Routledge Revivals: Scheherezade (1953)

Tales from the Thousand and One Nights

A. J. Arberry

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781315443782
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Middle Eastern Literary
• Index: Literature

First published in 1953, this translation of part of the Arabian Nights by A. J. Arberry offers four famous stories in modern idiom: Aladdin, Judar, Aboukir and Abousir, and the Amorous Goldsmith. The introduction provides a brief analysis of earlier translations of the tales and explains their value as indicators of the society in which they were written.

This work will be of interest to those studying Middle-Eastern literature and history.

ALADDIN AND THE ENCHANTED LAMP

ONCE UPON A TIME there lived in a city in China a poor fellow of a tailor who had one son called Aladdin. This son had been a scamp and a ne’er-do-well since his earliest years. When he was ten his father wanted to teach him a trade; but being poor he was unable to spend anything on him, to teach him a trade or profession or the like. So his father took him into his own shop, to teach him his own trade of tailoring. As the boy was a scamp however, and used always to playing with the street-urchins, he never sat a single day in the shop; he would wait for his father to go out of the shop on some business, or to meet a customer, then off Aladdin would run to the gardens with the other young ruffians like himself.

That was the kind of boy he was. He refused to obey his parents, and would not learn any trade. His poor father became so desperate and upset over his son’s naughtiness that presently he fell sick and died. Even then Aladdin carried on in the same way. So his mother, seeing her husband was dead and her son was a ne’er-do-well and a good-for-nothing, sold the shop and all its contents and took to cotton-spinning, providing for herself and her worthless son out of her hard toil. As for Aladdin, finding himself free now of his father’s tiresome control he became more of a scamp and a wastrel than ever; he never darkened the door of their house except at mealtimes. His wretched mother meanwhile supported him by her spinning, until he was fifteen years old.

Now one day Aladdin was sitting in the street playing with the guttersnipes, when presently along came a Moorish dervish, who stopped and watched the lads for a while. Then he began to stare at Aladdin and, disregarding the others, examined his features closely. This dervish came from farthest Morocco and was a magician; he could pile one mountain on another by his sorcery, and knew all about astrology.

‘Ha!’ he said to himself, when he had contemplated Aladdin thoroughly. ‘That is the very lad I was looking for, the one I came all the way from Morocco to search out.’

He took one of the boys some distance off, and asked him about Aladdin; who his father was; he wanted to know everything concerning him. Then he went up to Aladdin and drew him aside.

‘Boy,’ he said, ‘aren’t you the son of So-and-so, the Tailor?’

‘Yes, sir,’ Aladdin answered. ‘But my father died a good time ago.’

On hearing this the Moorish dervish threw himself upon Aladdin and hugged him and started kissing him, weeping until the tears ran down his cheeks. Aladdin was most surprised to see the Moor in such a state.

‘What are you crying for, sir?’ he asked. ‘How is it you know my father?’

‘How can you ask me such a question, my boy?’ the Moor replied in a sad and broken voice. ‘Haven’t you just told me that your father, my brother, is dead? Yes, your father was my brother; and here have I come all the way from my own country, after being so long absent, and I was so very happy in the expectation of seeing him again and consoling myself with his company. Now you tell me he’s dead. But the blood in my veins didn’t hide from me that you’re my brother’s son. I knew you at once, out of all the other boys, even though your father wasn’t married yet when I left him. Ah well,’ he went on, ‘now I’ve lost forever my consolation and joy in your father, my brother, whom I so much hoped to see again after my long exile, just once before I died. Instead, separation has over-whelmed me in sorrow. But what is, can’t be otherwise. There’s no escape from destiny. Man is powerless to challenge the decrees of Allah. And so,’ he ended, ‘you’re my only consolation now, my boy. You stand in your father’s stead; you’re his successor. The man who leaves a successor does not truly die!’

The magician thereupon stretched forth his hand, drew out ten dinars, and gave them to Aladdin.

‘Here, boy,’ he said. ‘Tell me, where do you live, and where’s your mother, my brother’s wife?’

Aladdin took the money, and showed the Moor the way to their house.

‘Take this money,’ the magician said. ‘Give it to your mother, and greet her for me. Tell her your uncle’s come back from his wanderings, and tomorrow, if Allah wills, I shall come to you to greet her in person, and see the house where my brother lived, and look upon his grave.’

Aladdin kissed the Moor’s hand and ran off in great glee, hurrying home to his mother. He rushed into the house, quite contrary to his usual habits—for he never entered its portals except at mealtimes—and shouted to his mother in tremendous excitement.

‘Good news, mother. My uncle’s come back from abroad. He sends you his greetings.’

‘You must be making fun of me, son,’ his mother answered. ‘Who is this uncle of yours? Wherever did you get an uncle from in the land of the living?’

