The Arabian Nights II (43 page)

When King Armanus heard this, he was overjoyed, and he went out and, sitting on the throne, summoned all the viziers and princes and chamberlains and officers of state and related to them the story of Qamar al-Zaman and his wife, Princess Budur, from beginning to end, adding that he wished to marry his daughter Hayat al-Nufus to Qamar al-Zaman and to make him king over them, instead of his wife, Princess Budur. They all replied, “Since Qamar al-Zaman is the husband of Princess Budur, who was king over us before him while we thought that she was the son-in-law of King Armanus, we all accept him as king over us, and we will always be his obedient servants.” When King Armanus heard their reply, he was overjoyed, and he immediately summoned the judge and witnesses and the chief officers of the state and performed the marriage contract between Qamar al-Zaman and his daughter Hayat al-Nufus. Then he celebrated with festivities and sumptuous banquets and bestowed rich robes of honor on all the princes and high officers of the army and gave alms to the poor and needy and released many prisoners. The people rejoiced at the accession of Qamar al-Zaman, wishing him abiding prosperity, happiness, honor, and renown. As soon as Qamar al-Zaman became king, he repealed the customs duties and released the rest of the prisoners. He conducted himself in a praiseworthy way toward his people and lived with his wives in happiness and delight and fidelity and
cheerfulness, spending one night with each in turn. He lived in this manner for a long time. His worries and sorrows were gone, and he forgot his father King Shahraman and the sway and the privilege he enjoyed with him.

The Adventures of Qamar al-Zaman's Two Sons, Amjad and As'ad

In time, God the Almighty blessed Qamar al-Zaman with two sons by his two wives, and they were like two shining moons. The elder was the son of Queen Budur, and his name was Prince Amjad; and the younger was the son of Queen Hayat al-Nufus, and his name was Prince As'ad, and he was more handsome than his brother. They were brought up with all love and care, taught fine manners, and instructed in penmanship and science and the arts of government and horsemanship until they attained perfection and the height of beauty and grace by the time they were seventeen, so that both men and women were ravished by their charms. They grew up together, always in each other's company, eating together and drinking together and never separating from each other even for an hour, and all the people envied them their togetherness. When they reached manhood and became accomplished men, their father, whenever he went on a journey, seated them in turn in the audience hall, where each of them judged among the people for one day at a time.

It happened, as unalterable fate and divine decree would have it, that Queen Budur fell in love with As'ad, son of Queen Hayat al-Nufus, and the latter fell in love with Amjad, son of Queen Budur. Each of them used to play with the other's son, kissing him and pressing him to her bosom, while his mother thought that this was out of motherly love, until the two women were madly in love, and passion took complete possession of their hearts, so that when the other's son came to see one of them, she would press him to her bosom and hang onto him, wishing that he would never leave. When this went on, and they found no way to fulfill their desire, they refused to eat and drink and forsook the pleasure of sleep.

One day, the king went out to hunt and trap, bidding his two sons to administer justice in his place, taking turns one day at a time, as usual. The first day was the turn of Prince Amjad, the son of Queen Budur. While he sat in judgment, ordering and forbidding, appointing and deposing, giving and denying, Queen Hayat al-Nufus took a sheet of paper and wrote him a letter in poetic prose, suing for his favor and
declaring her true feeling, to the effect that she was in love with him, that she was wholly devoted to him, and that she wished to enjoy him. She wrote, “From the miserable lover, the neglected one, whose youth is wasted and whose torment is prolonged by your love. Were I to acquaint you with all my afflictions and sorrows, my ardent love, my sighs and tears, my lacerated, grieving heart, my ceaseless cares and constant sorrow, and my suffering in my burning desire, deprivation, and sadness, they would be too many to count and too hard to describe in a letter. The earth and heaven have become too narrow for me; I am on the verge of death, and I suffer the horrors of dissolution. My desire and the torment of neglect and deprivation are ever-increasing, and you are my only hope and trust. Were I to describe my yearnings, no paper would be enough.” After this, she wrote the following verses,

If I described my passion and desire

And lovesickness and absence of all mirth,

Nor pen nor paper would be left to use,

Nor any ink would be found on this earth.

She then folded the letter in a piece of precious silk, heavily perfumed with musk and ambergris, and, putting her priceless hair ribbons with the letter, wrapped them up in a handkerchief and gave it to a eunuch, bidding him take it to Prince Amjad.

