her mother had taught the young girl to weave the most delicate lace, and during some portion of every day she sat in her own room and carefully wrought out the pattern. Late one afternoon, as she was engaged thus, a bird flew in at the window. This did not seem strange to one with whom the birds were so friendly that every day they came to eat from her hand. But as she looked upon this little visitor, he seemed unlike those that came to her daily.
Lowering his head three times, he opened his [[45]]bill and spoke to her. The words that he said were very terrible: “Gentle maiden,” quoth the bird, “during forty nights shalt thou keep watch beside a corpse. After that it shall happen to thee according to thy strongest wish.”
The young girl was so surprised and alarmed that she could not command her tongue to ask the bird why this must come to her. Before she became calm the bird had flown.
Now, because the girl loved her mother very deeply, she delayed to speak of this strange matter. At night she went to bed and slept, and when morning came, took up her accustomed duties. At the approach of evening the strange bird came again, spoke as before, and flew away.
Sick at heart, the poor girl ran to her mother and confided all that had passed. The mother, greatly alarmed, questioned her daughter closely. “Dost thou fear another visit from the bird, my child?”
“Twice has he come to me. He will surely come once more. Thou knowest well, my mother, that one who has a second warning surely must receive a third.”
“Ai, my daughter!” exclaimed the mother. “And at what time will the bird visit thee?”
“To-morrow, toward evening,” answered the girl. [[46]]
Accordingly, when the shadows lengthened upon the morrow, the mother hid herself in a closet at one end of her daughter’s room. At the expected time, while the girl sat working upon her lace, the same bird entered, lowered his head three times, and spoke the same words—with this slight difference, that he addressed the maiden as sultana.
After the words were spoken, the bird turned to the window and was soon beyond sight.
The poor mother had overheard all. As the two flew to embrace each other the mother cried: “Ai, my daughter, let us fly! Let us try to escape from the power of this cruel bird.”
And the girl answered, “Let us fly together, mother, come what will!”
They made haste to gather those goods which were light in weight but heavy in worth; after which they closed the doors of their home and set forth, with all speed, upon a journey which they well knew must be perilous.
They rested but little, one of them always keeping watch. After several days of travel they came to a magnificent palace. Hastening to its walls, they sat down in the shadow and considered what they would better do next. Being weary, they lay down in a hidden spot, and although the mother was firm in her will to remain awake, a strange power [[47]]took hold upon her that she could not resist. Sleep closed her eyes. She became unconscious.
Upon this the strange bird again made its appearance, and, although it seemed not larger than an ordinary songster, it possessed such strength as to lift the sleeping girl. Gently it bore her over the wall and into a room of the palace, where it laid her upon a beautiful golden divan.
Almost immediately the sleeper opened her eyes, and discovered that she was separated from her mother and within the palace. She arose and looked about her. Lying upon a bier in the middle of the room, under a white, transparent covering, was a corpse.
When her eyes fell upon this the poor girl nearly went out of her senses for terror, and exclaimed: “Evil is upon me! That which the bird foretold was, indeed, very truth.”
Then she sought eagerly to find a way out, in order that she might bring her mother within. The rooms of the palace were very large and magnificent; but no person could be found in them. And whenever she entered one of them and hastened to another door, she found herself, as if by magic, in the one where had been her awakening and beside the stately bier.
Hour after hour she struggled. Every trial ended [[48]]with the same experience. She found herself, again and again, in the lonely room with only the body upon the bier for company. At last she was exhausted, and began to understand that escape was impossible—that some mighty power had torn her from her beloved mother. In the hope that obedience to fate would make her sentence lighter, she said: “I will bear whatever is allotted to me. Afterward, if Allah will, it may be for the best.”
Let the girl remain here while we return to the mother.
Morning came, and, the strange influence having spent itself, the woman awakened. Turning toward the place where she had last seen her beloved daughter, she reached out her arms for an embrace. But they were empty. The alarmed woman made haste to seek all about the hiding place, in the vain hope that the girl had gone to look about them. But no trace of her child could be found—no footprint in the soft earth, no portion of her clothing.
When this became real to the seeker, her heart was crushed with fear. “Alas!” she cried, “in rescuing my beloved one from the bird I have lost her unto myself!”
