Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 6 (of 6)
General
Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 6 (of 6)
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
Badialzaman then requested the old woman to show him the way to the place
where the princess was already exposed; but she was so much afraid that he had
much trouble in persuading her to come out of her house to show him what
direction to take. He went out of the town, and went on till he saw the
princess, who made a sign to him from a distance to approach no nearer; and
the nearer he came, the more anxiety she displayed. As soon as he was within
hearing, he shouted to her not to be afraid; and he sat down beside her, and
fell asleep, after having begged her to wake him as soon as the monster
appeared. Presently a tear from the princess fell upon his face, and he woke
up, and saw the monster, which he slew with the sword of Morhagian, and the
water flowed in abundance The princess thanked her deliverer, and begged him
to take her back to the Sultan her father, who would give proofs of his
gratitude; but he excused himself. She then marked his shoulder with the blood
of the monster without his noticing it. The princess then returned to the
town, and was led back to the palace, where she related to the Sultan [all
that had happened]. Then the Sultan commanded that all the men in the town
should pass before himself and the princess under pain of death. Badialzaman
tried to conceal himself in a khan, but he was compelled to come with the
others. The princess recognised him, and threw an apple at him to point him
out. He was seized, and brought before the Sultan, who demanded what he could
do to serve him. The prince hesitated, but at length he requested the Sultan
to show him the way to return to the world from whence he came. The Sultan was
furious, and would have ordered him to be burned as a heretic [but the
princess interceded for his life]. The Sultan then treated him as a madman,
and drove him ignominiously from the town, and he wandered away without
knowing where he was going. At length he arrived at a mountain of rock, where
he saw a great serpent rising from his lair to prey on young Rokhs. He slew
the serpent with the sword of Morhagian, and the father and mother of the
Rokhs arrived at the moment, and asked him to demand whatever he desired in
return. He hesitated awhile, but at length he asked them to show him the way
to the upper world. The male Rokh then told him to prepare ten quarters of
mutton, to mount on his back, and to give him some of the meat whenever he
should turn his head either to one side or to the other on the journey.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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