They followed Masrur to the palace of the caliphate, where they were duly escorted into the presence of Zubaydah.
The Caliph"s wife sat on a couch of ebony inlaid with gold and silver. To her right and left hung multiple neck- laces of jewels, turning in the breeze from fans her slaves beat, and shining brilliantly. Ornate tapestries covered the walls, set with gems, and her own robe was so copiously worked with precious stones that it was impossible to single any one of them out.
Hasan"s mother was highly impressed, but Sana acted as though such trappings were commonplace.
"Will you remove your veil, so that I may look upon your face?" Zubaydah requested politely enough. "There are no men here."
Sana removed her veil and allowed the queen to look upon her features. Immediately the ladies of the court gave a great sigh, put to shame by the light of her countenance, which was brighter than the moon and fairer than a day in spring. Zubaydah and all her company stared at Sana without uttering a word.
Finally the queen arose and brought Sana to her couch, embracing her and seating the visitor beside herself. She called for a rich robe and took down the most splendid necklace for her guest. If there was malice in her mind, no trace of it showed in her att.i.tude. "O liege lady of fair ones, you astound me and amaze my eyes. Surely Allah created you to give his followers a foretaste of paradise! Do you have any special skills?"
"O my lady, I have a dress of feathers of unearthly handiwork. If I could place it before you, you would see something marvelous indeed, and all who witnessed it would talk of its wonder until the day they died."
"By all means. Where is this dress of yours?"
"My husband"s mother has it. Ask her for it."
Zubaydah summoned the old woman, who had over- heard only a trace of this conversation. "O my lady the pilgrimess," she said, using the honorable address for aged females. "O my mother, go and fetch us the feather-dress, that we may appreciate the marvel she promises."
Hasan"s mother saw that all was lost, but she did her best. "O my Lady, this foolish damsel is mistaken. Who ever heard of a dress made of feathers? Only birds possess such things!"
"She has it," Sana insisted. "She keeps it in a chest buried in a storage closet, in the back of the house."
Zubaydah took from her neck a chain of jewels worth the treasure of an empire. "I conjure you, O my mother, accept this necklace and bring the dress to us. Afterwards you may take back the dress but keep the necklace."
"I never saw such a dress! I don"t know what she"s talking about!"
Zubaydah"s patience, never extensive, puffed away. "Masrur!" she called, and the giant eunuch strode into the hall. "Take this hag"s keys and go back to the house. Inside you"ll find a storage closet, near the back. Open it and see if there is a chest therein. Take it out and break it open and bring me what you find within it."
Masrur took the keys and departed. Despairingly, the old woman followed, weeping and moaning with regret that she had ever listened to Sana. The crafty maiden"s clamor for a bath had been nothing more than a trick leading to this! She watched the slave locate the feather-suit and wrap it carefully in a napkin and carry it to Zubaydah, who took it out and turned it over in her hands. She marveled at the beauty of its structure and the clever- ness of its workmanship.
Zubaydah pa.s.sed it to Sana. "Is this the garment of which you spoke?"
"Yes, O my lady!" She took it at once, joyfully. She examined it in detail and rejoiced to find that it was exactly as it had been before, whole and without a feather missing.
Sana wrapped herself in the suit and lo! she became a spectacular bird. "Glory be to Allah, to whom belong all might and all majesty!" Zubaydah exclaimed, and all present were wonderstruck.
Sana walked up and down the hall with a graceful and swaying gait looking so much like a bird that no one who had not seen the transformation would have recognized her as human. She danced and sported and spread her fair white wings so that every feather stood out, making pat- terns like enormous fans.
"What do you think of that, my ladies?" she inquired, and her bill moved in the talking and her voice was the chirp of a bird.
"We have never witnessed such a thing!" they replied.
"What I am about to do is better yet!" And now she spread her wings and flapped them strongly and rose from the floor, flying toward the queen in a great swoop, while everyone stared in disbelief.
"And even more," she chortled grandly. She stood up, opened her suit so that she became half-woman again, and picked up her two sons. Nasir and Mansur clung to her, and she folded them to her bosom and closed the suit over them. She spread her wings and flew up into the high dome of the palace, where she perched on the sill of an open vent.
