The Story of the Fisherman with the Efreet
The vizier sees what happens in the kitchen, then the king did the same.
And everybody goes on an expedition to the lake with colorful fish.
And the king discovers a black palace that seems deserted. But is it really deserted?
ON THE SEVENTH NIGHT
Sheherazade said:
It has come to me, O fortunate King, that when the fish began to speak, the maiden knocked the frying pan over with her wand, and went out through the place from which she had entered, and the wall welded together. Then the vizier stood up and said: “That is a matter that I cannot really hide from the king!" Then he went to the king and told him what had happened in his presence. And the king said, "I must see this with my own eyes!" And he sent for the fisherman and commanded him to come back with four fish like the first ones, and gave him three days for this purpose. But the fisherman quickly returned to the pond and immediately brought back four fish. Then the king ordered that he be given four hundred dinars; and, turning to the vizier, he said: "Prepare yourself, before me, these fish!" And the vizier answered: "I execute and I obey!" So he had the frying pan carried before the king and put the fish in it to fry, after having cleaned them well; then, once cooked on one side, he turned them over to the other side. And suddenly the wall of the kitchen split open and out came a black man like a buffalo among the buffaloes or one of the giants of the tribe of Had, and he held in his hand a branch of a green tree; and he said in a distinct and terrible voice: “Fish, O fish! do you still keep your old promise?" And the fish looked up from inside the pan and said, “Yes, indeed! yes, of course!" And in chorus they declaimed this construction of verse:
If you come back, we will come back!
If you keep your promise, we'll keep ours!
But if you balk, we'll scream until you do well!
Then the black guy approached the frying pan and knocked it over with the branch, and the fish burned and became black coal. The black man then departed by the same place from which he had entered. When he disappeared from the sight of all of them, the king said: “This is a matter about which we really cannot remain silent. Besides, there is no doubt, these fish must have a strange history." He then ordered the fisherman to come, and when the fisherman arrived, he said to him: “Where did this fish come from?" He answered: “From a pond situated between four hills behind the mountain which dominates your city! And the king turned to the fisherman and said: "How many days does it take to get there?" He replied: “O our lord the sultan! it only takes half an hour! And the sultan was greatly surprised and ordered the guards to accompany the fisherman at once. And the fisherman, much annoyed, began to secretly curse the efreet. And the king and all departed and went up into a mountain, and came down into a vast solitude which they had never seen before in their lives. And the sultan and the soldiers were surprised by this deserted expanse located between four mountains, and by this pond where fish of four different colors were playing: red, white, yellow, and blue. And the king stopped and said to the soldiers and to all who were present: “Have any of you seen this lake before in this place? They all replied, “Oh, no!" And the king said: “By Allah! I will not return to my city and sit on the throne of my kingdom until I know the truth about this lake and the fish in it!" And he ordered the soldiers to surround these mountains, and the soldiers did. Then the king called his vizier. This vizier was a scholar, a wise, eloquent man, versed in all the sciences. When he presented himself in the hands of the king, the king said to him: "I intend to do one thing and will first let you know: I have come up with the idea of isolating myself completely. tonight, and to seek alone the explanation of the mystery of this lake and its fish. You, therefore, you will stand at the door of my tent and you will say to the emirs, viziers, and chamberlains: “The sultan is indisposed and has given me the order not to let anyone into his house!" And you won't reveal my intention to anyone!" The vizier could hardly disobey. So the king disguised himself, took his sword, and slipped away from his entourage unseen. And he began to walk all night until morning without stopping, until the moment when the heat, which had become too strong, forced him to rest. After which he resumed walking for the rest of the day and the second night until morning. And behold, he saw in the distance a black thing; he rejoiced and said to himself: “It is likely that I will find someone there who will tell me this story of the lake and its fish!" As he approached this black thing, he saw that it was a palace built entirely of black stones, braced with large blades of iron, and he saw that in the entrance one door was open and the other closed. Then he rejoiced and, stopping at the door, he knocked softly; but, hearing no answer, he knocked a second and third time; then, hearing no answer, he knocked a fourth time, but very violently: and no one answered him. So he said to himself: “There is no doubt that this palace is deserted." Then, giving himself courage, he entered through the door of the palace and came to a corridor. There, aloud he said: “O masters of the palace, I am a stranger, a passer-by on the way, and I ask you for some provisions for the journey!" Then he repeated his request a second and a third time; but hearing no answer, he strengthened his heart and fortified his soul and entered through the corridor to the middle of the palace. And he found no one there. But he saw that the whole palace was sumptuously hung with tapestries and that, in the middle of the inner courtyard, there was a basin surmounted by four red gold lions, which let water gush from their mouths in sparkling pearls and precious stones; all around there were many birds which could not fly out of the palace, prevented by a large net which extended above the palace. And the king marveled at all this, but he was grieved that he could not find anyone who could finally reveal to him the riddle of the lake, the fish, the mountains, and the palace. Then he sat between two doors thinking deeply. But suddenly he heard a faint complaint which came as from a sad heart, and he heard a soft voice humming these verses:
My sufferings! Oh! I could not keep them secret, and my lovesickness was revealed.
And now the sleep of my eyes has turned to insomnia in the night.
Oh, Love! He came to my voice, but also what tortures my thoughts!
Pity! Let me rest! And above all, don't go and visit She who is my whole soul, to make her suffer!
For She is my consolation in sorrows and perils!
— At this point in her narration, Scheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent.
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