The Story of the Fisherman with the Efreet
Source
Notes:
- To kiss the earth between the hands of the king means to bow to the ground and kiss the floor in front of the king.
ON THE THIRD NIGHT
Sheherazade started again:
THE STORY OF THE VIZIER OF KING IOUNANE AND THE DOCTOR ROUIANE
The fisherman said:
“Know, O you efreet, that there was, in the antiquity of time and the past of the age and the moment, in the city of Fars, in the country of the Roumanns, a king named Iounane. He was rich and powerful, a master of armies, great forces, and allies of all kinds of men. But his body was afflicted with leprosy for which the doctors and the scholars had despaired. Neither drugs, pills, nor ointments worked on him, and none of the doctors could find an effective cure for him. Now, one day, a famous old doctor, called Rouiane, came to the city of King Iounane. He was versed in Greek, Persian, Roman, Arabic, and Syrian books; he had studied medicine and astronomy, of which he knew very well the principles and the rules, and the good and bad effects; possessed the virtues of both dry and fat plants and herbs, and their good and bad effects; he had finally studied philosophy and all the medical sciences and other sciences as well. Also, when the doctor entered the city and stayed there for a few days, he learned the story of the king and leprosy that afflicted his body by the will of Allah, and also the absolute failure of the treatments of all the doctors and scientists. At this news, the doctor spent the night very preoccupied. But when he awoke in the morning - and the light of day shone and the sun greeted the world, this magnificent setting of the Very Good - he dressed up in his finest clothes, and entered the palace of King Iounane. Then he kissed the earth between his hands and made wishes for the eternal duration of his power and the graces of Allah and all the best things. Then he spoke and told him who he was, and said, “I have heard of the evil that has struck you in your body, and I learned that most doctors couldn't find a way to stop it. Now, I will treat you, O king, and I will not give you medicine to drink and I will not smear you with ointments!" At these words, King Iounane marveled prodigiously, and said: “How will you do it? But, by Allah! if you heal me, I will enrich you to the sons of your sons, and I will grant you all your wishes and their fulfillment, and you will be my drinking companion and my friend!" Thereupon the king gave him a beautiful robe and presents, and said to him: "Truly, you will cure me of this disease without medicines or ointments?" He answered: “Yes, of course! I will heal you without fatigue or pain in your body." Then the king was astonished most prodigiously, and said to him: “O great physician, what day and what moment will see what you have just said come true? Make haste, O my child!" He answered: “I listen and I obey!” »
So he came down from the king's palace and hired a house where he put his books, his remedies, and his aromatic plants. Then he made extracts from his medicines and his simples, fashioned a short, curved mallet of which he dug the end, and fitted a cane to it; and he also made a ball as best he could. When he had completely finished his work, he went up to the king on the second day, entered his palace, and kissed the earth between his hands. Then he ordered him to go to the maidan on horseback and to play boules and the mallet.
The king was accompanied by his emirs, his chamberlains, his viziers, and the heads of the kingdom. No sooner had he gone to the maidan than the physician Rouiane arrived and handed him the mallet, saying: “Take this mallet and grasp it this way; strike the ground of the maïdan and the ball with all your strength. And make sure you manage to sweat from the palm and the whole body. In this way, the remedy will penetrate your palm and circulate throughout your body. When you have sweated and the remedy has had time to act, return to the palace, and then go to the hammam to bathe. And then you will be healed. And now peace be with you!"
Then King Iounane seized the doctor's mallet with the whole hand. For their part, chosen riders mounted their horses and threw the ball at him. Then he began to gallop behind it, to reach it and strike it violently, still holding the mallet firmly in his hand. And he did not stop hitting the ball until his palm and whole body had perspired. So the remedy penetrated through the palm and circulated throughout the body. When doctor Rouiane saw that the remedy had circulated in the body, he ordered the king to return to the palace and go to the hammam to take a bath immediately. And King Iounane returned immediately and ordered that the hammam be prepared for him. It was prepared for him, and for this purpose, the upholsterers hastened actively and the slaves crowded in emulation and prepared the linen. Then the king entered the hammam and took a bath, then got dressed inside the hammam itself, from which he came out to get back on horseback and return to the palace, sleep there.
So much for King Iounane. As for the doctor Rouiane, he went back to bed at home, woke up in the morning, went up to the king, asked his permission to enter, which the king allowed him, entered, kissed the earth between his hands, and began to declaim a few stanzas with gravity:
If Eloquence chose you as its father, it would bloom again!
And no one other than you she can no longer elect!