"What a rare exhibition!" Zubaydah said. "Come down now and return to your lovely human shape and we shall celebrate this incredible occasion."
"Far be it from me to return!" Sana cried, her voice now a cackle. "I will not give up my freedom so easily, now that I have recovered it. I"m going home!"
"O my daughter!" Hasan"s mother cried. "How can you desert Hasan, who loves you with all his heart and who will die wretchedly if he loses you?"
Sana paused. "O mother of my husband," she chirped, "indeed it irks me to part from you, for your heart is good; but your son surprised me in my innocence and captured me by force, and there was nothing I could do but yield myself to him after he had seen my shame and deprived me of my freedom. Moreover he is not my husband, for I am not a Moslem, nor do my people recognize your marriage-customs. But if your son grows lonely and desires to see me again, let him come to me in the Isles of Wak!"
With that she took flight and disappeared from their view, while the old woman wept and beat her face and swooned away from misery.
Zubaydah caught her up and led her to the couch. "O my lady," the old woman cried, "what have you done!"
"O my lady the pilgrimess, I did not dream this would happen," Zubaydah replied. Somehow she didn"t sound as miserable as she might. Certainly she had no problem remaining. The Caliph would never see the bird-maiden now. "If you had told me everything and warned me of her powers, I would never have given her the feather-dress. I did not know she was of the flying jinn. But what good are words? I intended no evil; please forgive me for the injury I have done you."
There was nothing the old woman could do except to answer shortly "I forgive you!" and go home.
And at home she fasted in sorrow and spent her days in misery, pining for her lost daughter-in-law and grandchil- dren. She cursed the queen and cursed herself more, afraid of what would happen when Hasan returned. She dug three graves in the courtyard to represent the lost members of the household and spent her days and nights in a mournful watch, unable to a.s.suage her grief.
Chapter 8. Quest
"O my brother," Rose exclaimed with mixed emotions. "What is the matter, that you should come again so soon after we saw you last? It has hardly been two months."
Hasan had certainly ridden hard. "I"ve lost my wife," he said, then clung to her for support.
Rose screamed, and the other princesses gathered around, not knowing how to comfort him. The thing had happened while he was visiting with them, and they felt in part responsible for his misfortune.
"By Allah!" Rose swore bitterly. "How many times I meant to make you burn that feather-suit. Some evil spirit made me forget. Don"t you have any idea at all where she went?"
"All she said was "Let him come to me in the Isles of Wak." "
Eldest brightened. "Wak? That"s her home."
Sixth, the librarian, was not enthusiastic. "That doesn"t help us, sister. She may be there, but no one else can follow her."
"But I must!" Hasan protested. "I cannot live without my wife and sons! Is there no one who can help me?"
The sisters exchanged bleak glances. Suddenly Rose jumped up. "What about Uncle Ab? He knows everything!"
Eldest nodded thoughtfully. "He could tell us whether it is possible, at least."
"What are you talking about?" Hasan asked.
Rose threw her arms around him. "He"s our father"s brother, Abd al-Kaddus. He wasn"t given a kingdom, so he practices magic. He"s not a Moslem, so it"s all right. He"s the dearest old gentleman!"
Hasan was impressed. "Where can I find him?"
"You don"t have to find him. He"ll come here."
"But if your family finds out that I"m here-"
Rose laughed. "Not Uncle Ab. He wouldn"t turn us in. He knows all about your stay with us."
"Your father"s brother?" Hasan was incredulous.
"He and Daddy don"t ride the same elephant. He always did say we should all get married to Hindu princes and raise big big families." She paused reflectively. "I wish-"
"Rose!"
"Well, anyway, he"ll help us if anyone can. We"ll summon him right away."
"Right away tomorrow," Eldest said firmly. "Our brother must have some rest."
Hasan"s misery abated, now that hope existed, and he joined them in a sumptuous meal. It was several tomor- rows before they made the necessary preparations, and in that time he recovered much of his health and strength.
They gathered in a court and built a small fire. When it was blazing merrily, Eldest produced a delicately carved wooden box and took a small pouch from it. From this she shook a minute amount of pungent powder into her palm. "O Abd al-Kaddus, come to us!"she intoned, and cast her powder into the flame.
