GOORELKA OF OOLB
When Shibli Bagarag had finished his narration of the case of Roomdroomthe barber, the King of Oolb said, 'O thou, native of Shiraz, there ispersuasion and sweetness and fascination on thy tongue, and I am touchedwith compassion for the soles of Baba Mustapha, that I bastinadoed butyesterday, and he was from Shiraz likewise.'
Now, the heart of Shibli Bagarag leapt when he heard mention of BabaMustapha; and he knew him for his uncle that was searching him. He wouldhave cried aloud his relationship, but the hawk whispered in his ear.Then the hawk said to him, 'There is danger in the King's mutenessrespecting me, for I am visible to him. Proclaim the spirit of prophecy.'
So he proclaimed that spirit, and the King said, 'Prophesy to me ofbarbercraft.'
And he cried, 'O King of the age, the barber is abased, troddenunderfoot, given over to the sneers and the gibes of them that flatterthe powerful ones; he is as the winter worm, as the crocodile in theslime of his sleep by the bank, as the sick eagle before moulting. But Isay, O King, that he will come forth like the serpent in a new skin,shaming the old one; he slept a caterpillar, and will come forth abutterfly; he sank a star, and lo! he riseth a constellation.'
Now, while he was speaking in the fervour of his soul, the King saidsomething to one of the court officers surrounding him, and there wasbrought to the King a basin, a soap-bowl, and barber's tackle. WhenShibli Bagarag saw these, the uses of the barber rushed upon his mind,and desire to sway the tackle pushed him forward and agitated him, sothat he could not keep his hands from them.
Then the King exclaimed, 'It is as I thought. Our passions betraythemselves, and our habits; so is it written. By Allah! I swear thou artthyself none other than a barber, O youth.'
Shibli Bagwrag was nigh fainting with terror at this discovery of theKing, but the hawk said in his ear, 'Proclaim speech in the tackle.' Sohe proclaimed speech in the tackle; and the King smiled doubtfully, andsaid, 'If this be a cheat, Shiraz will not see thy face more.'
Then the hawk whispered in his ear, 'Drop on the tackle secretly a dropfrom the phial.' This he did, spreading his garments, and commanded thetackle to speak. And the tackle spake, each portion of it, confusedly asthe noise of Babel. So the King marvelled greatly, and said, ''Tis agreater wonder than the talking hawk, the talking tackle. Wullahy! itennobleth barbercraft! Yet it were well to comprehend the saying of thetackle.'
Then the hawk flew to the tackle and fluttered about it, and lo! theblade and the brush stood up and said in a shrill tone, 'It is ordainedthat Shagpat shall be shaved, and that Shibli Bagarag shall shave him.'
The King bit the forefinger of amazement, and said, 'What then ensueth, Otalking tackle?'
And the brush and the blade stood up, and said in a shrill tone, 'Honourto Shibli Bagarag and barbers! Shame unto Shagpat and his fellows!'
Upon that, the King cried, 'Enough, O talking tackle; I will forestallthe coming thing. I will be shaved! wullahy, that will I!'
Then the hawk whispered to Shibli Bagarag, 'Forward and shear him!' So hestepped forth and seized the tackle, and addressed himself keenly to theshaving of the King of Oolb, lathering him and performing his task withperfect skill. And the courtiers crowded to follow the example of theKing, and Shibli Bagarag shaved them, all of them. Now, when they wereshaved, fear smote them, the fear of ridicule, and each laughed at thechange that was in the other; but the King cried, 'See that order isissued for the people of Oolb to be as we before to-morrow's sun. So islaughter taken in reverse.' And the King said aside to Shibli Bagarag,'Say now, what may be thy price for yonder hawk?'
And the hawk bade him say, 'The loan of thy cockleshell.'
The King mused, and said, 'That is much to ask, for it is that whichbeareth the Princess my daughter to the Lily of the Enchanted Sea, whichshe nourisheth; and if 'tis harmed, she will be stricken with ugliness,as was the daughter of the Vizier Feshnavat, who tended it before her.Yet is this hawk a bird of price. What be its qualities, besides the giftof speech?'
Shibli Bagarag answered, 'To counsel in extremity; to forewarn; tocounteract enchantments and foul magic.'
Upon that the King said, 'Follow me!'
And the King led the way from the hall, through many spacious chambersfair with mirrors and silks and precious woods, and smooth marble floors,down into a vault lit by a lamp that was shaped like an eye. Round thevault were hung helm-pieces, and swords, and rich-studded housings; andthere were silken dresses, and costly shawls, and tall vases and jars ofChina, tapestries, and gold services. And the King said, 'Take thy choiceof these in exchange for the hawk.'
But Shibli Bagarag said, 'Nought save a loan of the cockle-shell, King!'