O radiant countenance whose clarity would erase the flame of a burning ember!
May this glorious face remain luminous in its freshness
Long enough to see the wrinkles furrow the face of Time!
You covered me with the benefits of your generosity,
As the beneficent cloud covers the hill!
Your high exploits have made you reach the heights of glory,
And you are the darling of Destiny who has nothing more to refuse you!
The verses recited, the king rose to his feet and threw himself affectionately on the doctor's neck. Then he made him sit next to him and presented him with magnificent robes of honor.
In fact, when the king came out of the hammam, he looked at his body and found no trace of leprosy; and his skin had become pure as virgin silver. He had rejoiced then with the most excessive joy, and his chest had widened and dilated. When morning had risen, the king had entered the diwan, and sat down on his throne: and the chamberlains and nobles of the kingdom had entered; and also the doctor Rouiane: it was then that, on seeing him, the king rose eagerly and made him sit down by his side. So they were both served food and food and drink throughout the day. At nightfall, the king gave the doctor two thousand dinars, not counting robes of honor and presents, and gave him his own horse to ride. And so the doctor took his leave and went back to his house.
As for the king, he never ceased to admire the art of the doctor prodigiously and to say: “He treated me from the outside of my body, without coating me with ointment! But, by Allah! that is a sublime science! I must therefore fill this man with the benefits of my generosity, and take him as a companion and affectionate friend forever!" And King Iounane went to bed joyfully, seeing himself sound in body and delivered from his illness.
When therefore the king came in the morning and sat down on his throne, the heads of the nation stood in his hands, and the emirs and viziers sat on his right and on his left. He then asked for the doctor Rouiane who came and kissed the earth between his hands. So the king stood up for him, made him sit by his side, ate with him, wished him long life, and gave him robes of honor and other things. Then he did not cease conversing with him until night approached; and he gave him, as remuneration, five robes of honor and a thousand dinars. And so the doctor returned to his house, making wishes for the king.
When morning rose, the king entered the diwan, surrounded by the emirs, viziers, and chamberlains. Now among the viziers, there was a repulsive-looking vizier, with a sinister and ominous countenance, terrible, sordidly miserly, envious, and steeped in jealousy and hatred. When this vizier saw the king place the doctor Rouiane at his side and grant him all his benefits, he was jealous and secretly resolved his loss, according to the proverb which says: "The envious attacks everyone, the Oppression lies in ambush in the heart of the envious: strength reveals it and weakness holds it latent." The vizier then approached King Iounane, kissed the earth between his hands, and said: "O king of the century and of time, you who enveloped humans in your benefits, you have in me a council of prodigious importance, and that I could not hide from you without really being an adulterine son: if you order me to reveal it to you, I will reveal it to you!" Then the king, troubled by the vizier's words, said: "And what is your advice?" He replied, "O glorious king, the ancients said: He who does not look at the end and the consequences will not have fortune as a friend, - and I have just seen the king lack judgment, in granting his benefits to his enemy, to the one who desires the destruction of his reign, by showering him with favors, by overwhelming him with generosity. Now, I am, because of this, in the greatest fear for the king!" At these words, the king was extremely troubled, changed color, and said: "Who is it that you claim to be my enemy, and who would have been showered with my favors?" He replied, “O king, if you are asleep, wake up! because I am referring to the doctor Rouiane!" The king said to him: "This is my good friend, and he is the dearest of men to me, for he treated me with a thing that I held in my hand, and delivered me from my illness who had despaired the doctors! But, of course! there is none like him in this century, in the whole world, in the West as in the East! Also, how dare you say these things about him? As for me, from this day I will allocate wages and salaries to him so that he will have a thousand dinars a month! Besides, even if I gave him half of my kingdom, it wouldn't be much for him! So I strongly believe that you say all this only out of jealousy, as is told in the story, which has come down to me, of King Sindabad!"
— At this moment, Scheherazade was surprised by the morning and stopped in her narration. Then Doniazade said to her: “O my sister, how sweet are your words, and kind, and delicious, and pure!" And Scheherazade said to her: "But what is that compared to what I will tell you both next night, if I am still alive, and if the king will keep me!" Then the king said in his soul: “By Allah! I will not kill her until I have heard the rest of her story, which is a marvelous story, indeed!" Then they both spent the night, embracing until morning. And the king went out to his hall of justice, and the diwan was filled with people. And the king judged and appointed, and dismissed, and ruled, and finished the pending business, and that unto the end of the day. Then the diwan was lifted, and the king entered his palace. When night approached he did his usual thing with Scheherazade, the vizier's daughter.