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土耳其

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Once upon a time in the old old days when straws were sieves, and the
camel a chapman, and the mouse a barber, and the cuckoo a tailor, and
the donkey ran errands, and the tortoise baked bread, and I was only
fifteen years old, but my father rocked my cradle, and there was a
miller in the land who had a black cat--in those olden times, I say,
there was a King who had three daughters, and the first daughter was
forty, and the second was thirty, and the third was twenty. One day the
youngest daughter wrote this letter to her father: “My lord father! my
eldest sister is forty and my second sister is thirty, and still thou
hast given neither of them a husband. I have no desire to grow grey in
waiting for a husband.”

The King read the letter, sent for his three daughters, and addressed
them in these words: “Look now! let each one of you shoot an arrow from
a bow and seek her sweetheart wherever her arrow falls!” So the three
damsels took their bows. The eldest damsel’s arrow fell into the palace
of the Vizier’s son, so the Vizier’s son took her to wife. The second
girl’s arrow flew into the palace of the Chief Mufti’s son, so they gave
her to him. The third damsel also fired her arrow, and lo! it stuck in
the hut of a poor young labourer. “That won’t do, that won’t do!” cried
they all. So she fired again, and again the arrow stuck in the hut. She
aimed a third time, and a third time the arrow stuck in the hut of the
poor young labourer. Then the King was wroth and cried to the damsel:
“Look now, thou slut! thou hast got thy deserts. Thy sisters waited
patiently, and therefore they have got their hearts’ desires. Thou wast
the youngest of all, yet didst thou write me that saucy letter, hence
thy punishment. Out of my sight, thou slave-girl, to this husband of
thine, and thou shalt have nought but what he can give thee!” So the
poor damsel departed to the hut of the labourer, and they gave her to
him to wife.

They lived together for a time, and on the tenth day of the ninth month
the time came that she should bear a child, and her husband, the
labourer, hastened away for the midwife. While the husband was thus away
his wife had neither a bed to lie down upon nor a fire to warm herself
by, though grinding winter was upon them. All at once the walls of the
poor hut opened hither and thither, and three beautiful damsels of the
Peri race stepped into it. One stood at the damsel’s head, another at
her feet, the third by her side, and they all seemed to know their
business well. In a moment everything in the poor hut was in order, the
princess lay on a beautiful soft couch, and before she could blink her
eyes a pretty little new-born baby girl was lying by her side. When
everything was finished the three Peris set about going, but first of
all they approached the bed one by one, and the first said:

“Rosa be thy damsel’s name,
     And she shall weep not tears but pearls!”

The second Peri approached the bed and said:

“Rosa be thy damsel’s name,
     The rose shall blossom when she smiles!”

And the third Peri wound up with these words:

“Rosa be thy damsel’s name,
     Sweet verdure in her footsteps spring!”

whereupon they all three disappeared.

Now all this time the husband was seeking a midwife, but could find one
nowhere. What could he do but go home? But when he got back he was
amazed to find everything in the poor hut in beautiful order, and his
wife lying on a splendid bed. Then she told him the story of the three
Peris, and there was no more spirit left in him, so astounded was he.
But the little girl grew more and more lovely from hour to day, and from
day to week, so that there was not another like her in the whole world.
Whosoever looked upon her lost his heart at once, and pearls fell from
her eyes when she wept, roses burst into bloom when she smiled, and a
bright riband of fresh green verdure followed her footsteps. Whosoever
saw her had no more spirit left in him, and the fame of lovely Rosa went
from mouth to mouth.

At last the King of that land also heard of the damsel, and instantly
made up his mind that she and nobody else should be his son’s consort.
So he sent for his son, and told him that there was a damsel in the town
of so rare a beauty that pearls fell from her eyes when she wept, roses
burst into bloom when she smiled, and the earth grew fresh and green
beneath her footsteps, and with that he bade him up and woo her.

Now the Peris had for a long time shown the King’s son the beautiful
Rose-damsel in his dreams, and the sweet fire of love already burned
within him; but he was ashamed to let his father see this, so he hung
back a little. At this his father became more and more pressing, bade
him go and woo her at once, and commanded the chief dame of the palace
to accompany him to the hut of the labourer.

They entered the hut, said on what errand they came, and claimed the
damsel for the King’s son in the name of Allah. The poor folks rejoiced
at their good luck, promised the girl, and began to make ready.

