THE STORY OF THE PORTER WITH THE YOUNG LADIES
Harun al-Rashid
Source
Amina starts her story. She becomes rich after being widowed. Then, she is tricked to come to a wedding where she gets a marriage proposal to the brother of the bride.
ON THE TWENTY-SIXTH NIGHT
Sheherazade said:
When she heard the words of the caliph, the young Amina came forward and said:
THE STORY OF AMINA
“O Emir of the Faithful, I will not repeat to you the words of my sister Zobeida about our parents. Know then that, when our father died, me and my sister, the youngest of us five, Fahima, we went to live alone with our mother, while my sister Zobeida and the two others went to live with their own mother.
Shortly after, my mother married me to a rich old man, the richest man in town and in his time. Also, a year later, my old husband died in the peace of Allah, and left me as my legal share of inheritance, according to our official code, eighty thousand dinars of gold.
So I hastened to order myself ten magnificent dresses, each dress for a thousand dinars. And I didn't deprive myself of anything.
One of the days, as I was sitting at my ease, an old woman came to visit me. This old woman, I had never seen her before. She was horrible: her face was as ugly as an old behind: she had a crushed nose, peeled eyebrows, old libertine eyes, broken teeth, a dripping nose, and a crooked neck. Moreover, it is well described by the poet who said:
This ominous old woman! If Iblis saw her, she would teach him all the tricks, even without speaking, just by her silence! She could unravel a thousand stubborn mules that got tangled up in a spider's web, and she wouldn't tear the spider's web! She knows how to cast bad luck and commit all the horrors: she tickled a little girl's ass, she copulated with a teenager, she fornicated with a mature woman, and she turned on an old woman by exciting her!
So this old woman entered my house and greeted me and said to me: “O lady full of graces and qualities! I have a young orphan girl at home, and tonight is her wedding night. And I come to pray to you — and Allah will know how to grant you the reward and the recompense of your goodness! — to want to honor us by attending the wedding of this poor girl who is so afflicted and so humble, who knows no one here and who has only Allah the Most High for her!" At these words, the old woman began to cry and kiss my feet. And I, who did not know all her perfidy, had pity and compassion on her and I said to her: “I listen and I obey!" So she said to me: “Now I am going to go, with your permission, and you, meanwhile, get ready and get dressed, because I, towards the evening, will come back to take you. Then she kissed my hand and went away.
So, I got up, and I went to the hammam, and I perfumed myself; then I chose the most beautiful of my ten new dresses and dressed in it; then I put on my beautiful necklace of noble pearls, my bracelets, my pendants, and all my jewels; then I put on my great blue veil of silk and gold, I wrapped my waist in my brocade sash, and I put on my little face veil, after having laid down kohl in my eyes. And here comes the old woman who says to me: “O my mistress, the house is already full of relatives of the husband, who are the noblest ladies in the city. I informed them of your certain arrival, and they were very happy, and now they are all looking forward to you." So I took some of my slaves with me, and we all went out and walked until we came to a wide, well-watered street where the cool breeze was blowing. And we saw a large marble portal surmounted by a cupola supported by arches, all in alabaster, and monumental. And through this portal, we saw, within, a palace so high that it touched the clouds. So we went in and, having reached the door of this palace, the old woman knocked on the door and it was opened. We entered and found first a corridor hung with rugs and hangings, and from the ceiling colored lamps were hung and lighted, and lighted torches were set all along; and there were also, hanging on the walls, gold and silver objects, jewels, and weapons of precious metal. And we crossed this corridor, and we arrived in a room so marvelous that it is useless to describe it.
In the middle of this room, which was all hung with silks, there was an alabaster bed enriched with fine pearls and precious stones, and covered with a satin mosquito net.
When she saw us, a young girl came out from inside the bed, and she was like the moon. And she said to me: “Marhaba! Ahlan! oua sahlan! O my sister, you do us the greatest human honor! Anastina! And you are a sweet consolation to us and you are our pride!" Then, in my honor, she recited these verses from the poet:
If the very stones of the house had heard of the visit of the charming guest,
They would have rejoiced, they would have announced the good news to one another,
They would have bowed to the trace of his steps!
They would have exclaimed, in their language: “Ahlan! oua sahlan!
For people full of generosity and greatness!
Then she sat down and said to me: “O my sister! I must tell you that I have a brother who saw you one day at a wedding. He is a very well-made young man, and much more handsome than myself. And, since that night, he has loved you with a loving and very ardent heart. And it was he who gave some money to the old woman to go to your house and bring you here by the expedient she employed. And he did this to meet with you at my house; because my brother has no other desire than to marry you in this year blessed by Allah and by his Messenger. And there is no shame in doing the lawful things!"
At this point in her narration, Sheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent.
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Twenty-fourth Night - Twenty-fifth Night