Thereupon, with grief so heavy that she was many days in journeying the distance over which [[49]]they two had sped so swiftly, she returned to her own home, went into mourning for the daughter whom she believed dead, and awaited whatever might be ordered unto herself.
Now let us return to the girl.
During the long nights that followed she slept not, but kept her dreary watch beside the bier. In some mysterious manner, fresh food appeared every morning upon a golden salver, and whatever remained from the previous day was spirited away. Although the girl endeavored to discover this change, she was unable to do so.
At first, by means of a bit of charred wood which she found upon the floor, she kept the strictest account of the days as they passed. With this she made a mark upon the marble for each day. But as they wore by she forgot to number them. Dreary monotony made her spiritless.
Now, in front of the palace flowed the sea. One window of the room was directly over that portion of the castle walls which were washed by the waves. Long before sunrise, one morning, as the maiden sat beside this window, looking out with heavy eyes, a ship appeared. It came from the direction of Iram. When it was directly before the palace the girl made a sign with her hand. The captain lowered [[50]]a boat which came to the walls of the palace.
The air was very still, and the voice of the young girl, though not loud, was clear. “Bring me a beautiful slave girl,” she said, “and I will give you these ten thousand piasters.”
The boat returned to the ship. Very soon it came back. In it was another person. The watcher saw that it was a young girl, like herself. Overjoyed, she let down a rope, made from the silken coverings of the divan. At the end of this rope she had fastened the money.
When the men had secured the gold they tied the rope about the body of the slave girl, and with great difficulty she was drawn up far enough to enable her to climb within. Her young mistress greeted her with kindness, and, because of her joy, took the string of gold coins from her own neck and fastened them around the neck of the newcomer. And she said, “Thanks be to Allah! I have found a companion.”
The slave girl had been cruelly treated by the captain of the ship. But she did not tell her mistress that she was glad to be rescued.
Now, the fortieth night was completed, though the young girl knew not that it was so. After she and the slave had both bathed in an inner chamber, [[51]]and after they had eaten of the delicate food upon the golden salver, the mistress said to her slave: “Now, do thou watch here a little, while I go to walk through the rooms of the palace. After my return thou canst do likewise.”
Thereupon she went out; and had barely gone when the body upon the bier returned to life. It was that of a young man, very tall and worthy to be looked upon. He threw off the covering, and disclosed the embroidered garments of royalty. He stretched out his hands and opened his eyes. They fell upon the slave girl. After his long torpor she seemed beautiful to him. And the gold coins about her neck were not such as one sees upon a slave.
“Maiden,” he asked, “was it thou who watched beside me through the forty nights?”
“Yes,” answered the slave; “for forty nights have I watched beside thee.”
Now, it so chanced that the person who had been lying upon the bier was a young prince. And before the evil spell was cast upon him by an enemy of his father, he had made a vow, saying, “Whoso watches by me during the forty days of my enchantment, her will I marry immediately upon waking.”
It was because of this vow that he asked the question. And because within his heart he had felt [[52]]another presence, he called the slave to him and asked whether any other beside herself had been there.
The slave was very quick-witted. She was scheming and wicked of heart. In a moment she knew all that the question might mean to her. Forgetting the kindness of her young mistress in redeeming her from the cruel captain and in making of her a beloved companion, rather than a slave, she quickly made this answer:
“There is my slave girl, whom I bought with much money. Only these gold pieces about my neck have I saved. She is now in another room.”
Then the prince took her by the hand and said, “Before Allah do I take thee for my wife.” And he kissed her upon the cheek.
As these words were spoken there came the sound of light footsteps. The young mistress entered.
“Come, girl!” arrogantly called the slave. “Thy master, my husband, hath wakened. He calleth for thy service. Hasten to do his bidding!”
The gentle maiden saw that matters were not as they had been when she began her promenade through the great rooms. But, being obedient of heart, she said to herself: “This, too, comes from Allah. It must be borne patiently.”