A perfumed cloud of smoke drifted up reminding Hasan uncomfortably of Bahrain"s evil magic. "Are you sure you can trust him?" he asked.
"You"ll find out," Rose said, and guided him outside.
Across the plain came a cloud of dust very like the miniature smoke-ball they had just quitted. An elephant emerged from it with a white-bearded gentleman perched in a howdah on its back. The man waved and made signals with his hands, and the elephant trumpeted. The sisters waved back; but apparently fearing that they hadn"t seen him, the man kicked out his feet and signaled with them too.
Presently he drew up and dismounted. Eldest ran over and threw her arms about him in a feminine display Hasan had never seen her exhibit before. "Welcome, Uncle Ab!"
The man embraced her with affection and patted her behind. "You"re getting to be a big girl," he said. "Time you got married."
"Uncle, you know our father-"
"Hm, yes-but he is a fishbrain. Why do you listen to him? My daughters never listen to me."
"Uncle-you don"t have any daughters!"
Ab considered. "Must do something about that, one of these decades." He saluted the remaining sisters in turn, making remarks which brought dainty blushes to their cheeks. At last he came to Hasan.
"My, you"re an ugly one," he remarked.
"Uncle-that"s Hasan," Rose protested.
Ab looked again. "I did think there was one too many," he admitted. "But then, why should I notice anyone who doubts me?"
"O Shaykh Abd-" Hasan began, using the polite t.i.tle.
"Don"t "Shaykh" me, junior. I distinctly heard you re- mark, just after my niece summoned me-"
It was Hasan"s turn to blush. "I told you," was Rose"s smug reminder.
"There I was, sitting at ease with my dear wife, your aunt, when I smelled the perfume and knew my nieces needed me. And what do I hear but this-"
"He"s sorry, Uncle," Eldest said.
Ab smiled at her, mollified. She was obviously his favorite. "Well, if you say so, my dear. Why did you call me?"
"O Uncle, we longed to see you, since you haven"t visited us for over a year."
"Hm. Well, I was busy, but I was going to visit you tomorrow."
"And now our brother Hasan has a terrible problem, and only you can help him." And they told their uncle everything that had happened.
"Wak, eh?" he muttered. He shook his head and bit his finger thoughtfully. Then he squatted and began to make marks in the earth with his finger-tips.
"If you could just tell me how far away it is-" Hasan began.
"How far?" Ab shook his head again. "Not far, lad, as the roc flies."
"But the roc can cover a year"s journey in a single day," Rose said.
"Nineteen hours," Ab corrected her absently. "Any- way, someone"s been scaring those poor birds by jumping out of camels, or something. Must put a stop to that. Bad for their morale." He lapsed into silence, looked right and left, and shook his head a third time.
"Please give us some answer," Eldest urged him. "Our brother is sorely afflicted, and we hardly know how to console him."
Ab looked at her. "If I were you-"
"Uncle!"
Ab sighed. "O my daughters, you have no way to console him, then, for he cannot gain access to the Isles of Wak."
"But Shaykh-"
"Between this place and those isles lie seven mighty mountains and seven tremendous gorges and seven turbu- lent oceans. A mortal man could not make his way there though he had the flying jinn with him and the wandering stars. Far better you consider your spouse and sons to be dead, and turn back to your home and stop tormenting your spirit. I give you good council, if you will only accept it."
Hasan cried out and fell to the ground, and the prin- cesses wept for his sorrow. Rose tore her clothes and buffeted her face and fainted from the stress of her emo- tion, landing neatly beside Hasan.
"Oh, be quiet!" Ab said, disturbed by the spectacle.
"Will you help us?" Rose inquired from the ground, momentarily recovered.
"I don"t have any more sense than your father!" Ab growled.
"Oh, thank you, Uncle!" the sisters cried together, em- bracing him en ma.s.se.
"Clear out! Stand on your own fourteen feet!" he grunted. "Take heart, lad, and you will win your foolish wish in spite of these creatures, if it be the will of Allah."
"But you don"t worship Allah, Uncle."
"Still a perfectly good name to swear by. Rise, O my son, collect your courage, and follow me."