The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 06 (of 10)
General
The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 06 (of 10)
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Eighty-third Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Prince of the
Jinn said to the Prince of mankind, “When thou art quit of thy
complaint, thou shalt return to thy folk in less than the twinkling of
an eye;” and the King’s son rejoiced. They fared on all that night till
the morning morrowed when lo! they found themselves in a green and
smiling country, full of trees spireing and birds quiring and garths
fruit-growing and palaces highshowing and waters a-flowing and
odoriferous flowers a-blowing. Here the King’s son of the Jinn alighted
from his steed and, bidding the Prince do the like, took him by the
hand and carried him into one of the palaces, where he found a great
King and puissant Sultan; and abode with him all that day eating and
drinking, till nightfall. Then the King’s son of the Jinn mounted his
courser and taking the Prince up behind him, fared on swiftly through
the murks and glooms until morning, when lo, they found themselves in a
dark land and a desert, full of black rocks and stones, as it were a
piece of Hell; and the Prince asked the Jinni, “What is the name of
this land?” Answered the other, “It is called the Black Country, and
belongs to one of the Kings of the Jinn, by name Zu’l Janahayn, against
whom none of the other Kings may prevail, neither may any enter his
dominions save by his permit; so tarry thou here, whilst I go ask
leave.” So saying, he went away and, returning after awhile, they fared
on again, till they landed at a spring of water welling forth of a
black rock, and the King’s son of the Jinn said to the King’s son of
men, “Alight!” He dismounted and the other cried, “Drink of this
water!” So he drank of the spring without stay or delay; and, no sooner
had he done so than, by grace of Allah, he became a man as before. At
this he joyed with exceeding joy and asked the Jinni, “O my brother,
how is this spring called?” Answered the other, “It is called the
Women’s Spring, for that no woman drinketh thereof but she becometh a
man: wherefore do thou praise Allah the Most High and thank Him for thy
restoration and mount.” So the Prince prostrated himself in gratitude
to the Almighty, after which he mounted again and they fared on
diligently all that day, till they returned to the Jinni’s home, where
the Prince passed the night in all solace of life. They spent the next
day in eating and drinking till nightfall, when the King’s son of the
Jinn asked the Prince, “Hast thou a mind to return to thy people this
very night?” “Yes,” he answered; “for indeed I long for them.” Then the
Jinni called one of his father’s slaves, Rajiz[FN#185] hight, and said
to him, “Take this young man mounted on thy shoulders, and let not the
day dawn ere he be with his father-in-law and his wife.” Replied the
slave, “Hearkening and obedience, and with love and gladness, and upon
my head and eyes!” then, withdrawing awhile, re-appeared in the form of
an Ifrit.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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