At the first opportunity she made haste to count [[53]]the marks upon the marble which she had made every day with the bit of charcoal. They numbered forty. Then she felt that there was no hope for her, and meekly put herself in the place of her own slave, doing every service that was required of her. The real slave was bitterly cruel, and asked the most menial offices of this beautiful girl, although upon the full awakening of the prince the palace had become filled with the usual number of servants.
A little time later on the prince said to the one whom he had taken for his wife: “I am going on a long journey. What is thy wish that I bring thee?”
“Bring me a hundred diamonds and one hundred turquoises,” said the woman.
Then the prince turned to her whom his wife called slave. “And what wouldst thou have, my child?” he asked.
“If it be thy gracious pleasure,” came the low answer, “I would beg thee to bring me a patience stone.”
“A patience stone!” sneered the other. “The prince will never remember that.”
Then the young girl turned to the slave mistress. “Should he permit himself to forget this simple request of one who serves you both faithfully,” was her answer, “may a cloud, black as pitch, form in [[54]]front of his ship, so that the way of return cannot be seen. And behind them may the sky remain clear!”
The prince was not a little surprised at all this. He had taken note of the perfect manner of the one whom his wife called slave, and had compared the two. But, without comment, he made his adieus and set forth upon his journey toward Yemen.
After his arrival there months passed, while he attended to matters of state. When the time came that he could return, he purchased all that his wife had ordered. So many things had occurred that it was not strange that he should forget the servant’s commission.
While the ship was upon her homeward journey, suddenly it became dark as pitch before the vessel, while behind it the skies were quite clear. This made it impossible to navigate the ship. Fear came upon everyone.
Thereupon the captain summoned all who were on board. “If there be anyone among you,” he said, solemnly, “who has forgotten a promise or forgotten a vow, let him stand forth!”
When the prince heard this command, he remembered the commission of his wife’s servant and her low-spoken prediction, when the scornful words had [[55]]been uttered. He believed that the danger had come upon them because of those words.
To the great surprise of all, their prince stepped forward. “I am the one in fault,” he said. “This evil has come upon us because I have broken a promise made to a slave. Turn the ship about. Let us return to port, while I fulfill that which became a duty as soon as I had given my word.”
Immediately upon the ship’s turning, the cloud began to follow them. Soon they were back at Yemen, where the prince made haste to purchase the patience stone. Afterward, by the grace of Allah (the Just One) the ship flew so fast on its homeward voyage that it seemed like a bird, and the palace was reached in an incredibly short space of time.
When the prince entered the palace, his wife, followed by her servant, came down the broad staircase to meet him. Afterward they escorted him up the stairs and into the pleasantest room of the castle. The wife asked eagerly for the precious gems, and was wild with delight when they were spread before her.
“Come, hither, slave!” she commanded, “and deck thy mistress in a manner fitting to her station!”
The young girl obeyed without a murmur, although her heart was very sore. When the task [[56]]was finished, and the vain and wicked one sat before a polished steel mirror admiring herself, the seeming slave turned to the prince.
“My gracious master,” she said, very gently, “is it permitted me to ask if thou rememberedst my humble request?”
The prince then delivered the stone, which was received with becoming gratitude. “May Allah bless thee!” were her words.
Now, the only room in the entire palace which was at all mean had been given to her, and everything that could add to her comfort had been removed by command of her mistress. When the night came on she went to this room and sat down to deliberate.
Grief at the loss of her mother tore her heart. The injustice of her own slave was more than she could endure longer. It seemed as if Allah, in whom she had hoped, must have forgotten her. Tears fell from her beautiful eyes and sighs shook her frame. Long she sat there after the hour for retiring.
When the palace became still and the prince was in his bed, he bethought him of his wife’s supposed slave and wondered what she would do with the patience stone. There was a mystery about her which he fain would solve. More than once had he checked his wife in her heavy demands upon the [[57]]frail young girl; more than once had he been stirred with the thought that she and not the one he had married should be the princess. So, after his wife had fallen asleep, he arose lightly and went to the door of the servant’s room, taking with him his faithful Ahmed to bear witness to what he should discover.
