The Second Night

Dunyazad said to her sister Scheherazade:

"Oh, my sister!"

"I beg you to finish the story of the merchant and the efrit."

And her sister Scheherazade replied:

"With all my heart and as due homage, as long as the king allows me."

And the king commanded:

"You may speak."

Continuation of the story of the first night

Scheherazade said:

I have come to know… Oh, fortunate king! You are endowed with just and upright ideas!

When the merchant saw the calf crying, his heart melted, and he said to the foreman:

"Leave that calf with the cattle."

And at all this, the efrit was wonderfully marveled at this amazing story. While the sheikh, who owned the gazelle, continued talking: Oh! Lord of the kings of the efrits! All this happened!

My uncle's daughter, this gazelle, was standing there looking and she said:

"We must slaughter that fat calf."

But I, out of pity, could not make up my mind, and ordered the foreman to take it away again. He obeyed me. The second day, I was sitting, when the foreman approached me and said:

"Oh, my master!"

"I am going to tell you something that will make you happy."

"This good news is well worth a bonus."

And I answered:

"Count on it."

And he said to me:

"Oh, illustrious merchant!"

"My daughter is a witch, because she learned witchcraft from an old woman who lived with us. Yesterday, when you gave me the calf, I went into my daughter's room with it, and as soon as she saw it, my dear daughter covered her face with her veil, bursting into tears, and then laughing."

"Then she said to me: 'Father, am I so worthless to you that you let a man enter into my room?' "

I replied:

"But, where is that man?"

"And why do you cry and laugh like that?"

"And she told me: 'This calf is the son of our master the merchant, but he is delighted. And it is his stepmother who has enchanted him, and his mother with him. I laughed to see him in that form of a calf. And if I have wept, because the mother, that calf, was sacrificed by the father.' "

"These words of my daughter surprised me a lot, and I waited impatiently for the morning to come back to come and find out everything."

When I heard this… Oh, mighty efrit!

The sheikh continued explaining what the foreman told him, indicating that he was left in a hurry, and without having drunk any wine, the foreman thought he was intoxicated by the immense joy and happiness that he felt upon recovering his son.

When the sheikh got to the foreman's house, the young woman wished him peace and kissed his hand, and then the calf came up to him, wallowing at his feet.

So, the sheikh asked the foreman's daughter:

"Is it true what you say about this calf?"

And she replied:

"Right!"

"Without a doubt!"

"He is your son, the flame of your heart."

And I begged her:

"Oh, gentle and charitable young woman!"

"If you recover my son, I will give you how many cattle and farms I have in the care of your father."

She smiled at these words and said to me:

"I will only accept wealth on two conditions: the first is that I will marry your son, and the second is that you will let me charm and imprison whomever I wish. Otherwise, I am not responsible for my efficacy against your wife's treachery."

Oh, mighty efrit!

When I heard the words of the foreman's daughter, I told her:

"Let it be, and in addition you will have the riches that your father administers to me. As for my uncle's daughter, I allow you to dispose of her blood."

As soon as she heard my words, she picked up a copper pot, filling it with water and speaking the magic spells on it. Then she sprinkled the liquid on the calf and said:

"If Allah created you a calf, continue as a calf, without changing form; but if you are enchanted, recover your first figure with the permission of Allah the Most High."

And immediately, the calf began to stir and reverted to human form. Then, throwing myself into his arms, I kissed him, saying to my son:

"By Allah over you!"

"Tell me what my uncle's daughter did to you and your mother."

And he told me what had happened to them. Then, I said:

"Ah, my son! Allah, owner of destinies, He reserved someone to save you and save your rights."

After this, oh good efrit!

I married my son to the foreman's daughter. And thanks to her witchcraft science, she enchanted my uncle's daughter, transforming her into this gazelle that you see. Passing by here, I met these good people, asked them what they were doing and from them, I learned what had happened to this merchant, and I had to sit down and see what might happen. And this is my story.

Then the efrit exclaimed:

"Very amazing story indeed. That is why I grant you as a grace the third of the blood you ask for."

At this moment, the second sheikh approached, the one with the black hounds, and told his tale.

