The Story of the Fisherman with the Efreet
The king, after hearing the young man's story, takes the matter into his hands in such a way that he delivers the young man.
Then he continues with the deliverance of the inhabitants of the city, the fish.
ON THE TENTH NIGHT
Sheherazade said:
The young bewitched man, after these words, began to cry and recited these verses:
Waiting for your justice, O my God, and for your judgment,
I am patient since such is your goodwill!
But I am suffocating in my misfortunes! And I have no other recourse than you, Lord,
O God whom our blessed Prophet adores!
Then the king turned to the young man and said to him: “You have added pain to my pains! But tell me, where is this woman?" He answered: "In the tomb where the negro is under the cupola. She comes to my house every day. After which, she comes to me and strips me of my clothes and beats me a hundred lashes while I cry and cry, and I cannot move to defend myself against her. Then, after having thus chastised me, she returns to the negro, bringing him wine and boiled drinks morning and evening." The king said: “By Allah! O brave young man, I must render you a memorable service and a benefit that will pass, after me, into the realm of history!" Then the king continued the conversation until night approached. Then the king got up and waited for the night time of the wizards to come. Then he undressed, girded his sword, and walked over to where the black man was. There he saw the candles and lanterns hanging; he also saw the incense, perfumes, and all ointments. Then he went straight to the black man, hit him, and killed him. Then he loaded it on his back and threw it down a well in the palace. Then he returned, dressed himself in the negro's clothes, and walked for a moment under the dome brandishing in his hand his naked sword in all its length.
After an hour, the witch, the debauchee, came to the young man. As soon as she entered, she undressed her uncle's son and took a whip, and beat him with it. So he shouted, “Ouch! Ouch! that's enough! My misfortune is already terrible enough! Oh ! have mercy on me!" She answered: "And you, did you take pity on me? Did you spare my lover? No! Well, wait!" So she put the goatskin coat on him and put the other coats on top of it. After which she went down to the negro, bringing him the cup of wine and the bowl of boiled plants. And she went into the cupola, and wept and lamented, crying: “Ooh! oh!" and said: "O my master, speak to me! O my master, talk with me!" Then she recited these verses painfully:
Will it still last, oh my heart! this distance so hard?
The love with which you have penetrated me is already torture beyond my strength!
Oh! how long will you continue to flee from me!...
If you only wanted my distress and my sad misery, go, be happy, your wish is accomplished!
Then she burst into tears and repeated: “O master, speak to me, let me hear you! Then the king pretending to be the black man stuck his tongue out and began to imitate black people's speech, and said, “Ha! ha! There is no strength and power except with the help of Allah!" When she heard his words (it had been so long since he had spoken), she cried out for joy and fainted; but she came to herself and said: “Oh! is my master cured?" So the king disguised his voice and made it very weak and said: “O libertine! you don't deserve me to talk to you!" She said: "And why is that?" He replied: "Because all day you do nothing but chastise your husband, and he cries out and asks for help, and all this takes my sleep away from me all night until morning. And your husband keeps imploring you and asking for your mercy, so much that his voice gives me insomnia. Without all that, I would have regained my strength a long time ago. And that is precisely what prevents me from answering you." She said: "Then since you ordered it, I will deliver him from the state in which he is!" And the king said to him: “Yes! deliver him and give us peace of mind!" She said: “I hear and I obey!” Then she got up and left the cupola. Entering the palace, she took a copper bowl filled with water and spoke magic words over it. And the water began to boil as the water boils in a pot. Then she sprinkled the young man with it and said: “By the force of the words spoken, I summon you to leave this form to resume your first form!" And the young man shook himself and rose to his feet, and rejoiced at his deliverance, and cried out: "I testify that there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah! May the blessing and peace of Allah be upon him!" Then she said to him: "Go away and don't come back here, otherwise I will kill you!" And she shouted in his face. So he went out. And she returned to the dome and came down and said: “O my master, arise, let me see you!" And he, very weak, said: “Oh! you haven't done anything yet! You only gave me back a part of my tranquility, but you did not remove the main cause of my trouble!" And she said, “O my darling, but what is this main cause?" He said: "The fish in the lake, which are none other than the inhabitants of the old city and the four islands of old, do not cease, every midnight, to raise their heads out of the water and to make curses against you and me. And this is the reason that prevents me from regaining my strength. So it's up to you to deliver them! And then you can come and take me by the hand and help me get up because I will certainly be healthy again!" When she heard the words of the king, whom she believed to be the black man, she said to him, very joyfully: “O my master, your will I put on my head and in my eye!" And having said: “In the name of Allah!" She got up very happy and started to run and, when she reached the lake, she took a little water and...
— At this point in her narration, Scheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent.
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