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Story Of Jullanar Of The SeaStory Of Jullanar Of The Sea
Story Of Jullanar Of The Sea
There was, in olden time, and in an ancient age and period, in the land
of the Persians, a King named Shah-Zeman, and the place of his residence was
Khurasan. He had a hundred concubines; but he had not been blest, during his
whole life, with a male child by any of them, nor a female; and he reflected
upon this, one day, and lamented that the greater portion of his life had
passed, and he had not been blessed with a male child to inherit the kingdom
after him as he had inherited it from his fathers and forefathers. So the
utmost grief, and violent vexation, befell him on this account.
Now while he was sitting one day, one of his memluks came in to him, and
said to him, O my lord, at the door is a slave-girl with a merchant: none
more beautiful than she hath been seen. And he replied, Bring to me the
merchant and the slave-girl. The merchant and the slave-girl therefore
came to him; and when he saw her, he found her to resemble the Rudeyni^1
lance. She was wrapped in an izar of silk embroidered with gold, and the
merchant uncovered her face, whereupon the place was illuminated by her
beauty, and there hung down from her forehead seven locks of hair reaching to
her anklets, like the tails of horses. She had eyes bordered with kohl, and
heavy hips, and slender waist: she was such as would cure the malady of the
sick, and extinguish the fire of the thirsty, and was as the poet hath said in
these verses: -
[Footnote 1: Rudeyneh and her husband Semher, of Khatt Hejer, were famous for
making straight spear-shafts.]
I am enamoured of her: she is perfect in beauty, and perfect also in gravity
and in dignity.
She is neither tall nor short; but her hips are such that the izar is too
narrow for them.
Her stature is a mean between the small and the large: so there is neither
tallness nor shortness to find fault with.
Her hair reacheth to her anklets, [and is black as night,] but her face is
ever like the day.
The King, therefore wondered at the sight of her, and at her beauty and
loveliness, and her stature and justness of form; and he said to the merchant,
O sheykh, for how much is this damsel to be sold? The merchant answered, O my
lord, I purchased her for two thousand pieces of gold of the merchant who
owned her before me, and I have been for three years travelling with her, and
she hath cost, to the period of her arrival at this place, three thousand
pieces of gold; and she is a present from me unto thee. Upon this, the King
conferred upon him a magnificent robe of honour, and gave orders to present
him with ten thousand pieces of gold. So he took them, and kissed the hands of
the King, thanking him for his bounty and beneficence, and departed. Then the
King committed the damsel to the tirewomen, saying to them, Amend the state of
this damsel, and deck her, and furnish for her a private chamber, and take her
into it. He also gave orders to his chamberlains that every thing which she
required should be conveyed to her. The seat of government where he resided
was on the shore of the sea, and his city was called the White City. And they
conducted the damsel into a private chamber, which chamber had windows
overlooking the sea; and the King commanded his chamberlains to close all the
doors upon her after taking to her all that she required.
The King then went in to visit the damsel; but she rose not to him, nor
took any notice of him. So the King said, It seemeth that she hath been with
people who have not taught her good manners. And looking at the damsel, he saw
her to be a person surpassing in beauty and loveliness, and in stature and
justness of form; her face was like the disk of the moon at the full, or the
shining sun in the clear sky; and he wondered at her beauty and loveliness,
and stature and justness of form, extolling the perfection of God, the
Creator: lauded be his power! Then the King advanced to the damsel, and seated
himself by her side, pressed her to his bosom, and seated her upon his thigh;
and he kissed her lips, which he found to be sweeter than honey. After this,
he gave orders to bring tables of the richest viands, comprising dishes of
every kind; and the King ate, and put morsels into her mouth until she was
satisfied, but she spoke not a single word. The King talked to her, and
inquired of her her name; but she was silent, not uttering a word, nor
returning him an answer, ceasing not to hang down her head towards the ground;
and what protected her from the anger of the King was the excess of her beauty
and loveliness, and her tenderness of manner. So the King said within himself,
Extolled be the perfection of God, the Creator of this damsel! How elegant is
she, saving that she doth not speak! But perfection belongeth unto God, whose
name be exalted! - Then the King asked the female slaves whether she had
spoken; and they answered him, From the time of her arrival to the present
moment she hath not spoken one word, and we have not heard her talk. The King
therefore caused some of the female slaves and concubines to come, and ordered
them to sing to her, and to make merry with her, thinking that then she might
perhaps speak. Accordingly the female slaves and concubines played before her
with all kinds of musical instruments, and enacted sports and other
performances, and they sang so that every one who was present was moved with
delight, except the damsel, who looked at them and was silent, neither
laughing nor speaking. So the heart of the King was contracted. He however
inclined to her entirely, paying no regard to others, but relinquishing all
the rest of his concubines and favourites.
