The Story of the Envious Man and of Him Who Was Envied

In a moderately sized town, two men lived in neighboring houses. But they had not been there long before one man took such a hatred of the other and envied him so bitterly that the poor man decided to find another home, hoping that when they no longer met every day his enemy would forget about him. So he sold his house and the little furniture it contained and moved to the capital of the country, which was luckily not far away. About half a mile from the city he bought a nice little place with a large garden and a fair-sized courtyard, in the center of which stood an old well.

To live a quieter life, the good man put on the robe of a dervish and divided his house into many small cells, where he soon established a number of other dervishes. The fame of his virtue gradually spread, and many people, including several of high rank, came to visit him and ask for his prayers.

Of course, it was not long before his reputation reached the ears of the man who envied him, and this wicked wretch resolved never to rest until he had done harm to the dervish he hated. So he left his house and his business to look after themselves and went to the new dervish monastery, where he was welcomed by the founder with all possible warmth. He pretended that he had come to consult the chief of the dervishes on a private matter of great importance. "What I have to say must not be overheard," he whispered. "Command your dervishes to retire into their cells, as night is approaching, and meet me in the courtyard."

The dervish did as he was asked without delay, and directly they were alone together the envious man began to tell a long story, edging, as they walked back and forth, always nearer to the well.

When they were quite close, he seized the dervish and dropped him in. He then ran off triumphantly, without having been seen by anyone, congratulating himself that the object of his hatred was dead and would trouble him no more.

But in this he was mistaken! The old well had long been inhabited (unknown to mere humans) by a group of fairies and genii, who caught the dervish as he fell, so that he received no hurt. The dervish himself could see nothing, but he assumed something strange had happened, or he would certainly have been dashed against the side of the well and killed. He lay quite still, and in a moment he heard a voice saying, "Can you guess whom this man is that we have saved from death?"

"No," replied several other voices.

And the first speaker answered, "I will tell you. This man, out of pure goodness of heart, left the town where he lived and came to dwell here, hoping to cure one of his neighbors of the envy he felt toward him. But his character soon won him the esteem of all, and the envious man's hatred grew until he came here with the deliberate intention of causing his death. And this he would have done, without our help, the very day before the Sultan has arranged to visit this holy dervish and to ask his prayers for the princess, his daughter."

"But what is the matter with the princess that she needs the dervish's prayers?" asked another voice.

"She has fallen into the power of the genius Maimoum, the son of Dimdim," replied the first voice. "But it would be quite simple for this holy chief of the dervishes to cure her if he only knew! In his convent there is a black cat which has a tiny white tip to its tail. To cure the princess, the dervish must pull out seven of these white hairs, burn three, and with their smoke perfume the head of the princess. This will deliver her so completely that Maimoum, the son of Dimdim, will never dare to approach her again."

The fairies and genii ceased talking, but the dervish did not forget a word of all they had said. When morning came, he noticed a broken place in the side of the well where he could easily climb out.

The dervishes, who could not imagine what had become of him, were delighted at his reappearance. He told them about the attempt on his life made by his guest of the previous day and then retired into his cell. He was soon joined there by the black cat of which the voice had spoken, who came as usual to say good morning to his master. He took him on his knee and took the opportunity to pull seven white hairs from his tail, putting them aside until they were needed.

The sun had not long risen before the Sultan, who was anxious to leave nothing undone that might save the princess, arrived with a large retinue at the gate of the monastery and was received by the dervishes with profound respect. The Sultan lost no time in stating the purpose of his visit and, leading the chief of the dervishes aside, said to him, "Noble sheik, you have perhaps guessed what I have come to ask you?"

"Yes, sire," answered the dervish. "If I am not mistaken, it is the illness of the princess that has procured me this honor."

"You are right," returned the Sultan. "And you will give me new life if you can, by your prayers, deliver my daughter from the strange malady that has taken possession of her."

"Let your highness command her to come here, and I will see what I can do."

