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
When it was the Six Hundred and Fourteenth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Maghribi
said to Judar, “Go on to the fourth door and knock and it shall be
opened to thee, when there will come forth to thee a lion huge of bulk
which will rush upon thee, opening his mouth and showing he hath a mind
to devour thee. Have no fear of him, neither flee from him: but when he
cometh to thee, give him thy hand and he will bite at it and fall down
straightway, nor shall aught of hurt betide thee. Then enter the fifth
door, where thou shalt find a black slave, who will say to thee, ‘Who
art thou?’ Say, ‘I am Judar!’ and he will answer, ‘If thou be that man,
open the sixth door.’ Then do thou go up to the door and say, ‘O Isa,
tell Musa to open the door’; whereupon the door will fly open and thou
wilt see two dragons, one on the left hand and another on the right,
which will open their mouths and fly at thee, both at once. Do thou put
forth to them both hands and they will bite each a hand and fall down
dead; but an thou resist them, they will slay thee. Then go on to the
seventh door and knock, whereupon there will come forth to thee thy
mother and say, ‘Welcome, O my son! Come, that I may greet thee!’ But
do thou reply, ‘Hold off from me and doff thy dress.’ And she will make
answer, ‘O my son, I am thy mother and I have a claim upon thee for
suckling thee and for rearing thee: how then wouldst thou strip me
naked?’ Then do thou say, ‘Except thou put off thy clothes, I will kill
thee!’ and look to thy right where thou wilt see a sword hanging up.
Take it and draw it upon her, saying, ‘Strip!’ where upon she will
wheedle thee and humble herself to thee; but have thou no ruth on her
nor be beguiled, and as often as she putteth off aught, say to her,
‘Off with the rave’; nor do thou cease to threaten her with death, till
she doff all that is upon her and fall down, whereupon the enchantment
will be dissolved and the charms undone, and thou wilt be safe as to
thy life. Then enter the hall of the treasure, where thou wilt see the
gold lying in heaps; but pay no heed to aught thereof, but look to a
closet at the upper end of the hall, where thou wilt see a curtain
drawn. Draw back the curtain and thou wilt descry the enchanter,
Al-Shamardal, lying upon a couch of gold, with something at his head
round and shining like the moon, which is the celestial planisphere. He
is baldrick’d with the sword[FN#278]; his finger is the ring and about
his neck hangs a chain, to which hangs the Kohl phial. Bring me the
four talismans, and beware lest thou forget aught of that which I have
told thee, or thou wilt repent and there will be fear for thee.” And he
repeated his directions a second and a third and a fourth time, till
Judar said, “I have them by heart: but who may face all these
enchantments that thou namest and endure against these mighty terrors?”
Replied the Moor, “O Judar, fear not, for they are semblances without
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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