The Arabian Nights II (27 page)

'Ala al-Din's mother was received in the palace with honor and introduced into Princess Badr al-Budur's apartment by the chief of the eunuchs. As soon as the princess saw her, she embraced her and seated her on her sofa, and after her waiting women finished dressing her and adorning her with the most precious jewels 'Ala al-Din had presented her with, a superb light meal was served. The king, who wished to spend as much time as possible with his daughter before she left him to go to 'Ala al-Din's palace, came to pay her his respects. 'Ala al-Din's mother had several times talked to the king in public, but he had never seen her without a veil, as she was then. Although she was somewhat advanced in years, one could still see from her face that she had been a beautiful woman when she was young. The king, who had always seen her dressed very plainly, not to say poorly, was surprised to find her as richly and magnificently dressed as the princess, his daughter. This made him think that 'Ala al-Din was equally prudent, intelligent, and wise in everything he did.

When it was night, the princess took leave of her father the king. Their adieus were tender and tearful. They embraced each other silently, and at last the princess left her own apartment and walked out, with 'Ala al-Din's mother on her left, followed by a hundred slave-girls, all dressed with striking magnificence. All the bands of musicians, which had not ceased playing since 'Ala al-Din's mother arrived, joined together and led the procession, followed by a hundred officers and an equal number of black eunuchs, in two rows, with their chief officers at their head. Four hundred of the king's young pages
marched on each side, each carrying a torch, and the light of the torches, joined with the light of the illumination of the king's palace and that of 'Ala al-Din, marvelously made the night like day. The princess walked on the carpet, which was spread from the king's palace to that of 'Ala al-Din, and as the bands of musicians who preceded the procession approached 'Ala al-Din's palace, they joined those playing on the terraces, forming a concert, which, although seemingly extraordinary and confusing, increased the pleasure, not only of the great crowd that filled the square, but also of those who were in the two palaces and indeed the entire city and far beyond.

At last, the princess arrived at the new palace, and 'Ala al-Din ran with all imaginable joy to receive her at the entrance of the apartment appointed for him. 'Ala al-Din's mother had taken care to point her son out to the princess, in the midst of the officers who surrounded him, and the princess found him so handsome that she was charmed by him. 'Ala al-Din, approaching her and saluting her with great respect, said to her, “Adorable princess, if I have the misfortune to have displeased you by my boldness in aspiring to the possession of such a lovely princess and daughter of my king, I should say that you ought to blame your beautiful eyes and charms, not me.” The princess replied, “Prince, as I may now call you, I am obedient to the will of my father the king, and it is enough for me to have seen you to say that I obey him without reluctance.”

'Ala al-Din, charmed with such an agreeable and gratifying response, did not keep the princess standing after the long walk, to which she was not accustomed, but took her by the hand, which he kissed with a great demonstration of joy, and led her into a great hall, lighted with an infinite number of candles, where, by the care of a demon, a superb banquet was served. The plates were of heavy gold and full of the most delicious foods. The vases, basins, and goblets, with which the table was well furnished, were also of gold and of exquisite workmanship, and all the other ornaments and embellishments of the hall were perfectly in keeping with such great sumptuousness. The princess, delighted to see so many riches assembled in one place, said to 'Ala al-Din, “Prince, I thought that nothing in the world was more beautiful than the palace of my father the king, but by seeing this hall alone, I know that I was mistaken.” 'Ala al-Din, leading her to the place appointed for her at the table, replied, “Princess, I receive such great honesty, as I ought, but I know what I should believe.” As soon as she, 'Ala al-Din, and his mother sat down, a band of the most harmonious instruments, accompanied by very beautiful female voices, began a concert, which lasted without interruption to the end of the meal. The princess was so delighted that she declared
that she never heard anything like it in the palace of her father the king. But she did not know that the musicians were fairies chosen by the demon, slave of the lamp.

