The Tenth Night

The morning appeared and Scheherazade broke off from what she had been allowed to say.

Then, when it was the tenth night, her sister Dunyazad said:

"Finish your story."

Scheherazade stated:

"With pleasure!"

And she continued speaking:

"I have heard…"

"Oh fortunate king!"

Continuation of the story of the ninth night…

The young women pronounced three names for the doorman, while he kissed, bit and embraced them until he was satisfied. They went on laughing and said:

"Brother, what is its name?"

He replied:

"Don't you know?"

They confirmed:

"No!"

He answered:

"This is a mule that breaks barriers, browses on the mint of the dykes, eats the husked sesame and that passes the night over the khan of Abu Mansur."

The ladies laughed until they fell over backwards and continued with their drinking party, carrying on until nightfall.

In those moments, they told the doorman that it was time for him to get up dress and leave, and also expressed:

"Show us the width of your shoulders."

The doorman said:

"If the breath of life were to leave me, it would be easier for me bearing than having to separate from you. Let me join the night with the day, and in the morning, we can all go our separate ways."

The housekeeper, who had bought the provisions, pleaded with the others:

"Let him sleep here and we can laugh at him."

"Who knows… In all our lives, it is hard to meet someone like him."

"He is wanton and witty!"

They told him:

"You can only spend the night here if you accept our authority and don't ask about anything you see or its reason."

The doorman agreed and they told him:

"Get up and read what is written over the door"

He went to the door and found something written above it, in gold leaf:

'Whoever talks about what doesn´t concern him, will hear what will not please him.'

He said:

"I call you as witness that I shall not talk about what is of no concern to me."

The housekeeper got up and prepared a meal for them, which they ate, and then they lit candles and lamps, putting ambergris and aloes into the candles. They sat, drinking and talking of past loves, after having prepared the table with fresh fruits and more wine. They continued for a while, eating, drinking, carousing together over their dessert, laughing and teasing each other, when suddenly there was a knock on the door.

This didn´t interrupted the party. Nonetheless, one of the girls went to the door and returned to confirm:

"Yes!"

"Our happiness is complete tonight."

The others asked:

"How is that possible?"

She told them:

"There are three Persian dervishes at the door, with shaven chins, heads and eyebrows."

"By a very special coincidence, each one of them has lost his left eye."

"They have arrived after a journey, are showing the signs of travel and this is the first time that they have been in our city, Baghdad."

"They knocked on the door because they couldn't find where to spend the night and they had said to themselves: 'Perhaps the owner of this house would give us the key to a stable or to a hut in which we could spend the night.' "

"They had been caught out by nightfall, and being strangers, no one might give them shelter."

"Sisters, each one of them is of a ludicrous appearance."

She continued to persuade and the other ladies agreed to let the Persians in, by the condition that they would not talk about what didn´t concern them, unless they hear what would not please them.

The girl went off happy and returned with the three one-eyed men, which had shaven beards and moustaches.

Next, they spoke words of greeting, bowed and hung back.

The young women welcomed the strangers, congratulating them by their safe arrival and asked them to seat.

The visitors saw a pleasant and clean room, furnished with greenery, lighted candles, incense rising into the air, desserts, fruits and wine, together with the three virgin girls.

They all agreed:

"This is good!"

Then, they turned to the doorman and found him cheerfully tired out and drunk.

They thought that he was one of their own kind and said:

"This is a dervish like us, or a foreigner or an Arab."

When hearing these words, the doorman glowered at them and expressed:

"Sit down and don't be inquisitive."

"Didn't you read what is written in the door?"

"It is not for the poor men that arrive like you to let loose your tongues at us."

The visitors apologized submissively, and the girls laughed and made peace between them and the doorman.

Later, more food was prepared for the new visitors, which they ate. Then, they sat drinking with the doorkeeper, pouring the wine and circulating the wine cup among them.

The doorman asked to the visitors if they had some story or anecdote to tell.

