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Shishu Sansaar | Arabian Nights Stories-4

Arabian Nights Stories-4

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Story No 74-2-2/7

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74-2-2 - The Three Apples (2 of 7) :
Noor al-Deen Alee and His Son: Hasan Meets His Cousin Sister

Next day Noor al-Deen went to the Sultaan and started his job. Sultaan was very happy with his wits and good sense, so he loved him and took him to his intimacy. Deevaan was dismissed and Noor al-Deen replaced him. He came home and told this to his father-in-law. He also got very happy to hear this. He continued to work as Vazeer also and the Sultaan increased his stipend and supplies, till he became the owner of the ships that made trading voyages. He laid out many estates and planted many gardens. 

When his son Hasan was 4 years old his father-in-law died, so he took the responsibility of his education and he became 7 years old. He was coming up nicely, so he brought all kinds of teachers - Faqeers, doctors of law and religion, to educate him. They taught him in his father's palace. The Sultaan also loved him and he had instructed his Vazeer to bring him to his presence everyday. Noor did this till Hasan was of 20 years of age.

At that time the Vazeer fell ill and he called his son Hasan and said - "This world is Present, but is mortal; while the world of future is a house of Eternity. I want you to listen me carefully before I die." Then he gave him the last instructions to deal with neighbors, managing his affairs, then he remembered his brother and his home and wept. Then he said - "I have a brother, your uncle, Shams al-Deen. He is the Vazeer of Cairo. I came here against his will. Now take a sheet of paper and write, what I ask you to write. Hasan wrote the whole account of his father's journey from the beginning till end - his life of 40 years from the day of his dispute. He said - "This is written at my instruction, Allaah be with him, when I am gone." Then he folded the paper, sealed it and said to his son - "Hasan, Keep this paper with care, for it will establish your origin, and rank and lineage; and if anything wrong happens to you, go to Cairo, ask for your uncle, show this letter and say to him that I died as a stranger in a far place with a desire to see him."

Hasan made it as a Talismaan and sewed it between the inner and the upper cloth of his skull cap. He wept for his father. Noor again said - "Hasan, I will now tell you the five principles - (1) Be over-intimate with none, nor frequent with any, nor be familiar with any, thus you will be safe from his mischief; for security lies in seclusion of thought. (2) The second principle is - Deal harshly with none, lest fortune deals with you harshly; for the fortune of this world is one day with you and another day against you; and all worldly goods are but a loan to be repaid. (3) The third principle is - Learn to be silent in society and let your own faults distract your attention from the faults of other men; it is said that in silence lives safety and by speaking you will repent many times. (4) The fourth principle is - Beware of wine drinking because it destroys human wits, it opens the gates wide to sins that kill. (5) The fifth one is - Keep your wealth and it will keep you, guard your money and it will guard you. Waste it not lest you become a beggar. Save your wealth to cure the wounds of the world. Because if you do not have wealth, you have no friends around. How many friends are there who lend their money to their friends?"

After saying all this Noor died. The Sultaan also grieved for him but Hasan could not stop grieving for him for two months during which he never mounted his horse, never came to royal court. At last the Sultaan appointed somebody else as his Vazeer instead of Hasan and sealed Hasan's all property. So the new Vazeer went forth to seal the property of Hasan, to seize him and bring him to the Sultaan.

Now there was a follower of the old Vazeer who heard this order and went to Hasan's house immediately, for he could not tolerate to see the ruin of his master. Hasan was sitting at the gate of his house with head hung down for the loss of his father. He kissed his hand and said - "O son of my Lord, Make haste lest ruin comes to you. The Sultaan is angry with you and has issued a warrant against you, so flee for your life." He said to the man - "Is there time so that I can collect some wealth from my house?" The slave replied - "Just go and save yourself, leave this house while it is yet time."

At this, Hasan covered his face with the skirt of his garment and ran away till he came outside the city. He heard people saying - "The Sultaan has sent his new Vazeer to Hasan's house to seize him to put him to death and seize his all property." He ran away again till his Destiny brought him to his father's tomb. He hid himself there. As he was hiding there, a Jew came there. He was a money changer with a pair of saddle bags full of gold. He kissed his hand asked him - "Where are you going? It is late in the day, and you have worn only light clothes and I can guess some signs of trouble on your face."

Hasan said - "I was sleeping at this time that my father appeared in my dream and told me that I had not visited his tomb, so I came hurriedly here to visit it." The Jew said - "O Lord, Your father had many merchants at the sea and some of them are now due to come, so you may buy the cargo of the first ship whichever comes into the port with this 1,000 Deenars." Hasan said - "I agree." The Jew took out a bag, full of gold, and counted 1,000 Deenaars and giving them to Hasan said - "Write me a letter of sale and seal it." Hasan took a paper wrote these words in duplicate, "The writer Hasan Badar al-Deen, son of Vazeer Noor al-Deen, has sold to Issac the Jew all the cargo of the first of his father's ships which comes into port for a 1,000 Deenaars and he has received the price in advance." The Jew took one copy himself and gave another copy to Hasan and went away. But Hasan wept as he thought about the prosperity that belonged to him.