The eunuch went, not knowing what lay in store for him, for He who knows all secrets orders all events according to His will. When he went in to Prince Amjad, he kissed the ground before him and handed him the handkerchief with the letter. Prince Amjad took the handkerchief and, unfolding it, saw the letter, and when he read it and understood its meaning, he realized that his stepmother was unfaithful to his father, Qamar al-Zaman, and that she was intent on committing adultery. He was, therefore, very angry, and he railed at women for their conduct, exclaiming, “God curse treacherous women, who are deficient in sense and religion.” Then he drew his sword and said to the eunuch, “Damn you, wicked slave, how dare you carry this adulterous message from your master's wife? By God, there is no good in you, o black without and within, o foul of face and vile of nature.” Then he struck him on the neck, severing his head from his body, and, folding the letter back in the handkerchief, put it in his pocket and went to his mother and told her what had happened, cursing her and reviling her and saying, “Each one of you is worse than the other. By the Great God, did I not fear to commit a breach of good manners against my father Qamar al-Zaman and my brother Prince As'ad, I would go in to her and strike off her head, as I did to her eunuch.” Then he left Queen Budur and went out, in a state of extreme rage.
When Queen Hayat al-Nufus heard what he had done to her eunuch, she reviled him and cursed him and planned treachery against him. He spent the night, sick with anger, grief, and concern, and unable to eat or drink or sleep.

The following morning, Queen Hayat al-Nufus felt ill because of what Prince Amjad had done, while his brother Prince As'ad went out and sat in the audience hall, instead of his father, to judge among the people, ordering and forbidding, appointing and deposing, and giving and bestowing, until late afternoon. At that very time, Queen Budur sent for a wily old woman and, disclosing her feelings to her, wrote a letter to Prince As'ad, her stepson, complaining in poetic language of her extreme love and desire for him. She wrote, “From her who pines with love and longing, to the best of mankind in form and disposition, him who is conceited with his beauty and complacent in his coquettishness, who disdains the one who desires him and who refuses to show favor to the submissive and abject, to him who is disdainful and indifferent, to Prince As'ad who is endowed with surpassing beauty, splendid grace, moon-bright face, shining brow, and dazzling light. This is my letter to him whose love has consumed my body and reduced me to skin and bone. My patience is at an end, and I do not know what to do. I am beset by desire and sleeplessness, and patience and sleep have deserted me. I keep a mournful vigil, burning with love and desire and racked by sickness and pain. Even though the torment of the love-stricken pleases you, may my life be ransom for yours, and may God preserve you and protect you from harm.” After this, she wrote the following verses,

Fate has decreed that I should fall in love

With you whose charms do shine like the full moon.

To you all eloquence, beauty, and grace,

Above all men, are given as your boon.

It pleased you to torment me with your love;

Be merciful; throw me a glance again.

Yet dying for you is indeed a bliss,

For he who lives and loves not lives in vain.

Then she added the following,

To you, o As'ad, I complain of love.

Have pity on one whose heart is on fire.

How long will longing keep toying with me,

And sleeplessness, and worry and desire?

O my sole wish, 'tis strange that I sometimes

Burn in the fire, sometimes in the sea churn.

O critic, stop railing and flee from love

Which causes the eyes to shed tears and burn.

How oft I mourn your absence with the cries of love,

But all my cries have been in vain, indeed.

You have afflicted me with hard disdain,

O you my doctor, give me what I need.

And you, critic of love, your railing cease,

Lest you be afflicted with my disease.

Then Queen Budur perfumed the letter with pungent musk and, wrapping it in her hair ribbons, which were of Iraqi silk adorned with oblong emerald pendants and jewels and pearls, gave it to the old woman and ordered her to give it to her stepson Prince As'ad.

The old woman, wishing to please her, went immediately to Prince As'ad, who was alone when she entered. She handed him the letter and waited a long time for the answer. After he read the letter and understood its meaning, he wrapped it again in the ribbons and put it in his pocket, feeling extremely angry and cursing treacherous women. He got up and, drawing his sword from its scabbard, struck the old woman on the neck, severing her head from her body. Then he went to his mother Hayat al-Nufus and found her sick in bed, as a result of what had happened to her with Prince Amjad. He cursed her and reviled her, then went to Prince Amjad and told him what had happened between him and his mother Queen Budur and how he had killed the old woman who had brought him the letter, adding, “O my brother, by God, were it not for my respect for you, I would have gone to her immediately and struck off her head.” His brother Prince Amjad replied, “Brother, by God, yesterday, while I was sitting on the throne, the same thing happened to me, for your mother sent me a letter with similar intent.” Then he told him all that had happened between him and Queen Hayat al-Nufus, adding, “Brother, by God, were it not for my respect for you, I would have gone to her and done to her what I had done to the eunuch.” They spent the rest of the night in grief, conversing and cursing treacherous women and agreeing to keep the matter secret, lest their father Qamar al-Zaman should hear of it and kill the two women.