But, affected by the wine, they asked for musical instruments and the doorkeeper brought a tambourine, a lute and a Persian harp. They used the instruments, each one took one of them, struck a note and began to sing. The girls added a shrill accompaniment and the noise rose. Then, while this was going on, there was a knock at the door and the doorkeeper got up to see what was happening.

The reason for this knocking was that the caliph Harun al-Rashid was going around, disguised as a merchant, and he had come that night on an excursion to listen to the latest news, accompanied by his vizier, Ja'far, and Masrur, his executor. On his way through the city, he and his companions had happened to pass that house, where they heard music and singing. He had said to Ja'far:

"I want to go in!"

"We must see the owners."

Ja'far replied:

"Commander of the Faithful, these people are drunk and I am afraid that they may do us some harm."

The caliph stated:

"I must enter and you must think of some scheme to get us in."

Ja'far replied:

"To hear is to obey!"

He went and knocked the door. When it was opened by the doorkeeper, Ja'far advanced and kissed the ground. He said:

"Lady."

"We are traders from Tiberias, who have been in Baghdad for ten days."

"We have sold our goods and are staying at the merchants' khan, but this evening we were invited by a colleague. We went to his house, and after he had given us a meal, we sat drinking with him for a while, but, when he let us go the night had fallen, and as we are strangers here, we could not find our way back to our hostel."

"Please, by your charity!"

"Would you let us come in and spend the night with you?"

The young woman looked at them and saw that they were dressed as merchants and appeared to be respectable people. So, she went back to her sisters and passed on Ja'far's message. The others sympathized with helping the visitors and told her:

"Let them in!"

She went back and opened the door. The caliph, Ja'far and Masrur came in and when the girls saw them, they stood up, seated their visitors and attended their needs, saying:

"Welcome to our guests!"

"But, we lay a condition for you..."

They asked:

"What is that?"

The young woman replied:

"That you don´t speak of what doesn´t concern you, unless you hear what will not please you."

They answered:

"Of course!"

"We agree!"

They sat down to drink. Looking at the three dervishes, the caliph was surprised to find that each of them had lost his left eye. He was also thrown into confusion by the beauty and grace of the girls, which prompted his admiration. They began to drink and talk, but when the girls invited the caliph to drink, he said:

"I am proposing to go on the pilgrimage to Mecca."

Then, the doorkeeper got up and brought him an embroidered table cloth on which she set a Chinese jar, poured willow-flower water, adding some snow and a sugar lump. The caliph thanked her and thought:

"By Allah!"

"I shall reward her tomorrow for the good that she has done to me."

Then, they were occupied drinking, and when the drink had gained the upper hand, the lady of the house got up, bowed to the company, and then, taking the housekeeper by the hand, she said:

"Sisters, come, we must settle our debt."

The other two young women agreed:

"Yes!"

And at that moment, the doorkeeper got up in front of them and first cleared the table, removed the debris, replaced the perfumes and cleared a space in the middle of the room. The dervishes were asked to sit on a bench on one side of the room, and the caliph, Ja'far and Masrur on a bench, on the other side. Then, the lady of the house called to the doorman:

"Your friendship doesn´t amount to much."

"You aren´t a stranger, but one of the household."

The doorman got up, tightened his belt and asked:

"What do you want?"

The owner of the house said:

"Stay here!"

The housekeeper stood up and set a chair in the middle of the room, opened a cupboard and said to the doorman:

"Come and help me."

In the cupboard, he saw two black bitches with chains around their necks.

The girl said:

"Take them."

And he took them and brought them to the center of the room. Then, the lady of the house got up, rolled back her sleeves and took up a whip, telling to the doorman:

"Bring one of them."

And he obeyed, pulling the bitch by its chain, as it whimpered and shook its head at the girl. It howled as she struck it on the head, and continued beating it until her arms were tired. Then, she threw away the whip, pressed the bitch to her breast and wiped away its tears with her hand, kissing its head.