The Sultan, full of hope, sent orders at once that the princess should set out as soon as possible, accompanied by her usual attendants. When she arrived, she was so thickly veiled that the dervish could not see her face, but he ordered a brazier to be held over her head and laid the seven hairs on the burning coals. The instant they were consumed, terrible cries were heard, but no one could tell where they came from. Only the dervish guessed that they were uttered by Maimoum, the son of Dimdim, who felt the princess escaping him.

All this time she had seemed unaware of what she was doing, but now she raised her hand to her veil and uncovered her face. "Where am I?" she said in a bewildered manner. "And how did I get here?"

The Sultan was so delighted to hear these words that he not only embraced his daughter but also kissed the hand of the dervish. Then, turning to his attendants who stood around, he said to them, "What reward shall I give to the man who has restored my daughter to me?"

They all replied with one accord that he deserved the hand of the princess.

"That is my own opinion," said he. "And from this moment I declare him to be my son-in-law."

Shortly after these events, the grand vizier died, and his post was given to the dervish. But he did not hold it for long, for the Sultan fell victim to an illness, and as he had no sons, the soldiers and priests declared the dervish heir to the throne, to the great joy of all the people.

One day, when the dervish, who had now become Sultan, was making a royal progress with his court, he perceived the envious man standing in the crowd. He made a sign to one of his viziers and whispered in his ear, "Fetch me that man who is standing out there, but take great care not to frighten him." The vizier obeyed, and when the envious man was brought before the Sultan, the monarch said to him, "My friend, I am delighted to see you again." Then turning to an officer, he added, "Give him a thousand pieces of gold from my treasury and twenty wagonloads of merchandise from my private stores, and let an escort of soldiers accompany him home." He then took leave of the envious man and went on his way.

Now when I ended my story, I proceeded to show the genius how to apply it to himself. "O genius," I said, "you see that this Sultan was not content with merely forgiving the envious man for the attempt on his life; he heaped rewards and riches upon him."

But the genius had made up his mind and could not be softened. "Do not imagine that you are going to escape so easily," he said. "All I can do is give you bare life; you will have to learn what happens to people who interfere with me."

As he spoke, he seized me violently by the arm; the roof of the palace opened to make way for us, and we mounted so high into the air that the earth looked like a little cloud. Then, as before, he came down with the swiftness of lightning, and we touched the ground on a mountaintop.

Then he stooped and gathered a handful of earth and murmured some words over it, after which he threw the earth in my face, saying as he did so, "Quit the form of a man and assume that of a monkey." This done, he vanished, and I was in the likeness of an ape, in a country I had never seen before.

However, there was no use stopping where I was, so I came down the mountain and found myself in a flat plain bounded by the sea. I traveled toward it and was pleased to see a vessel moored about half a mile from shore. There were no waves, so I broke off a branch of a tree, dragged it down to the water's edge, sat across it, and using two sticks for oars, rowed myself toward the ship.

The deck was full of people who watched my progress with interest, but when I seized a rope and swung myself on board, I found that I had only escaped death at the hands of the genius to perish by those of the sailors, lest I should bring ill luck to the vessel and the merchants. "Throw him into the sea!" cried one. "Knock him on the head with a hammer!" exclaimed another. "Let me shoot him with an arrow!" said a third. And certainly someone would have had his way if I had not flung myself at the captain's feet and grasped tight hold of his dress. He appeared touched by my action and patted my head, declaring that he would take me under his protection and that no one should do me any harm.

At the end of about fifty days, we cast anchor before a large town, and the ship was immediately surrounded by a multitude of small boats filled with people who had come either to meet their friends or out of simple curiosity. Among others, one boat contained several officials who asked to see the merchants on board and informed them that they had been sent by the Sultan in token of welcome and to ask them each to write a few lines on a roll of paper. "In order to explain this strange request," continued the officers, "it is necessary that you should know that the grand vizier, recently deceased, was celebrated for his beautiful handwriting, and the Sultan is anxious to find a similar talent in his successor. Hitherto the search has been a failure, but his Highness has not yet given up hope."

One after another, the merchants set down a few lines upon the roll, and when they had all finished, I came forward and snatched the paper from the man who held it. At first they all thought I was going to throw it into the sea, but they were quieted when they saw I held it with great care, and great was their surprise when I made signs that I too wished to write something.