He remained with her a whole year, which seemed as one day, and still she
spoke not; and he said to her one day, when his love of her, and his passion,
were excessive, O desire of souls, verily the love that I have for thee is
great, and I have relinquished for thy sake all my female slaves, and the
concubines and the women and the favourites, and made thee my worldly portion,
and been patient with thee a whole year. I beg God (whose name be exalted!)
that He will, in his grace, soften thy heart towards me, and that thou mayest
speak to me. Or, if thou be dumb, inform me by a sign, that I may give up hope
of thy speaking. I also beg of God (whose perfection be extolled!) that He
will bless me by thee with a male child that may inherit my kingdom after me;
for I am single and solitary, having none to be my heir, and my age hath
become great. I conjure thee then by Allah, if thou love me, that thou return
me a reply. - And upon this, the damsel hung down her head towards the ground,
meditating. Then she raised her head, and smiled in the face of the King,
whereat it appeared to the King that lightning filled the private chamber; and
she said, O magnanimous King, and bold lion, God hath answered thy prayer; for
I am about to bear thee issue, and the time is [almost] come. But I know not
whether the child is male or female. And were it not for my being in this
state, I had not spoken to thee one word. - And when the King heard what she
said, his face brightened up with joy and happiness, and he kissed her head
and her hands by reason of the violence of his joy, and said, Praise be to God
who hath favoured me with things that I desired; the first, thy speaking; and
the second, thy information that thou art about to bear me issue. Then the
King arose and went forth from her, and seated himself upon the throne of his
kingdom in a state of exceeding happiness; and he ordered the Wezir to give
out to the poor and the needy and the widows and others a hundred thousand
pieces of gold as a thank-offering to God (whose name be exalted!) and an
alms on his part. So the Wezir did as the King had commanded him. And after
that, the King went in to the damsel, and sat with her, and embraced her and
pressed her to his bosom, saying to her, O my mistress, who ownest me as thy
slave, wherefore hath been this silence, seeing that thou hast been with me a
whole year, night and day, awake and asleep, yet hast not spoken to me during
this year except on this day? What then hath been the cause of thy silence?
The damsel answered, Hear, O King of the age, and know that I am a poor
person, a stranger, broken-hearted: I have become separated from my mother
and my family and my brother. And when the King heard her words, he knew her
desire, and he replied, As to thy saying that thou art poor, there is no
occasion for such an assertion; for all my kingdom and my goods and
possessions are at thy service, and I also have become thy memluk: and as to
thy saying, I have become separated from my mother and my family and my
brothEr-inform me in what place they are, and I will send to them, and bring
them to thee. So she said to him, Know, O fortunate King, that my name is
Jullanar of the Sea. My father was one of the Kings of the Sea, and he died,
and left to us the kingdom; but while we were enjoying it, one of the Kings
came upon us, and took the kingdom from our hands. I have also a brother named
Salih, and my mother is of the women of the sea; and I quarreled with my
brother, and swore that I would throw myself into the hands of a man of the
inhabitants of the land. Accordingly I came forth from the sea, and sat upon
the shore of an island in the moonlight, and there passed by me a man who took
me and conducted me to his abode, and desired to make me his concubine; but I
smote him upon his head, and he almost died; wherefore he went and sold me to
this man from whom thou tookest me, and he was an excellent, virtuous man, a
person of religion and fidelity and kindness. But had not thy heart loved me,
and hadst thou not preferred me above all thy concubines, I had not remained
with thee one hour; for I should have cast myself into the sea from this
window, and gone to my mother and my people. I was ashamed, however, to go to
them in the state in which I am; for they would imagine evil of me, and would
not believe me, even though I should swear to them, were I to tell them that a
King had purchased me with his money, and had made me his worldly portion, and
chosen me in preference to his wives and all that his right hand possessed.
This is my story, and peace be on thee! - And wh n he heard her words, he
thanked her, and kissed her between her eyes, and said to her, By Allah, O my
mistress, and light of my eyes, I cannot endure thy separation for one hour;
and if thou quit me, I shall die instantly. How then shall the affair be? -
She answered, O my master, the time of the birth is near, and my family must
come. - And how, said the King, do they walk in the sea without being wetted?
