A king of former times had an only son, whom he contracted in marriage to the daughter of another king. But the damsel, who was endowed with great beauty, had a cousin who had sought her in marriage, and had been rejected; wherefore he sent great presents to the vizier of the king just mentioned, requesting him to employ some stratagem by which to destroy his master’s son, or to induce him to relinquish the damsel. The vizier consented. Then the father of the damsel sent to the king’s son, inviting him to come and introduce himself to his daughter, to take her as his wife; and the father of the young man sent him with the treacherous vizier, attended by a thousand horsemen, and provided with rich presents. When they were proceeding over the desert, the vizier remembered that there was near unto them a spring of water called Ez-zahra, and that whosoever drank of it, if he were a man, became a woman. He therefore ordered the troops to alight near it, and He remained by the fountain during a period of three days and nights, neither eating nor drinking, and on the fourth night there came to him a horseman with a crown upon his head, appearing like one of the sons of the kings. This horseman said to him, “Who brought you, O young man, unto this place?” So the young man told him his story; and when the horseman heard it, he pitied him, and said to him, “The vizier of thy father is the person who hath thrown thee into this calamity; for no one of mankind knoweth of this spring excepting one man.” Then the horseman ordered him to mount with him. He therefore mounted; and the horseman said to him, “Come with me to my abode: for thou art my guest this night.” The young man replied, “Inform me who thou art before So the young man proceeded with him from the commencement of the day, forsaking his troops and soldiers (whom the vizier had left at their halting-place), and ceased not to travel on with his conductor until midnight, when the son of the king of the Jinn said to him, “Knowest thou what space we have traversed during this period?” The young man answered him, “I know not.” The son of the king of the Jinn said, “We have traversed a space of a year’s journey to him who travelleth with diligence.” So the young man wondered thereat, and asked, “How shall I return to my family?” The other answered, “This is not thine affair. It is my affair; and when thou shalt have recovered from thy misfortune, thou shalt return to thy family in less time than the twinkling of an eye, for to accomplish that will be to me easy.” The young man, on hearing these words from the Jinnee, almost flew with excessive delight. He thought that the event was a result of confused dreams, and said, “Extolled be the perfection of him who is able to restore the wretched, and render him prosperous!” They ceased not to proceed until morning, when The young prince drank of it, and immediately became again a man, as he was at first, by the power of God (whose name be exalted!), whereat he rejoiced with great joy, not to be exceeded. And he said to the Jinn, “O my brother, what is the name of this spring?” The Jinnee answered, “It is called the Spring of the Women: no woman drinketh of it but she becometh a man; therefore praise God, and thank Him for thy restoration, and mount thy courser.” So the king’s son prostrated himself, thanking God (whose name be exalted!). Then he mounted, and they journeyed with diligence during the rest of the day until they had returned to the land of the Jinnee, and the young man passed the night in his abode in the most comfortable manner; after which they ate and drank until the next night, when the son of the king of the Jinn said to him, “Dost thou desire to return to thy family this night?” The young man answered, “Yes.” So the son of the king of the Jinn called one of his father’s slaves, whose name was RÁjiz, and said to him, “Take this young man hence, and carry him upon thy shoulders, and let not the dawn overtake him before he is with his father-in-law and his wife.” The slave replied, “I hear and obey, and with feelings of love and honour will I do it.” —— Transcriber's Note Minor punctuation errors have been repaired. Archaic and variable spelling, e.g. corse and corpse, is preserved as printed where there was no predominance of one form over the other. "The Relations of Ssidi Kur" contains phrasing at the end of each story, beginning with the word 'Ssarwala,' which is similar but not identical each time it occurs. While two seemingly typographic errors have been amended for consistency, the phrases are otherwise preserved as printed in each case. The following amendments have been made, for consistency: Page 21—El-Yeman amended to El-Yemen—"... and while he was proceeding over the deserts of El-Yemen ..." Page 58—jackzang amended to jakzang—"... thou hast spoken words:—Ssarwala missbrod jakzang! ..." Page 88—Swarwala amended to Ssarwala—"Ssarwala missdood jakzang!" Page 115—aerlic amended to aerliks—"And the two aerliks (fiends) cried, ..." Page 118—evil-doer amended to evildoer—"... That the evildoer may be really discovered, ..." |