"Let him do it if he wants to," said the captain. "If he only makes a mess of the paper, you may be sure I will punish him for it. But if, as I hope, he really can write—for he is the cleverest monkey I ever saw—I will adopt him as my son. The one I lost had not nearly so much sense!"

No more was said, and I took the pen and wrote the six sorts of writing used among the Arabs, and each sort contained an original verse or couplet in praise of the Sultan. Not only did my handwriting completely eclipse that of the merchants, but it is hardly too much to say that none so beautiful had ever before been seen in that country. When I had finished, the officials took the roll and returned to the Sultan.

As soon as the monarch saw my writing, he did not so much as look at the samples of the merchants but desired his officials to take the finest and most richly caparisoned horse in his stables, together with the most magnificent dress they could procure, and to put it on the person who had written those lines and bring him to court.

The officials began to laugh when they heard the Sultan's command, but as soon as they could speak they said, "Deign, your Highness, to excuse our mirth, but those lines were not written by a man but by a monkey."

"A monkey!" exclaimed the Sultan.

"Yes, sire," answered the officials. "They were written by a monkey in our presence."

"Then bring me the monkey," he replied, "as fast as you can."

The Sultan's officials returned to the ship and showed the royal order to the captain.

"He is the master," said the good man, and desired that I should be sent for.

Then they put on me the gorgeous robe and rowed me to land, where I was placed on the horse and led to the palace. Here the Sultan was awaiting me in great state, surrounded by his court.

All the way along the streets, I had been the object of curiosity to a vast crowd that had filled every doorway and every window, and it was amidst their shouts and cheers that I was ushered into the presence of the Sultan.

I approached the throne on which he was seated and made him three low bows, then prostrated myself at his feet, to the surprise of everyone, who could not understand how it was possible that a monkey should be able to distinguish a Sultan from other people and pay him the respect due to his rank. However, except for the usual speech, I omitted none of the common forms attending a royal audience.

When it was over, the Sultan dismissed all the court, keeping with him only the chief of the eunuchs and a little slave. He then passed into another room and ordered food to be brought, making signs to me to sit at table with him and eat. I rose from my seat, kissed the ground, and took my place at the table, eating, as you may suppose, with care and moderation.

Before the dishes were removed, I made signs that writing materials, which stood in one corner of the room, should be laid in front of me. I then took a peach and wrote on it some verses in praise of the Sultan, who was speechless with astonishment. But when I did the same thing on a glass from which I had drunk, he murmured to himself, "Why, a man who could do as much would be cleverer than any other man, and this is only a monkey!"

Supper being over, chessmen were brought, and the Sultan signed to me to know if I would play with him. I kissed the ground and laid my hand on my head to show that I was ready to show myself worthy of the honor. He beat me the first game, but I won the second and third, and seeing that this did not quite please him, I dashed off a verse by way of consolation.

The Sultan was so enchanted with all the talents I had shown that he wished me to exhibit them to other people. So, turning to the chief of the eunuchs, he said, "Go and beg my daughter, Queen of Beauty, to come here. I will show her something she has never seen before."

The chief of the eunuchs bowed and left the room, ushering in a few moments later the princess, Queen of Beauty.

Her face was uncovered, but the moment she set foot in the room she threw her veil over her head. "Sire," she said to her father, "what can you be thinking of to summon me like this into the presence of a man?"

"I do not understand you," replied the Sultan. "There is nobody here but the eunuch, who is your own servant, the little slave, and myself, yet you cover yourself with your veil and reproach me for having sent for you, as if I had committed a crime."

"Sire," answered the princess, "I am right, and you are wrong. This monkey is really no monkey at all, but a young prince who has been turned into a monkey by the wicked spells of a genius, son of the daughter of Eblis."

As will be imagined, these words took the Sultan by surprise, and he looked at me to see how I would take the statement of the princess. As I was unable to speak, I placed my hand on my head to show that it was true.

"But how do you know this, my daughter?" asked he.