When the meal ended and the table was taken away, a troupe of male and female demons followed the musicians and danced several kinds of figure dances peculiar to the country. They ended with a dancing man and woman, who performed with surprising agility, each showing in turn all the good grace and skill they were capable of. Near midnight, 'Ala al-Din, according to the custom of that time in China, got up and presented his hand to Princess Badr al-Budur to dance with him and bring the wedding ceremony to an end. They danced so elegantly that they were the admiration of the entire company. When they finished, 'Ala al-Din did not let go of the princess's hand, but led her into the apartment where the wedding bed was prepared. The princess's women helped to undress her and put her to bed, and Ala al-Din's attendants did the same for him, and then everyone retired. Thus ended the ceremonies and the celebrations of the wedding of 'Ala al-Din and Princess Badr al-Budur.

The next morning, when 'Ala al-Din woke up, his valets came in to dress him, and they put on him another suit, as rich and magnificent as the one he wore on his wedding day. Then he ordered one of his private horses and, mounting it, rode to the king's palace, surrounded by a large group of slaves. The king received him with the same honors as before, embraced him, and, after seating 'Ala al-Din near him on the throne, ordered breakfast. 'Ala al-Din said to him, “My lord, I beg your majesty to exempt me from this honor today. I came to ask you to do me the honor to come and take a meal at the princess's palace, with the grand vizier and the lords of the court.” The king granted him this favor with pleasure, got up immediately, and, as it was not far, wished to go there on foot. So he went, with 'Ala al-Din on his right, the grand vizier on his left, and the lords of the court behind, preceded by the guards and the chief officers of his palace.

The closer the king approached 'Ala al-Din's palace, the more struck he was with its beauty, but he was much more amazed when he entered it, and he could not stop his exclamations of approbation at every room he saw. But when he came to the hall with the twenty-four windows, to which 'Ala al-Din had invited him to ascend, and saw the ornaments and, above all, the shutters adorned with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, all large and perfectly proportioned stones, and heard from 'Ala al-Din that they were as rich on the outside, he was so amazed that for a while he stood motionless. When he recovered, he said to the grand vizier, who was standing near him, “Vizier, is it possible that there is such a superb palace in my kingdom
and so close to my own, yet I do not find out about it till now?” The grand vizier replied, “Your majesty may remember that the day before yesterday, you granted 'Ala al-Din, whom you accepted as your son-in-law, permission to build a palace opposite your own and that, that very day, at sunset, there was no palace on the spot, and that, yesterday, I had the honor to be the first to announce to you that the palace was built and finished.” The king said, “I remember, but I never imagined that this palace would be one of the wonders of the world. Where in all the world can one find a palace built of layers of heavy gold and silver, instead of stones or marble, with windows, the shutters of which are set with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds? Never in the world has anything like it been mentioned before.”

The king wished to examine and admire the beauty of the twenty-four windows, but when he counted them, he found that only twenty-three were richly adorned, and he was very much astonished to see that the twenty-fourth was left unfinished. He said to the grand vizier, who made a point of being always by his side, “I am surprised that a hall so magnificent should be left imperfect here.” The grand vizier replied, “My lord, 'Ala al-Din was apparently in a hurry and did not have enough time to finish this window, like the rest, but one may suppose that he has enough jewels and that he will have it done at the first opportunity.”

At that moment, 'Ala al-Din, who had left the king to give some orders, returned to join him. The king said to him, “Son, this hall is the most worthy of admiration above all halls in the world, but there is one thing that baffles me, that is, to see this window left unfinished.” He added, “Is it from forgetfulness, negligence, or lack of time that the workmen have not put the finishing touch to such a beautiful piece of architecture?” 'Ala al-Din replied, “My lord, it is for none of these reasons that your majesty sees this window in this condition. It was done by design, and it was by my orders that the workers left it untouched, for I wanted your majesty to have the glory to finish this hall and this palace at the same time, and I beg of you to approve of my good intentions, in order that I may remember your kindness and your favors.” The king replied, “If you did it with this intention, I accept it willingly, and I will immediately give the orders to have it done.” Accordingly, he sent for the jewelers who had the best precious stones and for the most skillful goldsmiths in the capital.