The following morning, the king returned with his men from the hunt and entered his palace, where, dismissing the princes, he went to see his two wives, whom he found very sick in bed. They had agreed on a plot to destroy their sons, for they had disgraced themselves before them, and feared the consequences of their error. When the king saw them in that condition, he asked, “What is the matter with you?” They got up and, kissing his hand, reversed the situation, saying to him, “O King, your two sons, who have been reared enjoying your bounty, have cheated you and disgraced you with your
wives.” When Qamar al-Zaman heard what his two wives said, the light turned to darkness before his eyes, and he was beside himself with rage. He said to them, “Explain this matter to me.” Queen Budur said, “O King of the Age, your son As'ad has been recently sending me letters soliciting me to commit adultery, while I kept dissuading him in vain. When you went to the hunt, he attacked me, drunk and with a drawn sword in his hand, and killed my eunuch. Fearing that he would kill me as he killed my servant if I resisted, I let him rape me. If you do not avenge me on him, o King, I will kill myself with my own hand, for I do not wish to live after this foul deed.” Queen Hayat al-Nufus too told him a similar story, saying, “The same thing happened to me with your son Amjad,” and, weeping and wailing, added, “If you do not avenge me on him, I will tell my father, Armanus.” Then they both wept bitterly before their husband.

When Qamar al-Zaman heard the same story from his two wives and saw both of them weeping, he believed that what they said was true, and he was so angry that he rushed out, intending to kill his two sons. On his way, he met his father-in-law, King Armanus, who, on hearing of his return from the hunt, had come to greet him and, seeing him fuming with anger and his sword in his hand, asked him what was the matter with him. Qamar al-Zaman told him what his sons had done, adding, “I am now going to them to kill them in the most horrible way and make a terrible example of them.” His father-in-law, King Armanus, was likewise enraged against them and said, “Bravo! May God never bless them or any sons who do such deeds against their fathers. But, son, the proverb says, ‘He who does not heed the end, fortune will not be his friend.' They are your sons in any event, and it is not proper for you to kill them with your own hand, lest you be tormented and regret killing them when regret will be to no avail. But send them with one of the Mamluks to kill them in the desert, out of your sight.”

Qamar al-Zaman saw that his father-in-law was right. So he sheathed his sword and went back and, sitting on the throne, summoned his treasurer, who was a very old man, wise in the ways of the world and the vicissitudes of fortune. When he came in, he said to him, “Go in to my two sons, Amjad and As'ad, bind their hands firmly behind their backs, put each of them in a chest, and place them on a mule. Then ride with them into the middle of the desert, put them to death, and fill two bottles with their blood and bring them to me quickly.”

The treasurer said to him, “I hear and obey,” and went immediately to Amjad and As'ad, whom he met on the way, coming out from the vestibule of the palace. They had put on their richest clothes and were on their way to greet their father and congratulate him on his
safe return from the hunt. When the treasurer saw them, he seized them and said, “Sons, I am a slave under orders, and your father has given me an order; will you obey it?” They said, “Yes.” He then bound their hands behind their backs, put each of them in a chest, and, placing them on the back of a mule, went with them out of the city. He rode with them in the desert until near midday, when he halted in a waste and desolate spot. He dismounted and, setting down the two chests, opened them and took out Amjad and As'ad. When he looked at them, he wept bitterly for their beauty and grace. Then he drew his sword and said to them, “My lords, by God, it grieves me to harm you, but I am excused in this case, for I am a slave under orders, and your father King Qamar al-Zaman has commanded me to strike off your heads.” They said to him, “O Prince, do what our father has commanded you, for we submit to what the Almighty and Glorious God has decreed for us, and you are absolved of our blood,” and they embraced and bade each other farewell. Then As'ad said to the treasurer, “For God's sake, uncle, do not make me suffer the sight of my brother's anguish and agony. Kill me first, for it is easier for me.” Amjad said the same thing to the treasurer and begged him to kill him first, saying, “My brother is younger than I. Don't make me suffer his anguish.” And they wept bitterly, and the treasurer wept with them. Then they again embraced and bade each other farewell, saying to each other, “All this comes from the cunning of the two treacherous women, your mother and mine; it is the reward of my behavior toward your mother and yours toward mine. There is no power and no strength save in God the Almighty, the Magnificent; we are God's and to Him we return.” Then As'ad embraced his brother, and sighed and recited the following verses,