The Arabian Nights Entertainments - Anonymous (best novels to read in english .TXT) 📗

But instead of agreeing to that, Look ye, says he, how genies treat their wives whom they suspect of unfaithfulness; she has received thee here, and were I certain that she had put any other affront upon me, I would make thee die this minute; but I will content myself to transform thee into a dog, ape, lion, or bird: take thy choice of any of these, I will leave it to thyself.

These words gave me some hopes to mollify him. O genie; said I, moderate your passion, and since you will not take away my life, give it me generously; I shall always remember your clemency, if you pardon me, as one of the best men in the world pardoned one of his neighbours who bore him a mortal hatred. The genie asked me what had passed between those two neighbours, and said, he would have patience till he heard the story, which I told him thus: And I believe, madam, you will not take it ill if I also relate it to you.

THE STORY OF THE ENVIOUS MAN, AND OF HIM WHOM HE ENVIED.

In a considerable town, two persons dwelt next door to each other; one of them conceived such a violent hatred against the other, that he who was hated resolved to remove his dwelling further off, being persuaded that their being neighbours was the only cause from whence his animosity did arise; for, though he had done him several pieces of service, he found, nevertheless, that his hatred was nothing diminished; therefore he sold his house, with what goods he had left, and retired to the capital city of that kingdom, which was not far distant. He bought a little spot of ground, which lay about half a league from the city; he had a house convenient enough, with a fine garden, and a pretty spacious court, wherein was a deep well, which was not in use.

The honest man, having made this purchase, put on a dervize's or monk's habit to lead a retired life, and caused several cells to be made in the house, where in a short time he established a numerous society of dervizes. He came soon to be publicly known by his virtue, through which he acquired the esteem of a great many people, as well of the commonalty as of the chief of the city. In short, he was extremely honoured and cherished by every one. People came from far to recommend themselves to his prayers; and all those that came to live with him published what blessings they received through his means.

The great reputation of that honest man having spread to the town from whence he came, it touched the envious man so much to the quick, that he left his house and affairs, with a resolution to go and ruin him. With this intent he went to the new convent of dervizes, of which his former neighbour was the head, who received him with all imaginable tokens of friendship. The envious man told him that he was come on purpose to communicate a business of importance to him, which he could not do but in private; and because that nobody shall hear us, let us, says he, take a walk in your court, and seeing night begins to draw on, command your dervizes to retire to their cells. The head of the dervizes did as he required.

When the envious man saw that he was alone, with this good man, he began to tell him his errand, walking side by side in the court until he saw his opportunity; and getting the good man near the brink of the well, he gave him a thrust, and pushed him into it, without any body being witness to so wicked an action. Having done this, he marched off immediately, got out at the gate of the convent without being known to any one, and came home to his own house, well satisfied with his journey, being fully persuaded that the object of his hatred was no more in this world.

This old well was inhabited by fairies and genies, which happened luckily for the relief of the head of the convent; for they received and supported him, and carried him to the bottom, so that he got no hurt. He perceived well enough that there was something extraordinary in his fall, which must otherwise have cost him his life; whereas he neither saw nor felt any thing. But he soon heard a voice, which said, Do you know what honest man this is to whom we have done this piece of service? Another voice answered, No. To which the first replied, Then I will tell you. This man, out of charity the greatest that ever was known, left the town he lived in, and has established himself in this place, in hopes to cure one of his neighbours of the envy he had conceived against him; he has acquired such a general esteem, that the envious man, not able to endure it, came hither on purpose to ruin him, which he had performed, had it not been for the assistance which we have given this honest man, whose reputation is so great, that the sultan, who keeps his residence in the neighbouring city, was to pay him a visit to-morrow, and to recommend the princess his daughter to his prayers.

Another voice asked, What need had the princess of the dervize's prayers? To which the first answered, You do not know, it seems, that she is possessed by genie Maimoun, the son of Demdim, who is fallen in love with her. But I know well how this good head of the dervizes may cure her; the thing is very easy, and I will tell it you. He has a black cat in his convent, with a white spot at the end of her tail, about the bigness of a small piece of English money: let him only pull seven hairs out of this white spot, burn them, and smoke the princess's head with the fume, she will not only be perfectly cured, but be so safely delivered from Maimoun, the son of Demdim, that he will never dare to come near her a second time.

