The king, the enchanted young man, and the fisherman lived peacefully thereafter, and the fisherman become one of the richest men of his time, with daughters married to kings.
But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said, “What an amazing and entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with that I shall tell you tomorrow night if the king spares me and lets me live!”
The king said to himself “What an interesting story, and she says this one doesn’t even compare to the next one. I will not have her put to death until I hear the next story; then I will have her put to death, as is my custom with the others.”
THE TWENTY-EIGTH NIGHT
[The Tale of the Swan and the Jealous Wife]
The following night Dinarzad said to her sister Shahraza, “If you are not sleepy, tell us one of your lovely, little tales to while away the night.” Shahrazad replied, “With the greatest pleasure”:
It is said, O wise and merciful King, that once there was a son of a merchant, who grew up to look like a slice of the moon. Everywhere Ajmal went, everyone would fawn over his looks, not bothering to learn what was in his mind. Many women wanted to marry him but his father had promised his hand to the daughter of the man who saved his life long ago. When they were of a marriageable age, their fathers planned for them to meet. Ajmal met Qatil and they began their life together. Ajmal was happy to have someone that would listen to his thoughts and ideas. On the other hand, Qatil has unhappy. His wife, jealous of all the looks he repeatedly got and angry towards all the people who told her she was too ugly for him, had a plan. Once night fell and Ajmal was soundly asleep on their bed, she, who had just begun learning soothsaying and magic, cast a spell to freeze his body so that he could not move.
“Everyone believes you to be too beautiful for me, in order to rid myself of the hatred of all the jealous townswomen and jokes of the men, I will turn you into something that will preserve your beauty but rid my anger.”
She filled a bowl of water and was about to utter an incantation and an oath to turn him into a swan when Ajmal interrupted.
Ajmal looking at his wife and wept and mourned, “Forgive me, and God will grant you forgiveness. Destroy me, and God will inflict on you one who will destroy you.” Qatar replied, “It must be.” When Ajmal was certain of his fate, he mourned saying, “Your situation and mine is like that of …
But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. The Dinarzas said, “O my lady, what an amazing and entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with that I shall tell you tomorrow night if the king spares me and lets me live!”
But I want to know how it ends!
(Also, great work picking up on that phrase, “a slice of the moon,” which also struck me, reading through the tales this time. What a strange and poetic way to express human beauty)
When Ajmal was certain of his fate, he mourned saying, “Your situation and mine is like that of the steamer duck and the goose.” Qatil was so intrigued, she asked him, “What is their story?”
Dear wife, it begins like this: In a land very far away there lived a white goose and a gray steamer duck. They were hatchlings born the same day under a full moon, and as they were neighbors and birds with the moon in their heart, the goose and the steamer duck became very good friends. One day, it came to pass that the steamer duck discovered a major difference between himself and his friend – the steamer duck was not able to fly.
“Just flap your wings,” the goose told him and he flapped his pale wings and rose into the air. The steamer duck took a breath, flapped his stubby wings and hopped twice, but he could not get into the air.
“Take a running start,” suggested the goose. The steamer duck took a breath, ran along the ground, flapped his stubby wings and hopped twice, but he still could not get off the ground. All the other birds agreed there was something wrong with the duck.
“Birds are supposed to fly,” they tweeted and chirped in their own secret language.
“Don’t listen to them,” the goose told his friend. “They were not born under the full moon like us. Steamer duck, you are stronger than anyone I know.”
And indeed, the steamer duck was quite strong and he was one of the only birds that could beat the goose in a battle of strength. All the other birds admired him and forgot about his flightlessness, until one day they asked the steamer duck to join them on a branch. The steamer duck took a breath, flapped his wings and hopped twice, but he could not fly.
“He is broken,” they whispered, “The goose is much better than him.” The steamer duck became so bitter, he vowed to leave the goose until he could fly. The goose pleaded for him to not go, but the steamer duck was adamant. He left to a strange land where he travelled for years and years, until one day, in a deep, dark wood, he discovered he could fly. He flew straight back home to his dear friend, only to discover he was long gone.
“What was the point of this?” The steamer duck mourned, and cursed the day he became jealous of his best friend.
“Qatil,” Ajmal pleaded, “Do not do something that you will regret.”
(Great story, Delsy!)
The following night Dinarzad said to her sister Sharazad, “For God’s sake, sister, if you are not sleepy, tell us a little tale.” Shahrazad replied, “With the greatest pleasure”:
Ajmal looking at his wife and wept and mourned, “Forgive me, and God will grant you forgiveness. Destroy me, and God will inflict on you one who will destroy you.” Qatil replied, “It must be.” When Ajmal was certain of his fate, he mourned saying, “Your situation and mine is like that of the pig and the witch.
“What is the story of the pig and the witch?”
There once was a princess, dying to be loved by every man in town. She would flaunt her beauty left and right to grab the attention of every person. Knowing she was beautiful wasn’t enough, she needed more people to remind her of her beauty. Although her struts did catch the eye of many men, it also caught the eye of jealous females, who secretly wished for her downfall. Yet, the women of the town, who were afraid of the king, watched bitterly and quietly as the princess soaked in praise and compliments.
However, one woman refused to sit idly as she watched the princess attempt to seek praise from even married men. She began to learn soothsaying and potion-making. In order to rid of the princess’ arrogance, she needed to destroy it from its core, her beauty. Several days later, the woman disguised herself as a man to approach the princess. They drank water, where the woman poured a drop of her potion.
“Oink! Oink!”
The woman succeeded. The princess lost her beauty and ran back home. Weeks later, the woman heard news that the princess refused to eat and has died. The woman, filled with regret, remembers the princess’ cry, and feels as if she’s growing ugly from the inside. As she lives with her regret, her heart grew cold and it showed in her outer appearance as well.
“Qatil,” Ajmal said, “Like the witch, you will end up living with regret and growing uglier as you live if you decide to change me for your benefit.”