Then, the lady said to the doorman:

"Take this one away and bring me the other one."

She did the same with the second bitch.

The caliph was concerned and troubled by this. Unable to contain his curiosity about the story of the two bitches, he winked at Ja'far, but the latter turned to him and gestured to remain silent. Then, the lady of the house turned to the doorkeeper and said:

"Get up and do your duty!"

She answered:

"Yes!"

And getting up, she went to the couch, which was made of juniper wood with panels of gold and silver. Then, the lady of the house said to the other two girls:

"Bring out what you have."

The doorkeeper sat on a chair by her side, while the housekeeper went into a closet and came out with a satin bag with green fringes and two golden discs. She stood in front of the lady of the house, unfastened the bag and took from it a lute, whose strings she tuned and whose pegs she tightened, until it was all in order. Then she recited:

"You are the object of my whole desires."

"Union with you, beloved, is an unending happiness."

"While absence from you is like fire."

"You madden me, and throughout time."

"In you, it is centered the infatuation of my love."

"It brings me no disgrace that I love you."

"The veils that cover me are torn away by love."

"And love continues shamefully to rend all veils."

"I clothe myself in sickness, my excuse is so clear."

"For through my love, you lead my lost heart."

"Flowing tears serve to bring my secret out and make it plain."

"The tearful flood reveals it and they try to cure the violence of this sickness."

"But it is you…"

"Who are for me the disease and the cure."

"For those who you are the cure, the pains last long."

"I go away through the light shed by your eyes."

"And it is my own love whose sword kills me."

"A sword that has destroyed many good men."

"Love has no end for me neither I can go into consolation."

"Love is my medicine and my code of law."

"Secretly and openly, love serves to adorn me."

"You bring good fortune to the eye that looks…"

"It fills on you, or manages a gaze."

"Yes! And the choice of love distracts my heart."

When the lady of the house heard these lines, she cried:

"Oh! Oh! Oh!"

Next, she tore her clothes and fell to the ground in a faint. The caliph was astonished to see weals caused by the blows of a whip on her body, but then the doorkeeper got up, sprinkled water over and clothed her with a splendid dress that she had fetched for her sister. When they saw that all the men present were disturbed, as they had no idea what lay behind this, the caliph said to Ja'far:

"Don't you see this girl and the marks of a beating that she is showing?"

"I can't keep quiet without knowing the truth about this girl and the two black bitches."

Ja'far replied:

"Master, they made it a condition that we should not talk about what didn´t concern us, unless we hear what we don´t like."

In this moment, the doorkeeper said:

"Sister, keep your promise and come to me."

The housekeeper said:

"Willingly."

And she took the lute, cradled it to her breasts, touched it with her fingers and recited:

"If I complain of the beloved's absence, what am I to say?"

"Where can I go to reach what I desire?"

"I might send messengers to explain my love."

"But, this is a complaint that no messenger can carry."

"I may endure, but after he has lost his love, the lover's life is short."

"Nothing remains but sorrow and then grief."

"With tears that flood the cheeks."

"You may be absent from my sight, but you have still settled a habitation in my heart."

"I wonder, do you know our covenant?"

"Like flowing water, it doesn´t stay long."

"Have you forgotten that you loved a slave, who finds his cure in tears and wasted flesh?"

"Ah! if this love can unite us once again…"

"I have a long complaint to make to you."

When the doorkeeper heard this second poem, she cried out and said:

"By Allah!"

"This is good!"

Then, she put her hand over her clothes and tore them, as the first girl had done, and fell to the ground in a faint. The housekeeper got up and, after sprinkling her with water, clothed her with a new dress. Then, the doorkeeper rose and took her seat before saying:

"Give me more and pay off the debt that you owe me."

So, the housekeeper brought her lute and recited:

"How long will you so roughly turn from me?"

"Have I not poured out into enough tears?"

"How long do you plan to abandon me?"

"If this is due to those who envy me, then, their envy has been cured."