‘Why, mother, how can you say I haven’t any uncles or any other relatives alive? This man’s my uncle. He hugged me and kissed me and cried and told me to tell you this.’

‘Well, son, it’s quite true, I know you had an uncle. But he’s dead, and I don’t know of any other uncle of yours.’

Next morning the Moorish magician went out and started searching for Aladdin, for he could not bear to be parted from him. While he was wandering around the streets of the town he came upon Aladdin, playing as usual with the guttersnipes. He hurried up to him and took him in his arms and kissed him; then he brought two dinars out of his purse.

‘Go off to your mother, and give her these two dinars,’ he said. ‘Tell her your uncle would like to have dinner with you and her. Tell her to take the two dinars and prepare a good dinner. But before anything else, show me the way to your home again.’

‘Certainly, uncle. Certainly.’

So Aladdin trotted off before him, and pointed out to him the way to the house. The Moor then left him and went about his business; while Aladdin ran into the house and told his mother everything, and gave her the two dinars.

‘Uncle wants to have dinner with us,’ he said.

Aladdin’s mother got up at once and went off to market, and bought all the necessaries. Then she came home and began to get dinner ready. She borrowed from the neighbours all the plates and so forth that she needed.

‘Dinner’s ready, son,’ she announced to Aladdin when dinnertime was come. ‘Perhaps your uncle doesn’t know the way to the house. Go out and meet him on the street.’

‘All right, mother.’

Just as they were talking there came a knock at the door. Aladdin went out and opened the door, and lo and behold, there was the Moorish magician, with a servant carrying drinks and fruit. Aladdin let them in, and the servant went about his business, while the Moor entered and greeted Aladdin’s mother.

‘Which is the place where my brother used to sit?’ he asked, bursting into tears.

Aladdin’s mother showed him the place where her husband used to sit, and he came up to it and fell on his knees and started kissing the ground.

‘Ah, what bad luck, what scurvy fortune is mine,’ he cried, ‘that I should have lost you, my brother, the apple of my eye!’

He went on in that sort of way, weeping and wailing a long time, until Aladdin’s mother really believed that he was what he gave himself out to be, and genuinely overcome by the strength of his emotions.

‘What’s the use of killing yourself?’

So she spoke to him, lifting him from the floor; and set about consoling the Moorish magician. She made him sit down; and when he was seated, and before the table was laid, the Moor began to tell her the tale.

‘My dear brother’s wife, don’t be so surprised that all your days you’ve never seen me, or that you didn’t know of me during my poor brother’s lifetime. It’s forty years now since I left this town and became an exile from my native land. I travelled to India and Sindia and all Arabia; then I went to Egypt, and dwelt for a while in its capital, which is the wonder of the world. Finally, I journeyed to farthest Morocco, and resided in that country for thirty years. Then one day, dear sister-in-law, I was sitting quietly, and fell to thinking about my native land, and my poor brother; and I longed terribly to see him. I began to weep and lament over my long exile, and being so far away from him. In the end my yearning for him so powerfully stirred me that I resolved to journey back to this country, my own dear birthplace and native land, so that I might look upon my brother again. “Sirrah,” I said to myself, “how long will you continue an exile from your country and homeland, seeing you have only one brother in all the world? Rise up, and make the journey, and see him once more before you die. Who can foretell the calamities and vicissitudes of time? It would be a dreadful grief,” I said to myself, “if I should die and not look upon my brother again. But Allah, praise be to him, has given you a plentiful wealth; and it may be your brother is in distress and penury. In that case you’ll be able to help your brother, as well as looking upon him.” So I got up straight away and made all preparations for the journey. I recited the Fatiha after Friday prayers, mounted, and came to this city after enduring much hardship and weariness; but the Lord preserved me, so that finally I entered its gates. Then the day before yesterday, while I was wandering through the streets, my eyes fell upon my brother’s son Aladdin as he was playing with the boys; and I swear by Allah, dear sister-in-law, as soon as I saw him my heart ached for him. Blood calls to blood. I felt in my heart that he was my brother’s son; and I forgot all my troubles and sorrows the moment I saw him, and almost flew into the air for joy. But when he told me my poor brother was dead, I was utterly overcome by grief and sorrow. Perhaps Aladdin has told you how affected I was. Still, I was consoled to some extent in having Aladdin in my poor brother’s stead. The man who leaves a successor does not truly die.’

When the Moorish magician had finished speaking, he saw that Aladdin’s mother was crying because of what he had said. So he turned to Aladdin, to make her forget her husband’s memory and with the object of diverting her; in that way he hoped to complete the trick he aimed to play on her.

‘Aladdin, my boy, what trades have you learnt? What’s your job? Have you learnt any trade, to support yourself and your mother?’

At this Aladdin was confused and put to shame; he hung his head, and stared silently at the ground.