She answered, We walk in the sea as ye walk upon the land, through the
influence of the names engraved upon the seal of Suleyman the son of Da`ud,
upon both of whom be peace! But, O King, when my family and my brethren come,
I will inform them that thou boughtest me with thy money, and hast treated me
with kindness and beneficence, and it will be meet that thou confirm my
assertion to them. They will also see thy state with their eyes, and will know
that thou art a King, the son of a King. - And thereupon the King said, O my
mistress, do what seemeth fit to thee, and what thou wishest; for I will
comply with thy desire in all that thou wilt do. And the damsel said, Know, O
King of the age, that we walk in the sea with our eyes open, and see what is
in it, and we see the sun and the moon and the stars and the sky as on the
face of the earth, and this hurteth us not.^2 Know also, that in the sea are
many peoples and various forms of all the kinds that are on the land; and
know, moreover, that all that is on the land, in comparison with what is in
the sea, is a very small matter. - And the King wondered at her words.
[Footnote 2: These people are perhaps the Ghawwasah, or Divers and Plungers,
an inferior class of the Jinn.]
Then the damsel took forth from her shoulders two pieces of Kamari
aloes-wood, and took a bit of them, and, having lighted a fire in a
perfuming-vessel, threw into it that bit, and she uttered a loud whistle, and
proceeded to speak words which no one understood; whereupon a great smoke
arose, while the King looked on. After this, she said to the King, O my lord,
arise and conceal thyself in a closet, that I may shew thee my brother and my
mother and my family without their seeing thee; for I desire to bring them,
and thou shalt see in this place, at this time, a wonder, and shalt wonder at
the various shapes and strange forms that God (whose name be exalted!) hath
created. So the King arose immediately, and entered a closet, and looked to
see what she would do. And she proceeded to burn perfume and repeat spells
until the sea foamed and was agitated, and there came forth from it a young
man of comely form, of beautiful countenance, like the moon at the full, with
shining forehead, and red cheek, and hair resembling pearls and jewels; he
was, of all the creation, the most like to his sister, and the tongue of the
case itself seemed to recite in his praise these verses: -
The moon becometh perfect once in each month; but the loveliness of thy face
is perfect every day.
Its abode is in the heart of one sign at a time; but thine abode is in all
hearts at once.
Afterwards, there came forth from the sea a grizzly-haired old woman,
and with her five damsels, resembling moons, and bearing a likeness to the
damsel whose name was Jullanar. Then the King saw the young man and the old
woman and the damsels walk upon the surface of the water until they came to
the damsel Jullanar; and when they drew near to the window, and Jullanar
beheld them, she rose to them and met them with joy and happiness. On their
seeing her, they knew her, and they went in to her and embraced her, weeping
violently; and they said to her, O Jullanar, how is it that thou leavest us
for four years, and we know not the place in which thou art? By Allah, the
world was contracted unto us, by reason of the distress occasioned by thy
separation, and we had no delight in food nor in drink a single day, weeping
night and day on account of the excess of our longing to see thee. - Then the
damsel began to kiss the hand of the young man her brother, and the hand of
her mother, and so also the hands of the daughters of her uncle, and they sat
with her a while, asking her respecting her state, and the things that had
happened to her, and her present condition.