Story of the second sheik

You know… Oh, lord of the kings of the efrits! These two dogs are my older brothers and I am the third.

When our father died, he bequeathed us three thousand dinars. I, with my share, opened a store and began to sell and buy merchants. One of my brothers, also a merchant, dedicated to traveling with the caravans, and was absent for a year. When he came back, he had nothing left of his inheritance. So, I said to him:

"Oh, my brother!"

"Hadn´t I advised you not to travel?"

And bursting into tears, he answered me:

"Brother, Allah, who is great and powerful, arranged it this way."

"Your words can no longer be of any use to me, since I have nothing now."

I took him with me to the shop. Then, I accompanied him to the hammam and gave him a magnificent suit of the best class.

Later, we sat down to eat, and I told him:

"Brother, I am going to calculate what my store produces in a year, without touching the capital, and we will share the profits."

And sure enough, I did the math, and found an annual profit of a thousand dinars. Then, I gave thanks to Allah, who is mighty and great, and then divided the utilities between myself and my brother. And so, we lived together, days and days.

Shortly, after, my second brother also wanted to travel. We did everything possible to make him give up on his project, but everything was useless, and after a year he returned in the same situation as his older brother.

I gave him another thousand dinars that I earned during the period of his absence. He opened a new store and continued his business.

However, without being warned by what had happened to them, again my brothers wanted to leave and demanded me to accompany them. I didn´t accept and they said:

"What have you gained by traveling?"

"So, can we tempt to imitate you?"

Then, they began to address counterclaims to me, but to no avail, since I ignored them, and we continued trading in our stores for another year. Once again, they proposed the trip to me, again, opposing my opinions, and so, six more years passed. They finally convinced me and I told them:

"Brothers, let´s count the money we have."

We counted and came up with a total of six thousand dinars. So, I said them:

"Let us bury half so that we can use it if any misfortune befalls us, and take a thousand dinars each to trade at retail."

And they answered:

"Allah could favor the idea!"

I took the money and divided it into two equal parts, burying three thousand dinars and the other three thousand were divided judiciously among the three of us. Then, we bought various merchandise, chartered a ship, took all our effects to it and set off. The journey lasted a whole month, and we reached a town, where we sold the goods at a profit of ten dinars to a dinar. Later, we left the square.

Arriving at the seashore, we found a poorly dressed woman, with old and threadbare clothes. She came up to me, kissed my hand and said:

"Lord, can you help me?"

"Do you want to favor me?"

"On the other hand, I will know how to thank you for your kindness."

I told her:

"I will help you, but do not think you are obliged to gratitude."

She answered me:

"Lord, then marry me, take me to your country and I will consecrate my soul to you. Favor me, for I am one of those who know the value of benefits. Do not be ashamed of my humble condition."

Saying these words, I felt pity towards her, for there is nothing that is not done by the will of Allah, who is great and mighty. I took her away, dressed her in rich clothes, had magnificent rugs laid on the ship for her, and gave her a hospitable and cordial welcome. Then we set sail. My heart came to love her with a great passion and I didn´t abandon her day or night. And since, I was the only one of the three brothers who could enjoy this, my brothers felt jealous, in addition, to envying me for my riches and the quality of my merchandise. They cast greedy glances on everything I owned, and agreed to kill me and divide my money, because the sheitan undoubtedly made them see their bad deeds, with her most beautiful colors.

One day, when I was sleeping with my wife, they came up, took and threw us into the sea. She woke up in the water and suddenly changed shape, becoming an ifrit. My wife took me on her shoulders and deposited me on an island. Then, she disappeared all night, coming back at dawn and saying to me:

"Don´t you recognize your wife?"

"I have saved you from death with the help of the Most High."

"Because you must know that I am an ifrit."

"And from the moment, I saw you, my heart loved you, simply because Allah has willed it, and I am a believer in Allah and in his Prophet, may Allah bless and persevere."

"When I came to you in the poor condition, I was, you still agreed to marry me."

"And I, in just gratitude, have prevented you from drowning."

"As for your brothers, I feel the greatest fury against those evil persons and I must kill them."

Amazed by her words, I thanked my wife for rescuing me and told her:

"I can´t allow the loss of my brothers."