Now this palace dame’s daughter was also a beauty, and not unlike Rosa.
Terribly distressed was the dame that the King’s son should take to wife
a poor labourer’s daughter, instead of her own child; so she made up her
mind to deceive them and put her own daughter in Rosa’s place. So on the
day of the banquet she made the poor girl eat many salted meats, and
then brought a pitcher of water and a large basket, got into the bridal
coach with Rosa and her own daughter, and set out for the palace. As
they were on the road (and a very long time they were about it) the
damsel grew thirsty and asked the palace dame for some water. “Not till
thou hast given me one of thine eyes,” said the palace dame. What could
the poor damsel do?--she was dying with thirst. So she cut out one of
her eyes and gave it for a drink of water.

They went on and on, further and further, and the damsel again became
thirsty and asked for another drink of water. “Thou shalt have it if
thou give me thy other eye,” said the palace dame. And the poor damsel
was so tormented with thirst that she gave the other eye for a drink of
water.

The old dame took the two eyes, pitched the sightless damsel into the
big basket, and left her all alone on the top of a mountain. But the
beautiful bridal robe she put upon her own daughter, brought her to the
King’s son, and gave her to him with the words: “Behold thy wife!” So
they made a great banquet, and when they had brought the damsel to her
bridegroom and taken off her veil, he perceived that the damsel who now
stood before him was not the damsel of his dreams. As, however, she
resembled her a little he said nothing about it to anybody. So they lay
down to rest, and when they rose up again early next morning the King’s
son was quite undeceived, for the damsel of his dreams had wept pearls,
smiled roses, and sweet green herbs had grown up in her footsteps, but
this girl had neither roses nor pearls nor green herbs to show for
herself. The youth felt there was some trickery at work here. This was
not the girl he had meant to have. “How am I to find it all out?”
thought he to himself; but not a word did he say to any one.

While all these things were going on in the palace, poor Rosa was
weeping on the mountain top, and such showers of pearls fell from her by
dint of her sore weeping that there was scarce room to hold them all in
the big basket. Now a mud-carrier happened to be passing by who was
carting mud away, and hearing the weeping of the damsel was terribly
afraid, and cried: “Who art thou?--A Jinn or a Peri?”--“I am neither a
Jinn nor yet a Peri,” replied the damsel, “but the remains of a living
child of man.” Whereupon the mud-raker took courage, opened the basket,
and there a poor sightless damsel was sobbing, and her tears fell from
her in showers of pearls. So he took the damsel by the hand and led her
to his hut, and as the old man had nobody about him he adopted the
damsel as if she were his own child and took care of her. But the poor
girl did nothing but weep for her two eyes, and the old man had all he
could do to pick up the pearls, and whenever they were in want of money
he would take a pearl and sell it, and they lived on whatever he got for
it.

Thus time passed, and there was mirth in the palace, and misery in the
hut of the mud-raker. Now it chanced one day as fair Rosa was sitting in
the hut, that something made her smile, and immediately a rose bloomed.
Then the damsel said to her foster-father, the mud-raker: “Take this
rose, papa, and go with it in front of the palace of the King’s son, and
cry aloud that thou hast roses for sale that are not to be matched in
the wide world. But if the dame of the palace comes out, see that thou
dost not give her the rose for money, but say that thou wilt sell it for
a human eye.”

So the man took the rose and stood in front of the palace, and began to
cry aloud: “A rose for sale, a rose for sale, the like of which is
nowhere to be found.” Now it was not the season for roses, so when the
dame of the palace heard the man crying a rose for sale, she thought to
herself: “I’ll put it in my daughter’s hair, and thus the King’s son
will think that she is his true bride.” So she called the poor man to
her, and asked him what he would sell the rose for? “For nothing,”
replied the man, “for no money told down, but I’ll give it thee for a
human eye.” Then the dame of the palace brought forth one of fair Rosa’s
eyes and gave it for the rose. Then she took it to her daughter, plaited
it in her hair, and when the King’s son saw the rose, he thought of the
Peri of his dreams, but could not understand whither she had gone.
Nevertheless he now fancied he was about to find out, so he said not a
word to any one.