The gift, that had been brought her, was about the size of a pea. As the prince came to the door he saw the young girl wash the stone with her tears. Afterward she placed it upon the broken table before her and thus addressed it:
“Ai, patience stone! I was my mother’s only and precious child. One day, as I, innocent and happy in her affection, sat in my room weaving the lace that she had taught me to make, a bird came through the window and spoke to me, saying: ‘During forty days shalt thou keep watch beside a corpse. But upon the morning of the fortieth day it shall happen to thee according to thy strongest desire.’
“The bird appeared to me three days and uttered the same message. Upon the third day my mother, concealed within a closet, heard all that was said. She, as well as I, was terrified. She determined to save me by flight. But, while we slept, some mysterious power took me from her side and placed me in this palace. [[58]]
“I have not seen my mother since, and do not know whether she is dead from the grief of our separation. As for myself, during forty days and nights I watched beside the bier of this prince who is now my master. Hadst thou been in my place, O stone! couldst thou have been utterly patient?”
As she thus spoke, the patience stone began to swell with sympathy. As it did so, it whispered, “Bravo! bravo!”
“With the first streak of light upon the fortieth morning,” continued the speaker, “a ship passed the palace. Loneliness was heavy upon me. I signaled it and asked that I might buy a slave girl. For her I offered ten thousand piasters of the money my mother had put upon me.
“They sent me this slave who is now my mistress. I received her gladly. I kissed her and put my own gold coins about her neck. I was kind to her and felt that it was good to have companionship other than a stiff and silent corpse.
“When the morning had fully dawned I, being restless, left my slave to watch for a little while beside the bier while I wandered through the beautiful rooms of the palace.
“Scarcely had I left his presence, when the spell was broken and the noble prince was restored to life. I returned to find that he had made my slave his [[59]]princess. Immediately upon my return this false princess spoke roughly to me, calling out that I was her slave.
“Since then she has required bitter things of me. Often in the absence of the prince she beats me. Now she threatens my life. O, thou wise stone, couldst thou have had patience to endure all this?”
When this pitiful question was sobbed forth, the patience stone cried “Bravo!” once again, then it burst into a thousand pieces.
“O, patience stone,” cried the girl, “if thou couldst not bear this that has been put upon me, how can I longer do so? Let me rather hang myself, before my cruel slave mistress tortures me to death.”
Thereupon she took her sash, wound it about her throat, stepped upon a wretched stool, and threw the other end of the sash over a beam in the roof. She was upon the point of being strangled when the prince and his faithful Ahmed broke into the room, caught her in their arms, and brought her to the floor.
“Ah, my sultana!” said the prince, very tenderly, “so it was thou who watched beside me during those bitter days! Why hast thou kept this long silence?”
“Because I believed in Allah,” was the reply. [[60]]“If he so willed my life, I must not try to change it But I was unable longer to bear it.”
“Henceforth art thou my beloved,” said the prince. And he kissed her three times upon the forehead. “This other, who won thy place through falsehood, shall receive her just deserts.”
He then conducted the real sultana from the wretched room into a most beautiful chamber, seated her upon a divan rich with cloth of gold, then commanded very tenderly—for his heart was touched with her suffering, “Remain here, my beloved, until I return to thee.”
He then went to the bedside of the false one, struck her with his stick, and called fiercely: “Haste thee! Arise to receive thy just punishment for the evil which thou hast brought upon thy innocent mistress.”
The slave fell upon her face before him and besought his pardon. But he would not listen. “Wilt thou have forty blows or shall forty crows be summoned to bear thee out into the night?” he demanded.
“O!” cried she, “let the forty blows fall upon the heads of my enemies! I ask that forty crows come. Perchance they will bear me back to my home.”
Thereupon, at the prince’s command, slaves brought a basket, lifted and placed her within it, [[61]]then opened a window overlooking the sea. Forty giant crows came, seized upon the basket with their beaks, and flew so far away that neither the prince nor his beautiful sultana ever heard of her again.
Then the young girl, who had been rescued from death by the prince, begged that messengers be sent to relate her good fortune to her mother—if haply she were yet alive—and that a camel might also be taken to fetch her to their marriage feast.
This request was readily granted. And the mother, who had mourned her daughter as dead, came hastily and with joy to greet her again. The wedding feast lasted forty days and forty nights. Throughout it all everything happened according to the wish of the kind and beautiful girl. Salaam! [[62]]