Prevod

The slave girl said to him, “It has reached me, O King, that among the kings of old there was one who had a son, his only child. When the boy came of age, his father married him to the daughter of another king, a maiden of great beauty and loveliness. She had a cousin who had asked her father for her hand, but she had been unwilling to marry him. When her cousin learned that she had married another, jealousy seized him, and he resolved to send gifts to the vizier of the king whose son had married her. He sent him magnificent presents and great sums of money, asking him to contrive some plot that would bring about the prince’s death, or to use his wiles to persuade him to give up the marriage. He sent word to him, saying, ‘O Vizier, my jealousy over my cousin has grown so fierce that it has driven me to this.’ When the gifts reached the vizier, he accepted them and sent back this reply: ‘Be at ease and let your heart rejoice. You shall have from me all that you desire.’

“Now the king who was the maiden’s father sent for the prince to come to his court and consummate the marriage with his daughter. When the letter reached the prince, his father gave him leave to depart and sent with him the vizier who had received the gifts. He also sent a thousand horsemen, presents, litters, pavilions, and tents. The vizier set out with the prince, inwardly resolved to ensnare him and harboring evil against him in his heart. When they reached the wilderness, the vizier remembered that in a nearby mountain there flowed a spring called al-Zahra, and that any man who drank from it would become a woman. Recalling this, he had the army encamp close by, then mounted his horse and said to the prince, ‘Would you care to come with me and see a spring in this place?’ The prince mounted, and he and his father’s vizier rode off alone, the prince knowing nothing of what lay hidden in store for him. They rode on until they reached the spring. The prince dismounted, washed his hands, and drank from it, whereupon he became a woman. When he realized what had happened, he screamed and wept until he fainted. The vizier came up to him, feigning distress at his misfortune, and asked, ‘What has befallen you?’ The young man told him, and when the vizier heard his words, he lamented and wept over what had happened to the prince. Then he said, ‘May Almighty God help you in this plight! How could such a calamity have befallen you, such a grievous disaster, when we were traveling in joy to your wedding with the king’s daughter? Now I do not know whether we should go on to her or not. The decision is yours. What do you command me to do?’ The young man replied, ‘Return to my father and tell him what has befallen me, for I will not leave this place until this affliction passes from me, or I die of grief.’ The prince wrote a letter to his father informing him of what had happened. The vizier took the letter and set off back to the king’s city, leaving the soldiers and all the forces with the prince, and inwardly rejoicing at what he had done to him.

“When the vizier came before the king, he told him of his son’s plight and handed him the letter. The king grieved bitterly for his son, then sent for sages and masters of hidden knowledge to explain what had befallen him, but none could give him an answer. Meanwhile, the vizier sent word to the maiden’s cousin, giving him the good news of what had happened to the prince. When the letter reached him, he rejoiced exceedingly and began to hope that he might marry his cousin. He sent the vizier splendid gifts and great sums of money, thanking him profusely. As for the prince, he remained beside the spring for three days and nights, neither eating nor drinking, and in his affliction he put his trust in God, glorified and exalted be He, who never disappoints those who rely upon Him. On the fourth night, there appeared before him a horseman wearing a crown and looking like a king’s son. The horseman asked him, ‘Who brought you here, young man?’ The prince told him what had befallen him: how he had been traveling to his wife to consummate their marriage, and how the vizier had brought him to the spring, from which he had drunk, with this result. As the young man spoke, tears kept overcoming him, and he wept.

“When the horseman heard his story, he took pity on him and said, ‘It was your father’s vizier who brought this misfortune upon you, for only one human being knows of this spring.’ Then he bade him mount behind him, and the prince did so. The horseman said, ‘Come with me to my home. You shall be my guest tonight.’ The young man replied, ‘Tell me who you are before I go with you.’ He said, ‘I am the son of the king of the jinn, and you are the son of the king of men. Be at ease and rejoice, for it is a simple matter for me to dispel your grief and sorrow.’ So the prince went with him at daybreak, leaving his troops and armies behind, and they traveled on until midnight. Then the jinn king’s son asked him, ‘Do you know how far we have traveled in this time?’ The young man replied, ‘I do not.’ The jinn prince said, ‘We have covered a year’s journey for a traveler making all haste.’ The prince marveled and asked, ‘How, then, am I to return to my family?’ He replied, ‘That is not your concern, but mine. Once you are cured of your affliction, you shall return to your family in less than the blink of an eye. That is easy for me.’ When the young man heard these words from the jinni, he was beside himself with joy and thought it must be some fantastic dream. He said, ‘Glory be to Him who has the power to turn misery into happiness!’ And he rejoiced exceedingly.” Dawn overtook Shahrazad, and she fell silent, leaving her tale untold.

