The Arabian Nights Entertainments - Volume 01Anonymous
General
The Arabian Nights Entertainments - Volume 01
Anonymous
Arabs -- Folklore; Fairy tales; Folklore -- Arab countries
Some time after they disappeared, the ground opened before us,
and out of it came forth a cat, black and white, with her hair
standing upright, and keeping up a fearful mewling; a black wolf
followed her close, and gave her no time to rest. The cat, being
thus hard beset, changed herself into a worm, and being nigh to a
pomegranate that had accidentally fallen from a tree that grew on
the side of a canal, which was deep, but not broad, the worm
pierced the pomegranate in an instant, and hid itself; but the
pomegranate swelled immediately, and became as big as a gourd,
which, mounting up to the top of the gallery, rolled there for
some space backward and forward, fell down again into the court,
and broke into several pieces.
The wolf, who had in the meanwhile transformed itself into a
cock, fell a-picking up the seeds of the pomegranate one after
another; but, finding no more, he came towards us with his wings
spread, making a great noise, as if he would ask us whether there
was any more seed? There was one lying on the brink of the canal,
which the cock perceiving as he went back, ran speedily thither;
but just as he was going to pick it up, the seed rolled into the
river, and turned into a little fish.
The cock jumped into the river, and was turned into a pike, that
pursued the small fish; they continued both under water above two
hours, and we knew not what became of them; but all of a sudden
we heard terrible cries, which made us to quake, and a little
while after we saw the genie and princess all in flames. They
threw flashes of fire out of their mouths at one another, until
they came to it hand to hand; then the fires increased, with a
thick burning smoke, which mounted so high, that we had reason to
fear that it would set the palace on fire. But we very soon had a
more pressing occasion of fear; for the genie, having got loose
from the princess, came to the gallery where we stood, and blew
flames of fire upon us. We had all perished, if the princess,
running to our assistance, had not forced him, by her efforts, to
retire and defend himself against her; yet, notwithstanding all
her diligence, she could not hinder the sultan's beard from being
burnt, and his face spoiled, the chief of the eunuch's from being
stifled, and burnt on the spot, nor a spark to enter my right
eye, and make it blind. The sultan and I expected nothing but
death, when we heard a cry, Victory, victory; and, all of a
sudden, the princess appeared in her natural shape, but the genie
was reduced to a heap of ashes.
The princess came near to us, and, that she might not lose time,
called for a cup of cold water, which the young slave that had
got no damage brought her: She took it, and, after pronouncing
some words over it, threw it upon me, saying, If thou art become
an ape by enchantment, change thy shape, and take that of a man,
which thou hadst before. These words were hardly uttered till I
became a man, as I was before, one eye only excepted.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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