Chapter Six, The Third Dervish's Tale, The Twenty-First Night.
The following night, when Sarazod was in bed, her sister Denarzod said 'Please sister, tell us another of your lovely little tales'.
The king added, "'Let it be the last Dervish's tale.'
Sarazad replied, with the greatest pleasure.
'I heard, O king, that the third dervish said to the woman 'My story is stranger and more amazing than the other dervishes' tales?
'and yet I brought my misery upon myself.
"'My father was a great king, and when he died I inherited his kingdom.'
I was quite wealthy and powerful, but one day I decided to travel to some distant islands.
My crew loaded my boats with a month's supply of goods and we set sail.
Soon we came to an island that seemed quite pleasant.
Here we landed and prepared some food.
We rested for a few days and then set out to sea again.
We sailed for a dozen days, but as we sailed, the sea kept growing before us and the land got smaller behind us.
The lookout came down to me and said I looked to the right and there is nothing but sky and water.
And I looked to the left and saw something great and black in the distance.
When the captain heard this, he threw his turban down on the deck and began to cry and pull his hair out.
I asked him what had happened.
He replied, Oh, king, we are all going to perish.
The storm is driving us toward a fate we cannot escape.
By midday tomorrow, we will reach a black mountain of metal.
This mountain has a great power to attract metal.
When any ship passes by it, every nail will fly to the mountain and the ship's sides will come apart.
O king, at the top of the mountain there is a brass horse with a brass horseman.
While the mountain destroys the ship, this horseman destroys the people who come there.
The next day we passed by the mountain.
Just as the captain had said, the mountain pulled the nails out of the ship and the ship fell apart.
God spared me and I was able to cling to one of the planks from the ship.
I floated, ending up at the foot of the terrible island, where I saw a staircase carved out of rock.
I began to climb this staircase, calling on God to protect me.
I reached the top of the mountain and came to a great brass dome not far from where the horsemen stood.
I said my prayers there, thanking God for saving me, and fell asleep overlooking the sea.
In a dream, I heard a voice that said, When you wake from your sleep, dig beneath your feet.
You will find a brass bow with three arrows.
Use these to shoot the brass horseman off his horse and rid the earth of this monster.
He will fall into the sea and the water will swell to the level of the dome.
A small boat will come, and you must paddle this boat for ten days until it takes you to safety.
However, you must not call out the name of God.
If you do, you will not be saved.
I woke up and did just as the voice said.
After the horsemen fell into the sea, the waters rose and the small boat appeared.
I rowed for nine days until I saw the shapes of hills in the distance.
I was so joyful that I prayed, calling out, There is none greater than God.
Just then the boat turned over and sank into the sea.
I swam for three days, but there was no land near.
I was sure I would drown, but then a sudden gust of wind blew me over, and a great wave carried me to the shores of an island.
But morning drew near Sarazad, and she fell silent.
Denarzad said to her sister, Sister, what an amazing story!
Sarazad replied This is nothing compared with what I will tell you tomorrow, if the king lets me live.
The Twenty-Second Night.
The following night, when Sarazad was in bed, her sister Denarzad said Please sister, tell us more of this amazing tale.
The king asked, Let it be the rest of the third dervish's tale.
Sarazad replied, With the greatest pleasure.
It is said, O happy king, that the third dervish continued.
There was a huge mountain on this island and I climbed until I reached the top of it.
There was a great palace covered with red gold.
The door stood open, and I entered.
I found a beautiful hall filled with forty girls dressed in silk gowns and glittering jewels.
They rushed to me and brought me to a comfortable chair.
They washed my hands and feet and brought me food and drink.
The forty girls sat around me talking and laughing.
I forgot all my miseries and thought, this is the best of life, which sadly is so short.
I spent a whole year in that beautiful palace, eating and drinking and enjoying all of life.
When the new year came, the girls began weeping, clinging to me, saying, May you never leave.
I asked why they were weeping and why they thought I was leaving.
You yourself will be the cause, they replied.
They told me that they were the forty daughters of forty kings and that once a year they had to leave the palace for forty days.
When they left, I had to stay behind.
I could eat and drink and do as I pleased, looking around in every room of the house but the one.
And this is how you will disobey us, they said.
When you open this door, it will cause our separation.
Then they left, and I said, By God, I will never open that door.
I was alone in that place for thirty-nine days, and for thirty-nine days I ate and drank as I pleased, exploring every room but the one with the door of red gold.
All the rooms were full of fabulous delights, such as fruit trees and gardens of fragrant flowers.
As the thirty-nine days passed though, I became more and more curious about what was in the room with the door of red gold.
Finally, I couldn't control myself, and I opened the door.
Inside, there were lamps of gold and silver and the strong smell of perfume.
Standing in the middle of the room was a horse, as black as the deepest night.
Amazed at the beauty of this creature, I led him outside the palace.
I tried to ride him, but he would not move.
Finally, I hit the horse and he roared with anger.
Revealing a pair of wings, he flew up with me high into the sky.
He traveled with me a great distance before throwing me off his back.
He lashed my face with his tail, making me blind in one eye and dropped me in a lonely desert.
I was full of misery and walked for days and days, cursing myself for my actions.
When I came to a city, I shaved off my beard like a dervish and kept walking.
I roamed the world before I reached Baghdad.
That is how I met these two dervishes and how I came here, and this is the story of how I lost my eye and shaved off my beard.
The woman replied, You may go.
Then the three dervishes came together and said Oh, our lady and mistress, we wish you to grant us our lives and to let us leave here.
The woman replied, I will.
When they were all outside, the caliph revealed himself to the dervishes.
They fell to their knees before him, giving thanks to God.
He took the men home with him, granting them safety and refuge in his palace.
The dervishes rejoiced that they had found the caliph, confident that he would help deliver them from their misery.
But morning drew near Sarazad, and she fell silent.
Denarzad said to her sister, "'Sister, what an amazing story!'
Sarazad replied This is nothing compared with what I will tell you tomorrow, if the king lets me live.