When it was the Five Hundred and Eighty-third Night

She said, “It has reached me, O fortunate King, that the son of the king of the jinn said to the son of the king of men, ‘Once you are cured of your affliction, you shall return to your family in less than the blink of an eye.’ The prince rejoiced at this, and they traveled on until morning, when they came to a lush green land of towering trees, singing birds, exquisite gardens, and lovely palaces. The jinn prince dismounted and bade the young man do the same. Then he took him by the hand and led him into one of those palaces. There the prince beheld a splendid kingdom and a mighty dominion. He spent the day with his host, eating and drinking until nightfall. Then the jinn prince rose and mounted his horse, and the human prince mounted with him. They set out under cover of night and traveled swiftly until morning, when they found themselves in a black, desolate land, strewn with dark rocks and stones, as though it were a piece of Hell. The human prince asked, ‘What is this land called?’ His companion replied, ‘It is called the Black Land, and it belongs to a king of the jinn named Dhu al-Janahayn. No king has ever been able to overcome him, and no one enters his land without his permission. Remain here while we seek his leave.’ The young man halted, and his companion disappeared for a while, then returned, and they went on.

“They traveled until they came to a spring flowing from black mountains. The jinn prince said to the young man, ‘Dismount.’ He dismounted, and his companion told him, ‘Drink from this spring.’ The young man drank, and at that very instant, by the power of Almighty God, he became male again, just as he had been before. His joy knew no bounds, and he asked, ‘My brother, what is this spring called?’ The other replied, ‘It is called the Spring of Women. No woman drinks from it without becoming a man. Praise God and thank Him for your deliverance, and mount your horse.’ The prince prostrated himself in thanks to Almighty God, then mounted, and they rode swiftly for the rest of the day until they returned to the jinni’s land. There the young man passed the night in the greatest comfort, and they continued feasting and drinking until night came again. Then the jinn prince asked him, ‘Do you wish to return to your family tonight?’ He replied, ‘Yes, I do, for I must return to them.’ The jinn prince summoned one of his father’s slaves, named Rajiz, and said to him, ‘Take this young man from me and carry him on your shoulders. Do not let morning find him anywhere but with his father-in-law and his wife.’ The slave replied, ‘I hear and obey, gladly and with all honor.’ Then he disappeared for a while and returned in the form of an ifrit. At the sight of him, the young man was dumbfounded and almost lost his wits. The jinn prince reassured him, saying, ‘Have no fear. Mount your horse and ride it up onto his shoulders.’ The young man replied, ‘I would rather climb up myself and leave the horse with you.’ So he dismounted and climbed onto the ifrit’s shoulders. The jinn prince said, ‘Close your eyes.’ He closed them, and the ifrit flew off with him between heaven and earth. He flew on, while the young man had no sense of what was happening, and before the last third of the night had begun, he was on the roof of his father-in-law’s palace. When the ifrit alighted there, he said, ‘Get down.’ The prince got down, and the ifrit said, ‘Open your eyes. This is the palace of your father-in-law and his daughter.’ Then he left him and went away. When daylight came and the young man had recovered from his fright, he descended from the roof. His father-in-law saw him and rose to greet him, astonished to find him coming down from above. He said, ‘We have seen people come through doors, but you descend from the sky!’ The prince replied, ‘What God, glorified and exalted be He, willed has come to pass.’ The king marveled at this and rejoiced in his safe arrival.

“When the sun rose, his father-in-law ordered his vizier to prepare splendid feasts. The banquets were made ready and the wedding celebrations held. Then the prince went in to his wife and remained with her for two months, after which he set out with her for his father’s city. As for the maiden’s cousin, he died of jealousy and envy when the prince consummated the marriage and God, glorified and exalted be He, granted him victory over both his rival and his father’s vizier. The prince reached his father with his wife in perfect well-being and the utmost happiness, and his father came out to meet him with his army and viziers. I pray that Almighty God will likewise grant you victory over your viziers, O King, and I ask you to exact justice for me from your son.” When the king heard her words, he ordered his son to be put to death. Dawn overtook Shahrazad, and she fell silent, leaving her tale untold.

When it was the Five Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night

She said, “It has reached me, O fortunate King, that when the slave girl had told the king her tale and said, ‘I ask you to exact justice for me from your son,’ he ordered the prince to be put to death. This was on the fourth day. Then the fourth vizier came before the king, kissed the ground at his feet, and said, ‘May God preserve and strengthen the king! O King, be deliberate in this matter upon which you have resolved, for a wise man does nothing until he has considered its consequences. As the proverb says, “He who takes no heed of consequences will find no friend in Time.” Whoever acts without due reflection will suffer what the bathhouse keeper suffered through his wife.’ The king asked, ‘And what did the bathhouse keeper suffer through his wife?’”