Stories of Arabian Nights -
One thousand one Arabian Nights
The Story of the First Calender, Son of a King
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In order, madam, to explain how I came to lose
my right eye, and to wear the dress of a Calender, you must first know that I am
the son of a king. My father's only brother reigned over the neighboring
country, and had two children, a daughter and a son, who were of the same age as
myself.
As I grew up, and was allowed more liberty, I went every year to pay a visit to
my uncle's court, and usually stayed there about two months. In this way my
cousin and I became very intimate, and were much attached to each other. The
very last time I saw him he seemed more delighted to see me than ever, and gave
a great feast in my honour. When we had finished eating, he said to me, "My
cousin, you would never guess what I have been doing since your last visit to
us! Directly after your departure I set a number of men to work on a building
after my own design. It is now completed, and ready to be lived in. I should
like to show it to you, but you must first swear two things: to be faithful to
me, and to keep my secret."
Of course I did not dream of refusing him anything he asked, and gave the
promise without the least hesitation. He then bade me wait an instant, and
vanished, returning in a few moments with a richly dressed lady of great beauty,
but as he did not tell me her name, I thought it was better not to inquire. We
all three sat down to table and amused ourselves with talking of all sorts of
indifferent things, and with drinking each other's health. Suddenly the prince
said to me, "Cousin, we have no time to lose; be so kind as to conduct this lady
to a certain spot, where you will find a dome-like tomb, newly built. You cannot
mistake it. Go in, both of you, and wait till I come. I shall not be long."
As I had promised I prepared to do as I was told, and giving my hand to the
lady, I escorted her, by the light of the moon, to the place of which the prince
had spoken. We had barely reached it when he joined us himself, carrying a small
vessel of water, a pickaxe, and a little bag containing plaster.
With the pickaxe he at once began to destroy the empty sepulchre in the middle
of the tomb. One by one he took the stones and piled them up in a corner. When
he had knocked down the whole sepulchre he proceeded to dig at the earth, and
beneath where the sepulchre had been I saw a trap-door. He raised the door and I
caught sight of the top of a spiral staircase; then he said, turning to the
lady, "Madam, this is the way that will lead you down to the spot which I told
you of."
The lady did not answer, but silently descended the staircase, the prince
following her. At the top, however, he looked at me. "My cousin," he exclaimed,
"I do not know how to thank you for your kindness. Farewell."
"What do you mean?" I cried. "I don't understand."
"No matter," he replied, "go back by the path that you came."
He would say no more, and, greatly puzzled, I returned to my room in the palace
and went to bed. When I woke, and considered my adventure, I thought that I must
have been dreaming, and sent a servant to ask if the prince was dressed and
could see me. But on hearing that he had not slept at home I was much alarmed,
and hastened to the cemetery, where, unluckily, the tombs were all so alike that
I could not discover which was the one I was in search of, though I spent four
days in looking for it.
You must know that all this time the king, my uncle, was absent on a hunting
expedition, and as no one knew when he would be back, I at last decided to
return home, leaving the ministers to make my excuses. I longed to tell them
what had become of the prince, about whose fate they felt the most dreadful
anxiety, but the oath I had sworn kept me silent.
On my arrival at my father's capital, I was astonished to find a large
detachment of guards drawn up before the gate of the palace; they surrounded me
directly I entered. I asked the officers in command the reason of this strange
behaviour, and was horrified to learn that the army had mutinied and put to
death the king, my father, and had placed the grand-vizir on the throne.
Further, that by his orders I was placed under arrest.
Now this rebel vizir had hated me from my boy-hood, because once, when shooting
at a bird with a bow, I had shot out his eye by accident. Of course I not only
sent a servant at once to offer him my regrets and apologies, but I made them in
person. It was all of no use. He cherished an undying hatred towards me, and
lost no occasion of showing it. Having once got me in his power I felt he could
show no mercy, and I was right. Mad with triumph and fury he came to me in my
prison and tore out my right eye. That is how I lost it.
My persecutor, however, did not stop here. He shut me up in a large case and
ordered his executioner to carry me into a desert place, to cut off my head, and
then to abandon my body to the birds of prey. The case, with me inside it, was
accordingly placed on a horse, and the executioner, accompanied by another man,
rode into the country until they found a spot suitable for the purpose. But
their hearts were not so hard as they seemed, and my tears and prayers made them
waver.
