The Arabian Nights II (22 page)

“You say that it is not customary to go to the king without a present and that I have nothing worthy of him. As to what you say about the necessity of a present, I agree with you, and I admit that I never thought of it, but as to what you say that I have nothing fit to present to him, don't you think, mother, that what I brought home with me the day on which I was delivered from an inevitable death may be very pleasing to the king? I am speaking of what I brought in the two purses and in the belt, which you and I both took for colored glass. But now I know that I was wrong, and I tell you, Mother, that they are jewels of inestimable value, fit only for the greatest kings; take my word for it. I discovered their worth by frequenting the jewelers' shops. All the jewels I saw at the jewelers' shops cannot compare to those we have, neither in size nor beauty, yet they offer them at excessive prices. In truth, neither you nor I know the full value of ours, but whatever it may be, as far as I know from my little experience, they
will please the king very much. You have a large porcelain dish, large enough and of a shape fit to hold them; fetch it, and let us see how they look, after we arrange them according to their different colors.”

'Ala al-Din's mother brought the dish, and he took the jewels out of the two purses and arranged them in the dish. The effect they made in the bright daylight, by the variety of their colors and by their luster and brilliance, was so great that both mother and son were dazzled and greatly astonished, for until then they had only seen them in the light of a lamp. It is true that 'Ala al-Din had seen them before, each kind hanging on its tree, like fruits, a sight that must have been delightful, but since he was only a boy, he looked on them as nothing but trinkets to play with.

After admiring for some time the beauty of the jewels, 'Ala al-Din said, “Mother, now you can no longer excuse yourself from going to the king, on the pretext that you have no present to give him. Here is one that, I think, will gain you the most favorable reception.” Even though 'Ala al-Din's mother, despite the beauty and luster of the jewels, did not think the present to be as valuable as her son esteemed it, she nevertheless thought that it might please the king. But although she knew very well that she had nothing to say against it, she kept pondering the proposal that 'Ala al-Din wished her to make to the king, by favor of the present, and which worried her very much. She said to him, “Son, I have no difficulty conceiving that your present will have an effect and that the king will look on me favorably, but I am sure that when I attempt to make the proposal you wish me to make, I will not have the power to open my mouth. Thus I will not only lose my labor, but the present, which, according to you, is of an extraordinary value, and I will return home in confusion, to tell you that your hopes are dashed. I have already told you this, and you ought to believe me.” She added, “But I will exert myself to please you, and I wish that I may find the power to dare make the proposal you wish me to make. The king will certainly either laugh at me and send me back as a madwoman, or justifiably be in a great rage, of which both you and I will surely be the victims.” She presented other arguments to her son in her attempt to persuade him to change his mind, but the charms of Princess Badr al-Budur had made too great an impression on his heart to dissuade him from his plan. He persisted in asking his mother to carry out his resolution, and she, as much out of tenderness as out of fear that he might resort to some violent or offensive measure, overcame her reluctance and submitted to his wish.

As it was now very late, and the time for an audience with the king had already passed, it was postponed till the next day. The mother and son talked of nothing else for the rest of the day, and 'Ala al-Din took a great deal of pain to tell her whatever he could think of, to
encourage her in the resolution, which she finally took, to go to the king. But in spite of all his arguments, his mother could never convince herself that she would succeed in this affair, and in truth, one must admit that she had enough reason for doubt. She said to 'Ala al-Din, “Son, if the king receives me as favorably as I wish, for your sake, if he listens calmly to the proposition you wish me to make, and if, after this kind reception, he should think of asking me where are your possessions, your riches, and your estate, for he will sooner inquire after that than after your person; if, I say, he should ask, what do you wish me to tell him?” 'Ala al-Din replied, “Mother, let us not worry in advance about something that may never happen. First, let us see how the king receives you and what answer he gives you. If it should happen that he wishes to be informed of all that you mention, I will think of an answer to give him, for I have confidence that the lamp, which has sustained us for many years, will not fail me in time of need.”

'Ala al-Din's mother had nothing to say in reply to what her son said. She thought that the lamp might be capable of performing greater wonders than simply providing them with sustenance. This thought satisfied her and at the same time removed all the objections that might have dissuaded her from undertaking the mission to the king, which she had promised her son. 'Ala al-Din, who guessed what she was thinking, said, “Above all, mother, remember to keep the secret, for on that depends all the success both you and I expect in this affair.” 'Ala al-Din and his mother parted to go to bed. But his intense love and his great expectations of such an immense fortune had taken such a hold of 'Ala al-Din that he could not rest as well as he might have wished. He got up at dawn and went immediately to wake up his mother, pressing her to get dressed as soon as she could, to go to the king's palace, and to enter as soon as the gate was opened, and the grand vizier, the other viziers, and all the high officers of state went into the audience hall where the king always presided in person.

'Ala al-Din's mother did all that her son wished. She took the porcelain dish that contained the jewels, wrapped it in two wrapping cloths, one more delicate and cleaner than the other, which she tied at four corners, in order to carry the dish more easily. At last she departed, to 'Ala al-Din's great satisfaction, and took the road to the palace. When she arrived at the gate, the grand vizier, the other viziers, and the most distinguished lords of the court had already gone in. The gate was opened, and she went in with the great crowd of people who had business at the court. When she entered, she found herself in a long, spacious, and beautiful hall, the entrance to which was grand and magnificent. She stood, placing herself directly before the king, the grand vizier, and the lords, who sat in the council to the left and right of the king. The cases were called, one after the other,
according to their order, and they were pleaded and judged until the time the council usually adjourned. Then the king rose, dismissed the council, and retired to his apartment, where he was followed by the grand vizier. Then the other viziers and the officers of state departed, as also did those who were there on business, some pleased with winning their case, others dissatisfied with the judgment rendered against them, and the rest in the expectation of having their cases heard at the next council.

