6 The Third Dervish’s Tale

CHAPTER 6 The Third Dervish's Tale THE TWENTY-FIRST NIGHT The following night, when Scheherazade was in bed, her sister Dinarzad said, "Please, sister, tell us another of your lovely little tales." The king added, "Let it be the last dervish's tale." Scheherazade replied, "With the greatest

pleasure!" I heard, O King, that the third dervish said to the woman: My story is stranger and more amazing than the other dervishes' tales, and yet I brought my misery upon myself. My father was a great king, and when he died, I inherited his kingdom. I was quite wealthy and powerful, but one day I decided to travel to some distant islands. My crew loaded my boats with a month's supply of goods, and we set sail. Soon we came to an island that seemed quite pleasant. Here we landed and prepared some food. We rested for a few days and then set out to sea again. We sailed for a dozen days but, as we sailed, the sea kept growing before us and the land got smaller behind us. The lookout came down to me and said, "I looked to the right and there is

nothing but sky and water, and I looked to the left and saw something great and black in the distance." When the captain heard this, he threw his turban down on the deck and began to cry and pull his hair out. I asked him what had happened. He replied, "O King, we are all going to perish. The storm is driving us toward a fate we cannot escape. By midday tomorrow, we will reach a black mountain of metal. This mountain has a great power to attract metal. When any ship passes by it, every nail will fly to the mountain, and the ship's sides will come apart. O King, at the top of the mountain, there is a brass horse with a brass horseman. While the mountain destroys the ship, this horseman destroys the people who come there." The next day, we passed by the mountain. Just as the captain had said, the mountain pulled the nails out of the ship and the ship fell apart. God spared me, and I was able to cling to one of the

planks from the ship. I floated, ending up at the foot of the terrible island, where I saw a staircase carved out of rock. I began to climb this staircase, calling on God to protect me. I reached the top of the mountain and came to a great brass dome not far from where the horseman stood. I said my prayers there, thanking God for saving me, and fell asleep overlooking the sea. In a dream, I heard a voice that said, "When you wake from your sleep, dig beneath your feet. You will find a brass bow with three arrows. Use these to shoot the brass horseman off his horse and rid the earth of this monster. He will fall into the sea, and the water will swell to the level of the dome. A small boat will come, and you must paddle this boat for ten days until it takes you to safety. However, you must not call out the name of God. If you do, you will not be saved." I woke up and did just as the voice said. After the horseman fell into the sea, the waters rose,

and the small boat appeared. I rowed for nine days, until I saw the shapes of hills in the distance. I was so joyful that I prayed, calling out, "There is none greater than God." Just then the boat turned over and sank into the sea. I swam for three days but there was no land near me. I was sure I would drown, but then a sudden gust of wind blew over me, and a great wave carried me to the shores of an island. But morning drew near Scheherazade, and she fell silent. Dinarzad said to her sister, "Sister, what an amazing story!" Scheherazade replied, "This is nothing compared with what I will tell you tomorrow, if the king lets me live." THE TWENTY-SECOND NIGHT The following night, when Scheherazade was in bed, her sister Dinarzad said, "Please, sister, tell us more of this amazing tale." The king added,

"Let it be the rest of the third dervish's tale." Scheherazade replied, "With the greatest pleasure!" It is said, O happy King, that the third dervish continued: There was a huge mountain on this island, and I climbed until I reached the top of it. There was a great palace covered with red gold. The door stood open, and I entered. I found a beautiful hall filled with forty girls, dressed in silk gowns with glittering jewels. They rushed to me and brought me to a comfortable chair. They washed my hands and feet and brought me food and drink. The forty girls sat around me, talking and laughing. I forgot all my miseries then and thought, "This is the best of life, which sadly is so short." I spent a whole year in that beautiful palace,