"Forsake the kingdom instantly," said the executioner at last, "and take care
never to come back, for you will not only lose your head, but make us lose
ours." I thanked him gratefully, and tried to console myself for the loss of my
eye by thinking of the other misfortunes I had escaped.
After all I had gone through, and my fear of being recognised by some enemy, I
could only travel very slowly and cautiously, generally resting in some
out-of-the-way place by day, and walking as far as I was able by night, but at
length I arrived in the kingdom of my uncle, of whose protection I was sure.
I found him in great trouble about the disappearance of his son, who had, he
said, vanished without leaving a trace; but his own grief did not prevent him
sharing mine. We mingled our tears, for the loss of one was the loss of the
other, and then I made up my mind that it was my duty to break the solemn oath I
had sworn to the prince. I therefore lost no time in telling my uncle everything
I knew, and I observed that even before I had ended his sorrow appeared to be
lightened a little.
"My dear nephew," he said, "your story gives me some hope. I was aware that my
son was building a tomb, and I think I can find the spot. But as he wished to
keep the matter secret, let us go alone and seek the place ourselves."
He then bade me disguise myself, and we both slipped out of a garden door which
opened on to the cemetery. It did not take long for us to arrive at the scene of
the prince's disappearance, or to discover the tomb I had sought so vainly
before. We entered it, and found the trap-door which led to the staircase, but
we had great difficulty in raising it, because the prince had fastened it down
underneath with the plaster he had brought with him.
My uncle went first, and I followed him. When we reached the bottom of the
stairs we stepped into a sort of ante-room, filled with such a dense smoke that
it was hardly possible to see anything. However, we passed through the smoke
into a large chamber, which at first seemed quite empty. The room was
brilliantly lighted, and in another moment we perceived a sort of platform at
one end, on which were the bodies of the prince and a lady, both half-burned, as
if they had been dragged out of a fire before it had quite consumed them.
This horrible sight turned me faint, but, to my surprise, my uncle did not show
so much surprise as anger.
"I knew," he said, "that my son was tenderly attached to this lady, whom it was
impossible he should ever marry. I tried to turn his thoughts, and presented to
him the most beautiful princesses, but he cared for none of them, and, as you
see, they have now been united by a horrible death in an underground tomb." But,
as he spoke, his anger melted into tears, and again I wept with him.
When he recovered himself he drew me to him. "My dear nephew," he said,
embracing me, "you have come to me to take his place, and I will do my best to
forget that I ever had a son who could act in so wicked a manner." Then he
turned and went up the stairs.
We reached the palace without anyone having noticed our absence, when, shortly
after, a clashing of drums, and cymbals, and the blare of trumpets burst upon
our astonished ears. At the same time a thick cloud of dust on the horizon told
of the approach of a great army. My heart sank when I perceived that the
commander was the vizir who had dethroned my father, and was come to seize the
kingdom of my uncle.
The capital was utterly unprepared to stand a siege, and seeing that resistance
was useless, at once opened its gates. My uncle fought hard for his life, but
was soon overpowered, and when he fell I managed to escape through a secret
passage, and took refuge with an officer whom I knew I could trust.
Persecuted by ill-fortune, and stricken with grief, there seemed to be only one
means of safety left to me. I shaved my beard and my eyebrows, and put on the
dress of a calender, in which it was easy for me to travel without being known.
I avoided the towns till I reached the kingdom of the famous and powerful
Caliph, Haroun-al-Raschid, when I had no further reason to fear my enemies. It
was my intention to come to Bagdad and to throw myself at the feet of his
Highness, who would, I felt certain, be touched by my sad story, and would grant
me, besides, his help and protection.
After a journey which lasted some months I arrived at length at the gates of
this city. It was sunset, and I paused for a little to look about me, and to
decide which way to turn my steps. I was still debating on this subject when I
was joined by this other calender, who stopped to greet me. "You, like me,
appear to be a stranger," I said. He replied that I was right, and before he
could say more the third calender came up. He, also, was newly arrived in Bagdad,
and being brothers in misfortune, we resolved to cast in our lots together, and
to share whatever fate might have in store.
By this time it had grown late, and we did not know where to spend the night.
But our lucky star having guided us to this door, we took the liberty of
knocking and of asking for shelter, which was given to us at once with the best
grace in the world.
This, madam, is my story.
"I am satisfied," replied Zobeida; "you can go when you like."
The calender, however, begged leave to stay and to hear the histories of his two
friends and of the three other persons of the company, which he was allowed to
do.
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