Then the king went out of this hall, and 'Ala al-Din descended with him, leading him into that hall in which he had entertained Princess Badr al-Budur on their wedding day. The princess came in a moment later, and received her father the king with an air that showed him how much she was satisfied with her marriage. Two tables were spread with the most delicious foods, all served on gold plates. The
king sat at the first table and ate with his daughter the princess, 'Ala al-Din, and the grand vizier, while all the lords of the court sat at the second, which was very long. The king found the food delicious and declared that he had never eaten anything more exquisite. He said the same thing of the wine, which was indeed very fine. But what he admired most was four sideboards, full of a profusion of flagons, basins, and cups, all of heavy gold, set with jewels. He was also pleased with the bands of musicians, who were arranged in order and played inside the hall, while the sounds of trumpets, accompanied by drums and tambourines, resounded in the air, at a proper distance outside, producing a most delightful effect.

When the king rose from the table, he was informed that the jewelers and goldsmiths he had sent for had arrived. He went up again to the hall with the twenty-four windows, and when he was there, he showed the jewelers and goldsmiths, who had followed him, the window that was left unfinished, saying, “I sent for you to finish for me this window and make it as perfect as the others. Examine them, and do not waste any time in making this one just like the rest.”

The jewelers and goldsmiths examined all twenty-three windows very carefully, and after they consulted together and agreed as to what each could contribute, they returned and presented themselves before the king. The palace jeweler spoke for them, saying to him, “My lord, we are ready to exert our care and industry to obey your majesty, but among us all, we cannot furnish enough jewels for such a great project.” The king replied, “I have more than necessary. Come to my palace, and I will let you choose.”

When the king returned to his palace, he ordered all his jewels to be brought out, and the jewelers took a great quantity, particularly of those ‘'Ala al-Din had given him as a present. Then they used them, but without seeming to make much progress. They came again several times for more, but after a whole month, they had not finished half of the work. They used all the jewels of the king, as well as those he had borrowed from the grand vizier, but all they could do with all this was to finish at most only half of the window.

‘'Ala al-Din, who knew that the king's endeavors to make this window like the rest were in vain and that he would never be able to have it done with any distinction, sent for the jewelers and asked them not only to stop their work, but also to undo what they had done and return all the jewels to the king, including those he had borrowed from the grand vizier. They undid in five hours the work that had taken them more than six weeks to achieve, and they departed, leaving 'Ala al-Din alone in the hall. He took out the lamp, which he carried with him, and rubbed it, and the demon appeared immediately. 'Ala al-Din said to him, “I ordered you to leave one of the windows of this
hall unfinished, and you have carried out my order. Now I have summoned you to tell you that I want you to make it like the others.” The demon disappeared, and 'Ala al-Din descended from the hall. When he went up again, a few moments later, he found the window exactly like the others, as he had wished.

Meanwhile, the jewelers and goldsmiths reached the palace and were brought into the presence of the king. The first jeweler, presenting the jewels he had brought back and speaking for the others, said to the king, “My lord, your majesty knows how much time we have spent to finish, with all possible industry, the work that you have charged us with. It was far advanced when 'Ala al-Din forced us not only to stop the work, but also to undo what we had done and to bring you back your own jewels and those of the grand vizier.” The king asked them whether 'Ala al-Din gave them any reason for doing this, and as they answered that he had given them none, the king immediately ordered a horse to be brought to him. When the horse was brought, he mounted and rode to 'Ala al-Din's palace, with only a few attendants, who accompanied him on foot. When he arrived, he dismounted at the staircase that led up to the hall with the twenty-four windows and went up to it, without giving 'Ala al-Din any advance notice. But it happened that at that very moment, 'Ala al-Din was very opportunely there, and he had just enough time to receive the king at the door. The king, without giving 'Ala al-Din time to complain obligingly that his majesty had not given him notice and had put him in a position that forced him to fail in his duty, said to him, “Son, I come myself to ask you the reason why you wish to leave imperfect a hall as magnificent and unique as this.” 'Ala al-Din concealed the true reason, which was that the king was not rich enough in jewels to afford such a great expense; but in order to let him know how much this palace surpassed, not only his own, but every palace in the world, even in that condition, since he was unable to finish one of its smallest parts, said to him, “My lord, it is true that your majesty saw this hall unfinished, but I beg of you now to see if anything is lacking.”