Meanwhile, the old man went home with the eye and gave it to the damsel,
fair Rosa. Then she fitted it in its right place, sighed from her heart
in prayer to Allah, who can do all things; and behold! she could see
right well again with her one eye. The poor girl was so pleased that
she could not help smiling, and immediately another rose sprang forth.
This also she gave to her father that he might walk in front of the
palace and give it for another human eye. The old man took the rose, and
scarcely had he begun crying it before the palace when the old dame
again heard him. “He has just come at the nick of time,” thought she;
“the King’s son has begun to love my rose-bedizened daughter; if I can
only get this rose also, he will love her still better, and this
serving-wench will go out of his mind altogether.” So she called the
mud-raker to her and asked for the rose, but again he would not take
money for it, though he was willing to let her have it in exchange for a
human eye. Then the old woman gave him the second eye, and the old man
hastened home with it and gave it to the damsel. Rosa immediately put it
in its proper place, prayed to Allah, and was so rejoiced when her two
bright eyes sparkled with living light that she smiled all the day, and
roses bloomed on every side of her. Henceforth she was lovelier than
ever. Now one day beautiful Rosa went for a walk, and as she smiled
continually as she walked along, roses bloomed around her and the ground
grew fresh and green beneath her feet. The palace dame saw her and was
terrified. What will become of me, she thought, if the affair of this
damsel comes to be known? She knew where the poor mud-scraper lived, so
she went all alone to his dwelling, and terrified him by telling him
that he had an evil witch in his house. The poor man had never seen a
witch, so he was terrified to death, and asked the palace dame what he
had better do. “Find out, first of all, what her talisman is,” advised
the palace dame, “and then I’ll come and do the rest.”

So the first thing the old man did when the damsel came home was to ask
her how she, a mere child of man, had come to have such magic power. The
damsel, suspecting no ill, said that she had got her talisman from the
three Peris, and that pearls, roses, and fresh sweet verdure would
accompany her so long as her talisman was alive.

“What then is thy talisman?” asked the old man.

“A little deer on the hill-top;
     If it die, I also dead drop,”

answered she.

The next day the palace dame came thither in the utmost misery, heard
all about it from the mud-scraper, and hastened home with great joy. She
told her daughter that on the top of the neighbouring hill was a little
deer which she should ask her husband to get for her. That very same day
the Sultana told her husband of the little deer on the top of the hill,
and begged and implored him to get her its heart to eat. And after not
many days the Prince’s men caught the little deer and killed it, and
took out its heart and gave it to the Sultana. At the same instant when
they killed the little fawn fair Rosa died. The mud-raker sorrowed over
her till he could sorrow no more, and then took and buried her.

Now in the heart of the little fawn there was a little red coral eye
which nobody took any notice of. When the Sultana ate the heart, the
little red coral eye fell out and rolled down the steps as if it wanted
to hide itself.

Time went on, and in not more than nine months and ten days the Prince’s
consort was brought to bed of a little daughter, who wept pearls when
she cried, dropt roses when she smiled, and sweet green herbs sprang up
in her footsteps.

When the Prince saw it he mused and mused over it, the little girl was
the very image of fair Rosa, and not a bit like the mother who had borne
her. So his sleep was no repose to him, till one night fair Rosa
appeared to him in his dreams and spoke these words to him: “Oh, my
prince! oh, my betrothed! my soul is beneath thy palace steps, my body
is in the tomb, thy little girl is my little girl, my talisman is the
little coral eye.”

The Prince had no sooner awakened than he went to the staircase and
searched about, and lo! there was the little coral eye. He picked it up,
took it into his chamber, and laid it on the table. Meanwhile, the
little girl entered the room, saw the red coral, and scarcely had she
laid hold of it than she vanished as if she had never been. The three
Peris had carried off the child and taken her to her mother’s tomb, and
scarcely had she placed the coral eye in the dead woman’s mouth than she
awoke up to a new life.

But the King’s son was not easy in his mind. He went to the cemetery,
had the tomb opened, and there in her coffin lay the Rose-beauty of his
dreams, with her little girl in her arms and the coral talisman in her
mouth. They arose from the tomb and embraced him, and pearls fell from
the eyes of both of them as they wept, and roses from their mouths as
they smiled, and sweet green herbs grew up in their footsteps.

The palace dame and her daughter paid for their crimes, but beautiful
Rosa and her father and her mother, the Sultan’s daughter, were all
re-united, and for forty days and forty nights they held high revel
amidst the beating of drums and the tinkling of cymbals.