Then the King threatened him, saying, 'There is a virtue in each of thethings thou seest: the China jar is brimmed with wine, and remaineth sothough a thousand drink of it; the dress of Samarcand rendereth thewearer invisible; yet thou refusest to exchange them for thy hawk!'
And the King swore by the beard of his father he would seize perforce thehawk and shut up Shibli Bagarag in the vault, if he fell not into hisbargain. Shibli Bagarag was advised by the hawk to accept the China jarand the dress of Samarcand, and handed the hawk to the King in exchangefor these things. So the King took the hawk upon his wrist and departedwith it to the apartments of his daughter, and Shibli Bagarag went to thechamber prepared for him in the palace.
Now, when it was night, Shibli Bagarag heard a noise at his lattice, andhe arose and peered through it, and lo! the hawk was fluttering without;so he let it in, and caressed it, and the hawk bade him put on his silkendress and carry forth his China jar, and go the round of the palace, andoffer drink to the sentinels and the slaves. So he did as the hawkdirected, and the sentinels and slaves were aware of a China jar brimmedwith wine that was lifted to their lips, but him that lifted it they sawnot: surely, they drank deep of the draught of astonishment.
Then the hawk flew before him, and he followed it to a chamber lit withgolden lamps, gorgeously hung, and full of a dusky splendour and thefaint sparkle of gems, ruby, amethyst, topaz, and beryl; in it there wasthe hush of sleep, and the heart of Shibli Bagarag told him that onebeautiful was near. So he approached on tiptoe a couch of blue silk,bordered with gold-wire, and inwoven with stars of blue turquoise stones,as it had been the heavens of midnight. On the couch lay one, a woman,pure in loveliness; the dark fringes of her closed lids like livingflashes of darkness, her mouth like an unstrung bow and as a doublerosebud, even as two isles of coral between which in the cleartransparent watery beds the pearls shine freshly.
And the hawk said to Shibli Bagarag, 'This is the Princess Goorelka, thedaughter of the King of Oolb, a sorceress, the Guardian of the Lily ofthe Enchanted Sea. Beneath her pillow is the cockle-shell; grasp it, butgaze not upon her.'
He approached and slid his arm beneath the pillow of the Princess, andgrasped the cockle-shell; but ere he drew it forth he gazed upon her, andthe lustre of her countenance transfixed him as with a javelin, so thathe could not stir, nor move his eyes from the contemplation of hersweetness of feature. The hawk darted at him fiercely, and pecked at himto draw his attention from her, and he stepped back, yet he continuedtaking fatal draughts from the magic cup of her beauty. Then the hawkscreamed a loud scream of anguish, and the Princess awoke, and startedhalf-way from the couch, and stared about her, and saw the bird inagitation. As she looked at the bird a shudder passed over her, and shesnatched a veil and drew it over her face, murmuring, 'I dream, or I amunder the eye of a man.' Then she felt beneath the pillow, and knew thatthe cockle-shell had been touched; and in a moment she leapt from hercouch, and ran to a mirror and saw herself as she was, a full-moon madeto snare the wariest and sit singly high on a throne in the hearts ofmen. At the sight of her beauty she smiled and seemed at peace, murmuringstill, 'I am under the eye of a man, or I dream.' Now, while she somurmured she arrayed herself, and took the cockle-shell, and passedthrough the ante-room among her women sleeping; and Shibli Bagaragtracked her till she came to
the vault; and she entered it and walked tothe corner from which had hung the dress of Samarcand. When she saw itgone her face waxed pale, and she gazed slowly at all points, muttering,'There is no further doubt but that I am under the eye of a man!'Thereupon she ran hastily from the vault, and passed between thesentinels of the palace, and saw them where they lay drowsy withintoxication: so she knew that the China jar and the dress of Samarcandhad been used that night, and for no purpose friendly to her wishes. Thenshe passed down the palace steps, and through the gates of the palace andthe city, till she came to the shore of the sea; there she launched thecockle-shell and took the wind in her garments, and sat in it, filling itto overflowing, yet it floated. And Shibli Bagarag waded to thecockle-shell and took hold of it, and was drawn along by its motionswiftly through the waters, so that a foam swept after him; and Goorelkamarked the foam. Now, they had passage over the billows smoothly, andsoon the length of the sea was darkened with two high rocks, and betweenthem there was a narrow channel of the sea, roughened with moonlight. Sothey sped between the rocks, and came upon a purple sea, dark-blueoverhead, with large stars leaning to the waves. There was a softwhisperingness in the breath of the breezes that swung there, and manysails of charmed ships were seen in momentary gleams, flapping the mastidly far away. Warm as new milk from the full udders were the waters ofthat sea, and figures of fair women stretched lengthwise with thecurrent, and lifted a head as they rushed rolling by. Truly it wasenchanted even to the very bed!