"This was a treacherous Time to treat a lover fairly."

"He would not pass the night wakeful and wasted by your love."

"Treat me with gentleness, your harshness injures me."

"My ruler, is it not time for mercy to be shown?"

"To whom shall I tell of my love, would you kill me?"

"How disappointed are the hopes of the one who complains."

"When faithfulness is in such short supply!"

"My passion for you and my tears increase."

"While the successive days you avoid me are drawn out."

"Muslims, revenge the lovesick and sleepless man."

"The pasture of whose patience has scant grass."

"Does love's code permit you, who are my desire, to keep me at a distance while another is honored by your union?"

"What delight or ease can the lover find through nearness to its love?"

"Who tries to see that he is weighted down by care?"

When the doorkeeper heard this poem, put her hand on her dress and ripped it down to the bottom. Then, she then fell fainting to the ground, showing marks of a beating.

The dervishes said:

"It would have been better to have slept on a dunghill rather than to have come into this house, where our stay has been clouded by something that cuts at the heart."

Turning to them, the caliph asked:

"Why is that?"

They replied:

"This affair has distressed us."

He asked:

"Do you belong to this household?"

They answered:

"No!"

"We have never been in this place before."

The caliph was surprised and said, gesturing at the doorman:

"This man!"

"He may know about them."

When they asked him, however, he said:

"By Almighty Allah!"

"Love makes us all equal!"

"I have grown up in Baghdad. But, this is the first time in my life that I ever entered this house and how I came to be here with these girls is a special story."

The others said:

"By Allah!"

"We thought that you were one of them, but, now we see that you are like us."

Then, the caliph stated:

"We are seven men and they are three women. There is no fourth. So ask them about themselves, and if they don't reply willingly, we will force them to answer."

Everyone agreed except for Ja'far, who said:

"Let them be!"

"We are their guests and they stated a condition, which we accepted, as you know."

"It would be best to let the matter rest, for there is only a little of the night left and we can then go on our ways."

He winked at the caliph and added:

"There is only an hour left and tomorrow we can summon them to your court and ask for their story."

The caliph raised his head and shouted angrily:

"I can´t wait to hear about them!"

"Let the dervishes question them!"

Ja'far said:

"I don't agree!"

And these two discussed and argued about who should ask the questions until they both agreed that it should be the doorman.

The lady of the house asked what the noise was about and the doorman got up and said to her:

"My lady, these people would like you to tell them the story of the two bitches and how you come to beat them and then weep and kiss them. They also want to know about your sister and why she has been beaten with rods like a man."

"These are their questions to you."

The lady of the house asked the guests:

"Is it true what he is saying?"

And all of them, except for Ja'far, who stayed silent, said:

"Yes!"

When the lady heard this, she told them:

"By Allah!"

"You have done wrong!"

"We started by making it a condition that if any of you talked about what didn´t concern you, unless you hear what would not please you."

"Wasn't it enough for you that we took you into our house and shared our food and drinks with you?"

"But, the fault is not so much yours as that of the one who brought you in to us."

Then, she rolled her sleeve back above the wrist and struck the floor three times, saying: "Hurry!"

At this time, the door of a closet opened and seven black slaves came out with drawn swords in their hands.

She said:

"Tie up these men that talk too much."

"And bind them one to the other."

The slaves did what she said and expressed:

"Lady, give us the order to cut off their heads."

She replied:

"Let them have some time so that I may ask them about their circumstances before their heads are cut off."

The doorman said:

"Allah save me!"

"Don't kill me, lady, for someone else's fault. All the rest have done wrong and have committed a fault except me."

"By Allah!"

"It would have been a pleasant night, but these dervishes entered the prosperous city and then ruined it..."

He recited:

"How good it is when a powerful man forgives."

"Particularly when those forgiven have no helper."

"By the sanctity of the love we share."

"Don´t spoil what came first by what then follows it."

When the doorman had finished reciting these lines, the girl laughed…

To be continued during the eleventh night…