5 The Second Dervish’s Tale

CHAPTER 5 The Second Dervish's Tale THE SIXTEENTH NIGHT The following night, when Scheherazade was in bed, her sister Dinarzad said, "Please, sister, tell us one of your lovely little tales." The king added, "Let it be more amazing than what came before." Scheherazade replied, "With the

greatest pleasure!" It is said, O happy King, that everyone was amazed at the tale of the first dervish. The caliph said to Ja'far, "In all my life, I have never heard such a tale." Then the second dervish came forward and said: By God, my lady, I was not born one-eyed. My father was a king and he taught me how to write and read, and I turned to the study of calligraphy. I perfected my art until word of my skill spread to every town and reached all the great kings. One day, the king of India sent my father gifts and asked him to send me to him. My father prepared me for the trip with six riding horses. We rode for a full month until one day we came upon a cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, we saw fifty horsemen shining like steel lions in their armor.

They were bandits. We said to them, "We are messengers to the great king of India. You must not harm us." Still, they attacked. I barely escaped alive, wandering off without knowing which direction to go. I had been mighty and rich, but then I became poor. For a month, I traveled during the day, sleeping at night wherever I could, and eating the plants and fruits of the earth to survive. Finally, I arrived at a beautiful city, weak from exhaustion and hunger. I entered the city, not knowing where to go, and was lucky to pass a tailor sitting in his shop. I greeted him, and he invited me in. I told him everything that had happened to me. He looked troubled and told me, "Young man, do not tell your secret to anyone, for the king of this city is your father's greatest enemy." Then he brought me some food and we ate together. When it was dark, he let me sleep in a small space behind his shop. I stayed there for three weeks. Then he asked

me, "Don't you have any skill to earn your living with?" I replied that I was a writer, and he said "Such skills are not much in demand in this city. Take an ax and a rope and go cut wood in the wilderness for your living." Then he brought me an ax and a rope and put me under the charge of some woodcutters. I went out with them, cut wood all day long, and came back, carrying my bundle on my head. I sold the wood and brought the money to the tailor. In this way, I spent an entire year. One day, I went out into the wilderness and came to a thick patch of trees. There was a great stump there, and when I dug around it with my ax, I came upon a ring attached to a wooden plank. I pulled the ring to raise the plank and found a staircase. I went down the steps and found a grand underground palace. Down there was a girl who looked as bright as the shining sun and whose voice chased all sorrow away. But morning drew near Scheherazade, and she

fell silent. Dinarzad said to her sister, "Sister, what an amazing story!" Scheherazade replied, "It is nothing compared with what I will tell you tomorrow, if the king lets me live."

THE SEVENTEENTH NIGHT The following night, when Scheherazade was in bed, her sister Dinarzad said, "Please, sister, tell us more of this lovely tale." The king added, "Let it be the rest of the second dervish's tale." Scheherazade replied, "Very well!" I heard, O happy king, that the second dervish said: When the girl saw me, she asked, "What are you, a man or a demon?" I replied, "I am a man." She asked, "What brought you here? I have lived in this place for twenty-five years without ever seeing another person." I replied, "My good fortune brought me here to take away your sorrows." Then I told my story to her, and she felt sad for me and told me her story as well. She was the daughter of a king