After weeping for a long time, he slept near the tomb of his father. Now there were many Genies of True Believers haunting the cemetery, so presently came a Jineeyaa who saw Hasan, a young beauty, sleeping there. She flew in the sky and met an Ifrit and asked him - "Where are you coming from?" "From Cairo?" "Will you come with me and look upon the beauty who is sleeping here in a burial place?" "I will." So they both came to the place where that boy was sleeping. Ifrit said - "By Allaah, He has no equal to his beauty. But I have seen his counterpart in Egypt. She is the daughter of the Vazeer Shams. When she was 19 years old, the Sultaan heard about her beauty. He sent for his Vazeer and said  to him - "I have heard that you have a daughter. I wish to demand her in marriage." 

Shams replied - "Please sympathize with me, You know that I have a brother, who was partner with me as Vazeer, he disappeared many years ago and we don't know where he is. The cause of his departure was that one night we were talking about our wives and children to come that we had some unpleasant words and he left the house. But I had decided that I would marry my daughter to the son of my brother only on the day her mother gave her birth. I have heard that my brother has died at Basaraa. He married the daughter of the Vazeer of Basaraa and she bore him a son. I will marry my daughter only to him in my brother's memory. I have checked their birth dates and I think that her name is also like his name."

Hearing this the Sultaan got angry, and said - "When people hear such proposals, they feel honor and you are rejected me? I will marry her, staking my life, to the meanest of my men in spite of your interference." Now there was a horse-groom in the palace, Gobbo, a hunchback. The Sultaan called him and married her to him, and today is his wedding night. The Vazeer's daughter is just sitting amongst women weeping and wailing, for the Sultaan has forbidden her father to come near her. I have never seen anyone more ugly than that hunchback, and fairer than that lady."

The Jineeyaa cried at him - "You are lying, this youth is handsomer than anyone. In fact what I am saying that this boy deserves her, because they resemble each other." The Jineeyaa said - "Then let us take him to Cairo, so that we may compare them." Ifrit lifted him, took him to Cairo and set him on a stone bench and woke him up. As he woke up he found himself in a strange place, he wanted to cry but Ifrit kept him silent. He brought him good clothes, got him ready and said to him - "I have brought you here for your own good. Take this torch and mix with these people who are going inside through the door of bathroom. Enter the great saloon, do not fear anyone, and stand to the right of the Hunchback groom. Put your hand into your pocket, there is gold in it, take it out and throw the gold onto them and spare not, because as often as you will put your hand in your pocket, you will find it full of coins. Do not fear, and trust upon Him."

When Badar al-Deen Hasan heard these words, he thought to himself - "What is this and what does this mean?" However he obeyed Ifrit, he came to Hunchback on horseback throwing gold coins as often as he could. All were amazed at his beauty and attire. He had come to the mansion of the Vazeer (his uncle), where all were pushed back except the singing girls. The maids said - "We will not enter unless this young man enters with us. We will not display the bride unless he is present." So they took him inside the hall, and seated him.

There stood many respected women, who when they saw Hasan, fell for him. The singing girls said - "This man has filled our hands with red gold, so comply with his orders no matter what he asks for." So all the women crowded around him and said - "Happy will be she to whom he belongs." And they cursed the Hunchback groom for marrying the Vazeer's daughter. At the same time Vazeer's daughter came in. The most notable part of her dress was a loose robe which she wore over her other clothes and which was adorned by wild beasts and birds' figures. As she came, her Hunchback husband stood up to meet her; but she turned away from him and went towards Hasan, the son of her uncle.

People sitting there cried with happiness and Badar cast another handful coins upon the singing girls. The groom was sitting alone in dark. When the bride was shown to all, she looked like full Moon. She was wearing red dress. Badar got very happy to see her. They showed her in all seven color dresses. The girl prayed Allaah to give her this man as her bridegroom and save from the Hunchback. Then all were sent out except the Hunchback and Hasan. The Hunchback came to Hasan and said to him - "You have cheered us, but now why don't you go?" So he rose and proceeded towards the door, that Ifrit met him and said to him - "Go back, and when the Hunchback goes closer to her, you also go with him and quickly sit in the room; and when the bride comes in, tell her, "It is I who is your husband, the King has devised this trick to remove evil eye from you." Then walk boldly, and unveil her face." 

While Ifrit was talking to Hasan, the Hunchback went and sat on the stool; but he hardly sat there that Ifrit came there in the form of a rat and squeaked. The Hunchback tried to look for it, that it increased its size to a large cat, "Meeoow"; then to a dog and barked, "Woof, woof." When the bridegroom saw this, he got frightened and ran away from there; then the dog became an ass and brayed; then the ass became a buffalo and became a wall before him and spoke in human voice - "O filthiest groom." Gobbo said - "I surrender." Ifrit set his head down and asked him to be in the same position till morning.

Then he took Hasan and seated him in the middle of the room. The bride came and was surprised to see Hasan there. Hasan said - "Your father had hired him for 10 Deenaars, and now he has gone." He kept the bag of 1,000 Deenaars, which he took from the Jew, under the bed and enjoyed with the Princess. She conceived the very same night.

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Created by Sushma Gupta on January 15, 2002
Contact:  sushmajee@yahoo.com
Modified on 07/13/14