The head of the dervizes remembered every word of the discourse between the fairies and the genies, who were very silent all the night after. The next morning, by break of day, when he could discern one thing from another, the well being broken down in several places, he saw a hole, by which he crept out with ease.

The other dervizes who had been seeking for him, were rejoiced to see him. He gave them a brief account of the wickedness of that man to whom he had given so kind a reception the day before, and retired into his cell. It was not long till the black cat, of which the fairies and the genies had made mention in their discourses the night before, came to fawn upon her master, as she was accustomed to do: He took her up, and pulled seven hairs out of the white spot that was upon her tail, and laid them aside for his use, when occasion should serve.

The sun was not high, when the sultan, who would leave no means untried which he thought could restore the princess to her perfect health, arrived at the gate of the convent. He commanded his guards to halt, whilst he, with his principal officers, went in. The dervizes received him with profound respect.

The sultan called their head aside, and says, good Sheik, it may be you know already the cause of my coming hither. Yes, sir, replies he, very gravely; if I do not mistake it, it is the disease of the princess which procures me this honour that I have not deserved. That is the very thing, replied the sultan. You will give me new life, if your prayers, as I hope they will, can procure my daughter's health. Sir, said the good man, if your majesty will be pleased to let her come hither, I am in hopes, that through God's assistance and favour, she shall return in perfect health.

The prince, transported with joy, sent immediately to fetch his daughter, who very soon appeared with a numerous train of ladies and eunuchs, but masked, so that her face was not seen. The chief of the dervizes caused a pall to be held over her head, and he had no sooner thrown the seven tufts of hair upon the burning coal, than the genie Maimoun, the son of Demdim, gave a great cry, without any thing being seen, and left the princess at liberty; upon which she took the veil from off her face, and rose up to see where she was, saying, Where am I, and who brought me hither? At these words, the sultan, overcome with excess of joy, embraced his daughter, and kissed her eyes; he also kissed the chief of the dervize's hands, and said to his officers, Tell me your opinion, what reward does he deserve who has cured my daughter? They all cried, he deserves her in marriage. That is what I had in my thoughts, said the sultan; and I make him my son-in-law from this moment. Some time after, the prime vizier died, and the sultan conferred the place on the dervize. The sultan himself died without heirs-male; upon which the religious orders and the militia gathered together, and the honest man was declared and acknowledged sultan by general consent.

The honest dervize, being mounted on the throne of his father-in-law, as he was one day in the midst of his courtiers upon a march, espied the envious man among the crowd of people that stood as he passed along, and calling one of his viziers that attended him, whispered him in the ear thus: Go bring me that man you see there, but take care you do not frighten him. The vizier obeyed, and when the envious man was brought into his presence, the sultan said, Friend, I am extremely glad to see you. Upon which he called an officer: Go immediately, says he, and cause to be paid this man out of my treasury one hundred pieces of gold; let him have also twenty load of the richest merchandise in my store-houses, and a sufficient guard to conduct him to his house. After he had given this charge to the officer, he bade the envious man farewell, and proceeded on his march.

When I had finished the recital of this story to the genie, the murderer of the princess of the isle of Ebone, I made the application to himself thus: O genie! you see here that this bountiful sultan did not content himself with forgetting the design of the envious man to take away his life, but treated him kindly, and sent him back with all the favours which I just now related. In short, I made use of all my eloquence, prayed him to imitate such a good example, and to grant me pardon; but it was impossible for me to move his compassion.

All that I can do for thee, said he, is, that I will not take away thy life; do not flatter thyself that I will send thee safe and sound back. I must let you feel what I am able to do by my enchantments. With that he laid violent hands on me, and carried me across the vault of the subterraneous palace, which opened to give him passage; he flew up with me so high, that the earth seemed to be only a little white cloud; from thence he came down again like lightning, and alighted upon the ridge of a mountain.

There he took up a handful of earth, and pronounced, or rather muttered, some words which I did not understand, and threw it upon me. Leave the shape of a man, says he to me, and take on that of an ape. He vanished immediately, and left me alone, transformed into an ape, overwhelmed with sorrow in a strange country, not knowing if I was near unto or far from my father's dominions.

I went down from the height of the mountain, and came into a plain country, which took me a month's time to travel through, and then I came to a coast of the sea. It happened then to be a great calm, and I espied a vessel about half a league from the shore; I would not lose this good opportunity, but broke off a large branch from a tree, which I carried with me to