‘What do you think?’ his mother broke in. ‘Why, he doesn’t know anything at all. Such a good-for-nothing lad I never did see. All day long he hangs about with good-for-nothing street-Arabs like himself. His father, woe’s me, it was only on account of him that he died. And now look at me, too, what a miserable life I’m having, wearing myself to the bone spinning cotton, all day and all night too, to earn a couple of loaves for us to eat together. That’s the kind of boy he is, brother-in-law. I tell you the truth, he only troubles to come home at mealtimes. That’s all he bothers about me. I’ve a good mind to bolt the door and never open it to him again, and let him go hunt for his own living. I’ve become an old woman; I haven’t the strength any more to toil and moil to provide for the like of him. It’s bad enough, goodness knows, that I should have to struggle for my own living, when it’s myself that needs to have someone to provide for me.’

‘What’s this I hear, nephew?’ said the Moor, turning to Aladdin. ‘Why do you kick around like a loafer all the time? Shame on you! That’s not the way a man like you should behave. You’re an intelligent lad, and the son of decent folk. It’s a disgrace for you, that your mother should be an old lady and still have to struggle to keep you. You’re a man now; you ought to be contriving some way to be able to support yourself. But see, my lad. Praise be to Allah, there are plenty of good craftsmen in this town of ours. Choose whatever trade you fancy, and I will put you to it, so that when you’re older you’ll have a trade to live by. Maybe you don’t care for your father’s trade; all right, choose another that pleases you. Tell me what it is, and I’ll help you all I can.’

The Moor, seeing that Aladdin remained silent and answered not a word, realized that he had no desire for any trade at all, but only wanted to be a wastrel.

‘Very well,’ he continued. ‘Don’t be put out by what I’ve said. If you don’t want to learn a trade, that’s quite all right. I’ll open a shop for you. You shall be a merchant, and deal in the finest stuffs. Get known among the people, taking and giving, buying and selling. You shall become a famous man in the town.’

When Aladdin heard his uncle the Moor say that he would make him a merchant trader he cheered up tremendously, because he knew that merchants wear nothing but fine, smart clothes. He looked at the Moor and laughed, and nodded his head as if to say he was entirely agreeable. The Moorish magician understood, when he saw Aladdin laugh, that he was content that he should make him a merchant.

‘Well then,’ he went on, ‘since you’re agreed that I shall make you a merchant and open a shop for you, be a man, nephew, and tomorrow, Allah willing, I’ll take you first thing to the market. I’ll have a fine suit cut out for you; you know, the sort traders wear. After that I’ll look for a shop for you. You’ll see, I’ll keep my promise.’

Aladdin’s mother had been a little doubtful at first whether the Moor really was her brother-in-law. But when she heard him promising her son to open a shop for him, with stuffs and capital and the rest, she became entirely convinced that he was the genuine article, for no stranger would have done what he was doing for her son. So she set about admonishing her son, bidding him put all folly out of his head, to be a man, and always obey his uncle as though he were his own father; he was to make up for the time he had wasted in idleness with good-for-nothings like himself. Then she got up and laid the table and served the dinner; and they all three sat down and began eating and drinking. Meanwhile the Moor chatted with Aladdin about business affairs and the like. Aladdin slept not a wink that night, he was so overjoyed. At last the Moor, seeing the night was now past, stood up and went off to his lodgings, promising them he would return next morning and take Aladdin to have his merchant’s suit cut out.

In the morning there was the Moor as good as his word, hammering on the door. Aladdin’s mother got up and opened the door to him; but he would not come in, only asking for Aladdin to take him along with him to the market. So Aladdin ran out and said good morning to his uncle and kissed his hand. The Moor took him by the hand, and went off with him to the market. There he entered a cloth store stocked with all kinds of things to wear and asked for a suit of clothes, only it must be a good price. The merchant brought him what he demanded, all sewn up and ready to put on.

‘There you are, my boy,’ the Moor said to Aladdin. ‘Choose what takes your fancy.’

Aladdin was extremely happy when he saw his uncle leaving the choice to him. He picked out just the clothes that pleased him; and the Moor paid the merchant the price of them on the spot. From there he took Aladdin to the baths; they had a good bath, and came out and drank a sherbet. After that Aladdin put on his new suit, and felt most pleased and relaxed. He went up to his uncle and kissed his hand, thanking him over and over again for his generosity.

Leaving the baths, the Moor went with Aladdin to the market of the merchants, and let him see all over the market, where they were buying and selling.

‘Now then, my son,’ he said, ‘you must get acquainted with the people, particularly the merchants, so as to learn the business from them, since that is to be your trade.’

After that he took him for a stroll all over the city, to view the mosques and the other sights. When this was done, he went with him into a restaurant where dinner was served to them on silver plates. They ate and drank till they were satisfied; then the Moor took Aladdin to see the parks and great piazzas. He went with him into ...