So she said to them, Know ye, that when I quitted you, and came forth
from the sea, I sat upon the shore of an island, and a man took me, and sold
me to a merchant, and the merchant brought me to this city, and sold me to its
King for ten thousand pieces of gold. Then he treated me with attention, and
forsook all his concubines and his women and his favourites for my sake, and
was diverted by his regard for me from every thing that he possessed and what
was in his city. - And when her brother heard her words, he said, Praise be to
God who hath reunited us with thee! But it is my desire, O my sister, that
thou wouldst arise and go with us to our country and our family. - So when the
King heard the words of her brother, his reason fled in consequence of his
fear lest the damsel should accept the proposal of her brother, and he could
not prevent her, though he was inflamed with love of her; wherefore he became
perplexed, in violent fear of her separation. But as to the damsel Jullanar,
on hearing the words of her brother, she said, By Allah, O my brother, the man
who purchased me is the King of this city, and he is a great King, and a man
of wisdom, generous, of the utmost liberality. He hath treated me with honour,
and he is a person of kindness, and of great wealth, but hath no male child
nor a female. He hath shewn favour to me, and acted well to me in every
respect; and from the day when I came to him to the present time, I have not
heard from him a bad word to grieve my heart; but he hath not ceased to treat
me with courtesy, and hath done nothing without consulting me, and I am living
with him in the best of states, and the most perfect of enjoyments. Moreover,
if I quitted him, he would perish: for he can never endure my separation even
for a single hour. I also, if I quitted him, should die, by reason of the
violence of my love for him in consequence of the excess of his kindness to me
during the period of my residence with him; for if my father were living, my
condition with him would not be like my condition with this great, glorious
King. Ye have seen, too, that I am about to bear him issue; and praise be to
God who hath made me to be a daughter of a King of the Sea, and my husband the
greatest of the Kings of the Land. God (whose name be exalted!) afflicted me
not, but compensated me well; and as the King hath not a male child nor a
female, I beg God (whose name be exalted!) to bless me with a male child that
may inherit of this great King these buildings and palaces and possessions of
which God hath made him owner. - And when her brother and the daughters of her
uncle heard her words, their eyes became cheerful thereat, and they said to
her, O Jullanar, thou knowest the place which thou hast in our estimation, and
art acquainted with our affection for thee, and thou art assured that thou art
the dearest of all persons to us, and art certain that we desire for thee
comfort, without trouble or toil. Therefore if thou be not in a state of
comfort, arise and accompany us to our country and our family; but if thou be
comfortable here, in honour and happiness, this is our desire and wish; for we
desire not aught save thy comfort in every respect. - And Jullanar replied, By
Allah, I am in a state of the utmost comfort and enjoyment, in honour and
desirable happiness. So when the King heard these words from her, he rejoiced,
and his heart became tranquillized, and he thanked her for them; his love for
her increased, and penetrated to his heart`s core, and he knew that she loved
him as he loved her, and that she desired to remain with him to see his child
which she was to bear him.
Then the damsel Jullanar of the Sea gave orders to the female slaves to
bring forward the tables and the viands of all kinds; and Jullanar herself was
the person who superintended the preparation of the viands in the kitchen. So
the female slaves brought to them the viands and the sweetmeats and the
fruits; and she ate with her family. But afterwards they said to her, O
Jullanar, thy master is a man who is a stranger to us, and we have entered his
abode without his permission and without his knowledge of us, and thou
praisest to us his excellence, and hast also brought to us his food, and we
have eaten, but have not had an interview with him, nor seen him, nor hath he
seen us, nor come into our presence, nor eaten with us, that the bond of bread
and salt might be established between us. And they all desisted from eating,
and were enraged at her, and fire began to issue from their mouths as from
cressets. So when the King beheld this, his reason fled, in consequence of the
violence of his fear of them. Then Jullanar rose to them, and soothed their
hearts; after which she walked along until she entered the closet in which was
the King her master; and she said to him, O my master, didst thou see, and
didst thou hear my thanks to thee, and my praise of thee in the presence of my
family; and didst thou hear what they said to me, that they desired to take me
with them to our family and our country? The King answered her, I heard and
saw. May God recompense thee for us well! By Allah, I knew not the extent of
the love that thou feelest for me until this blessed hour, and I doubt not of
thy love for me. - She replied, O my master, is the recompense of beneficence
aught but beneficence? Thou hast treated me with beneficence, and bestowed
upon me great favours, and I see that thou lovest me with the utmost love, and
thou hast shewn me every kindness, and preferred me above all whom thou lovest
and desirest. How then could my heart be happily to quit thee, and to depart
from thee; and how could that be when thou bestowest benefits and favours upon
me? Now I desire of thy goodness that thou come and salute my family, and see
them, and that they may see thee, and that pleasure and mutual friendship may
ensue. But know, O King of the age, that my brother and my mother and the
daughters of my uncle have conceived a great love for thee in consequence of
my praising thee to them, and they have said, We will not depart from thee to
our country until we have an interview with the King, and salute him. So they
desire to behold thee, and to become familiar with thee. - And the King said
to her, I hear and obey; for this is what I desire. He then rose from his
place, and went to them, and saluted them with the best salutation; and they
hastened to rise to him; they met him in the most polite manner, and he sat
with them in the pavilion, ate with them at the table, and remained with them
for a period of thirty days. Then they desired to return to their country and
abode. So they took leave of the King, and the Queen Jullanar of the Sea, and
departed from them, after the King had treated them with the utmost honour.
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