The Rose-beauty

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.