Then, I told her everything that had happened with them, from the beginning to the end, and she said:

"Tonight, I will fly towards the ship that leads them, and I will capsize it so that they will succumb."

I replied:

"By Allah!"

"Do not do that, remember that the Master of Proverbs says: 'Oh, you must be compassionate of the offender!' He thinks that his own crime is enough punishment for the delinquent, and besides, He considers that they are my brothers."

But, she insisted:

"I have to kill them without remedy."

And in vain, I implored her indulgence.

She flew away, carrying me on her shoulders and left me on the roof of my house.

So, I opened the doors and took the three thousand dinars out of the hiding place. Then, I opened my shop, and after making the necessary visits and the usual greetings, I bought new goods.

When evening came, I closed the shop, and as I entered my rooms, I found these two greyhounds tied up in a corner. Seeing me, they got up, burst into tears and grabbed at my clothes.

Then, my wife came and told me:

"They are your brothers."

And I asked:

"Who has put them in this form?"

She answered:

"Myself!"

"I have begged my sister, more versed than I in the arts of enchantment, to put them in that state."

"They will remain like this for ten years".

Therefore, oh mighty efrit!

You see me here, because I am sorry for my sister-in-law to whom I want to beg for disappointment, because the ten years have already passed. On arrival, I met this good man, and when I heard of his affair, I didn´t want to leave, until I found out what was going to happen between you and him. And this is my story.

The efrit said:

"It is truly an amazing tale, so I grant you another third of the blood intended to ransom the crime."

Then, the third sheikh, owner of the mule, came forward and said to the efrit:

"I will tell you a more wonderful story than those of these two. And you will reward me with the rest of the blood."

The efrit replied:

"So be it."

Story of the third sheikh

O sultan, chief of the efrits!

This mule you see here was my wife. Once, I went on a trip and was absent for a whole year. Finished my business, I came back at night, and when I entered my wife's room, I found her with a slave, they were talking and kissing, flattering each other. Seeing me, she got up suddenly and rushed at me with a pot of water in her hand, murmured a few words afterwards, and said, throwing the water at me:

"Come out of your own form and put on that of a dog!"

Immediately, I was turned into a dog and my wife kicked me out of the house. I wandered around until I reached a butcher shop, where I began to gnaw on bones. When the butcher saw me, he picked me up and took me with him. As soon as we entered her daughter's room, she covered herself with the veil and reproached her father:

"Does this seem right to you?"

"Why did you bring a man and enter him in my room?"

And her father replied:

"But, where is that man?"

She answered:

"That dog is a man!"

"He has been enchanted by a woman, but I am able to disenchant him."

The father said to her daughter:

"By Allah over you!"

"Give back his form, my child."

She picked up a pot of water, and after muttering an incantation, poured a few drops on me and said:

"Come out of that form and get back to the primitive one!"

Then, I returned to my human form, kissed the girl's hand and told her:

"I would like you to enchant my wife as she enchanted me."

Then, the daughter gave me a jar of water and told me:

"If you find your wife asleep, sprinkle her with this water and she will become whatever you want."

Sure enough, I found her asleep, poured the water on her and said:

"Come out like that and be a mule!"

And instantly, she was transformed into a mule…

It is the same one you see here, sultan of kings of the efrits.

The efrit turned to the mule and said:

"Is all true?"

And the mule shook its head to affirm:

"Yes! Yes! Everything is true."

This story managed to satisfy the efrit, who, full of emotion and pleasure, amused the old man of the last third of the blood.

At that moment, Scheherazade saw the morning appear, and discreetly stopped talking, without taking further advantage of the permission. Then her sister Dunyazad said:

"Ah, my sister!"

"How sweet, how kind, and how delicious are your words in the freshness of it!"

And Scheherazade replied:

"That is nothing compared to what I will tell you next night, if I am still alive and the king wants to keep me."

The king said to himself:

"By Allah!"

"I will not kill her until she has told the continuation of her tale, which is amazing."

Then, the king went to the courtroom. The vizier and the officials entered and the divan was filled with people. And the king judged, appointed, deposed, dispatched his affairs and gave orders until the end of the day. Then the divan was raised and the king returned to the palace.

To be continued during the third night…