'Ala al-Din's mother, seeing the king rise and retire and all the people depart, concluded rightly that he would not come again that day and decided to go home. When 'Ala al-Din saw her return with the present meant for the king, he did not know at first what to think of the success of her mission, and, fearing that she might have some bad news for him, he did not have the courage to ask her any question. The good woman, who had never before set foot in the king's palace and who did not have the slightest knowledge of how business was normally conducted there, relieved her son of his uncertainty, saying to him with great simplicity, “Son, I have seen the king, and I am very convinced that he has seen me, too, for I placed myself directly before him, and no one could prevent him from seeing me, but he was so busy with all those who spoke on all sides of him, that I pitied him for the pains he took to listen patiently to all of them. This lasted so long that he finally became weary, for he rose unexpectedly and retired suddenly, not wishing to hear the great many persons who were waiting for their turn to speak. Nevertheless, I was very pleased, for I was losing patience and getting extremely tired from standing for such a long time. But there is no harm done. I will go back tomorrow; perhaps the king may not be as busy.”

Although 'Ala al-Din's love was very intense, he was forced to be satisfied with this excuse and to brace himself with patience. He had at least the satisfaction to find that his mother had taken the most difficult step, namely, to have seen the king, and he hoped that she would be emboldened by the example of those whom she saw speak to him and no longer hesitate to carry out her commission when a favorable opportunity to speak to the king offered itself.

The following day, 'Ala al-Din's mother went to the king's palace, with the present, as early in the morning as the day before, but she went for nothing, for she found the audience hall closed and discovered that the council convened every other day, and, therefore, she had to come back the following day. She went back with this news to her son, who had no choice but to remain patient. She went back to the palace on the appointed day, six more times, placing herself always directly before the king, but again with as little success as the first time, and she might have perhaps gone a hundred times, all to no avail, if
the king himself, who saw her at each session standing before him, had not taken notice of her. For it is very probable that only those who had petitions to present and who waited in line approached the king, in order to plead their cases, each in his turn, and 'Ala al-Din's mother was not one of them.

At last, after the council had adjourned, and the king had retired to his apartment, he said to his grand vizier, “For some time now, I have noticed a certain woman, who comes every day I hold a council. She carries something wrapped in a wrapping cloth and remains standing up, from the beginning to the end of the session, deliberately placing herself directly before me. Do you know what she wants?” The grand vizier, who knew no more than the king what she wanted, but who did not wish to seem curt, replied, “My lord, your majesty knows that women often form complaints based on trifles. Perhaps this woman comes to complain to your majesty that someone has sold her some bad flour, or to complain about some other wrong, equally trivial.” The king was not satisfied with this explanation and said to the grand vizier, “If this woman comes again on the next council day, do not fail to call her, in order that I may hear what she has to say.” The grand vizier replied by kissing his hand and lifting it above his head, indicating that he was ready to lose his head if he failed to carry out the king's order.

'Ala al-Din's mother had by now become so much accustomed to going to the council and standing before the king that she did not think it any trouble, as long as her son knew that she did all she could to comply with his wishes. So the next council day, she went to the audience hall and as usual stood at the entrance, directly before the king. The grand vizier had not yet reported on any business when the king noticed her and, feeling compassion for her for having waited so patiently, said to the grand vizier, “First of all, lest you should forget, there stands the woman I spoke to you about. Bid her approach, and let us hear her and dispatch her business first.” The grand vizier, pointing out 'Ala al-Din's mother to the chief of the officers, who stood awaiting orders, commanded him to go to her and bring her before the king. The chief of the officers went to 'Ala al-Din's mother, and at a sign he gave her, she followed him to the foot of the king's throne, where he left her and went back to his place near the grand vizier.

'Ala al-Din's mother, following the example of the great many others whom she saw approach the king, prostrated herself, with her forehead touching the carpet that covered the steps of the throne, and remained in that position until the king bid her rise. When she rose, he said to her, “For a long time now, I have seen you come to my audience hall. What business brings you here?” When she heard these words, she prostrated herself a second time, and when she rose, she
replied, “O King of Kings, before I reveal to your majesty the extraordinary and almost incredible business that brings me before your sublime throne, I beg you to pardon the boldness or rather the impudence of the demand I am going to make, for it is so uncommon, that I tremble and feel ashamed to propose it to my king.” In order to give her complete freedom to explain herself, the king ordered everyone, except the grand vizier, to leave the audience hall; then he told her that she might now speak without fear.

'Ala al-Din's mother, not content with this favor of the king in saving her from the pain of speaking before so many people, wished furthermore to save herself from the anger, which, she feared, would be his response to her unexpected proposal. She said, “My lord, I implore your majesty, in case you find my demand offensive or injurious, to assure me first of your pardon and forgiveness.” The king replied, “Whatever it may be, I will forgive you, and no harm shall come to you. Speak freely.”

After 'Ala al-Din's mother took all these precautions for fear of the king's anger at a proposition as delicate as the one she was about to make, she related to him faithfully how 'Ala al-Din had seen Princess Badr al-Budur, the intense love that fatal sight had aroused in him, the declaration he had made to her, and all that she had said to him to dissuade him from a passion, no less injurious to his majesty than to the princess, his daughter, adding, “But my son, instead of benefiting from my advice and recognizing his rashness, persevered obstinately, to the point of threatening me with some desperate act if I refused to come and demand the princess in marriage from your majesty, and it was not until he was extremely violent with me that I was forced to humor him by coming to you, an act for which I beg your majesty once more to pardon, not only me, but also my son 'Ala al-Din, for having the temerity to aspire to such a high alliance.”