Translation:The Three Princes of Serendip/Novella 5
Novella 5 – Friday
IN the land of Hottenne, there was a great and excellent philosopher who found delight in the mechanical arts. And as a goldsmith he was so proficient that nobody in his time surpassed him. And among the many other beautiful works that he was continually creating was a silver statue so artfully designed that if anyone in its vicinity would lie, it would start to laugh immediately.
This came to the attention of the local prince who was a Mussulman. He wanted to see it and greatly admired the great craftmanship. When it was shown to him, he asked the philosopher to sell it to him, offering him a great sum of gold. But the philosopher who had little regard for money and who wished to do his Lord a favor, gave it to him as a gift. Because of this statue the prince had a large and beautiful seraglio constructed near his palace which was quadrangular. And at the four corners, one of which looked out over a river, another over a stable, the third one over the kitchen, and the fourth one over the cellar of the prince, he had four luxurious dwelling quarters built. And in the seraglio he had the statue placed on a high base. When he was free from his affairs the Prince used to come there often to amuse himself. And when he discussed various topics with his barons, he dropped a lie in the argumentation to tempt the statue to laugh which gave him great delight.
This prince was a man with excellent scientific knowledge who studied a lot. Because he had read many books in which the authors wrote that women were wicked and perfidious animals, he had decided from an early age on that he never wanted to marry. All of his subjects felt very distressed about this. Because he was a virtuous Prince for which everyone was grateful, they wished him to have offspring who would succeed him in governing the state.
So, one day in his presence four of his principal barons took it upon themselves to reason with him and to let him know that while most women are very deceptive and are imperfect creatures there are, however, also wise and good ones. They concluded that he should not refrain from taking a wife. This is especially necessary for those who are heads of a great state, as he was, so that they are able to leave successors. For these reasons, among many others, they tried to persuade him, saying also that even if the woman was such a perfidious animal, he could make a choice out of eight or ten. In this way he could easily find a good one whom, after he had accepted her as his wife, could bear a successor for his state.
After he had heard these words, who were against his nature, the Prince was willing to be somewhat accommodating, and he resolved to do so in order not to be rightly reproached by his people that he was very obstinate. Since he had heard about the beauty of four maidens, daughters of four great lords, friends of his, he sent four ambassadors to request them to come to him. The maidens received precious gifts from the ambassadors and in a short time they were brought to their prince.
They were received by him gladly and with great honor and he ordered that each of them was to be assigned one of the four quarters that had been built at the corners of the seraglio where the statue had been placed.
And because it was already late, he requested that one of them be brought to his room and he began to caress and embrace her. And as he talked with her about various matters, he placed his hand in a basket of rose petals which were near him, removed a few of them and wanted to throw them on the bosom of the young woman. It so happened that a very small petal fell on her face. She protested that the touch of the petal greatly hurt her and she pretended to faint immediately.
This sorrowed the Prince very much and he called his servants. He requested some vinegar, mixed it with rose water and sprinkled it under the nose of the young woman and wetted her temples. She showed that her spirits had returned to her. After she had rested for some time, she rose to her feet. The Prince took her by the hand and led her slowly to the window of the room. When he raised his eyes towards the statue, he saw it laughing and immediately realized the deceit and the pretense of the young woman when she fainted at the touch of the petal. Nevertheless, he concealed it and talked with her about the incident and while they were standing against the window, she placed her hands on her face to cover it. She did this while pretending to believe that it was the statue of a man and she wanted to demonstrate to the Prince that it was not permissible to be seen by him. But the Prince who had already noted the first deception, noticed the second one as well and when he turned to the statue, he saw that it was laughing.
So, he ascertained that the wicked young woman was deceitful, but in order that she didn't know that he was aware of this, he wanted to make love with her that night. And the following morning, he got up early, caressed her and sent her to her quarters that were above the stable. Then, according to Muslim custom, he entered the bathroom and washed himself and gave orders that another of the young women be brought into his presence. He met her smiling in his courtyard, took her by the hand and led her into his chamber. And because he was dressed in an ermine coat, when he approached her and placed his arms around her neck, he happened to cover her bosom with the ermine fur. She showed that she was greatly annoyed by this, so she said, "Sire, please, remove yourself a bit because the fur of your coat scratches my skin in a strange way and causes me great displeasure."
From these words the prince realized the wickedness and deceit of the young woman, and when he turned to the statue, he saw it laughing which confirmed her deception. But he concealed this. "You truly have," he said, "a very delicate body and since you feel so annoyed by the fur of my coat, it causes me to believe that with such a body your face must be even more delicate."
And he conversed with her in this way and walked with her towards a mirror which was in the room, facing it, near to her face. And when both of them looked at the mirror, she immediately covered her face with her hands and when the Prince asked why she did this, she said, "because no other man but you should ever see me." And because the prince was already aware of her falseness, he looked at the statue again and saw it laughing. Nevertheless, he concealed everything, and wanted to spend the night with the young woman. And early in the morning, he rose early and sent her back to her quarters above the kitchen. And he entered his bath, and stayed there for a little while. After leaving, he gave orders that the third young woman be brought to him.
She arrived into his presence and he welcomed her cheerfully. They entered the garden of the palace and walked over the fresh grass while discussing various matters. There was a beautiful lake, which, thanks to the diversity of the fish that it contained, was very delightful to see. When they approached the lake, the young woman immediately covered her face with a veil, and when the Prince asked why she did this, she answered, "Because in this lake there are some male fish, and it would not be honorable that they would see me, since I am a woman."
From these words the Prince understood that she was no better than the other two, but he wanted to be sure of this and turned towards the statue, and noticed that it was laughing. For a while, there had been a small and beautiful little boat in that lake with open sails and with many carved figurines which resembled the great ships that sail the high seas. It was built and placed there to decorate the lake. It so happened that it was hit by the wind now in this, now in that part of the lake, until it sank. When the young woman saw this, she pretended to faint and fell down. When she recovered and the Prince asked her for the reason of her distress, she said, "Because seeing that little ship sinking with all those sailors on board greatly distressed me." The Prince who noticed the falseness and wickedness of the young woman who fainted when she saw the wooden figurines on the ship drown, turned his eyes towards the statue and saw it grin. So, he was sure that he wasn't deceiving himself. But he gave no sign of this to the young woman. He caressed her and spent the night with her. And early the next morning he sent her back to her quarters which had been built above the stream. When he came out of the bath, he asked that the fourth damsel be brought to him.
When she came into his presence, she did not want to approach him out of reverence. He took her by the hand and began to caress her a lot. But because he saw that she was honest and had fine manners, and wandering whether she would be similar to the other women and wicked, he turned his eyes to the statue and did not see it laughing for she was truly good and honest. He amused himself with her also that night and in the morning sent her back to her quarters which were near the cellar.
But because of her humility and the great reverence with which she behaved, he thought that perhaps she was the daughter of some poor and common man and not of a prince. And thereafter he did not want to amuse himself with her and instead chose the other three.
It so happened that one evening he went to the room of the young woman who had pretended to faint from the rose petal that had touched her face and he went to bed with her after dinner. He engaged for a good while in varied conversation with her and then he fell asleep. After some time he woke up, believing that the young woman was beside him, but he noticed that she was not there. He was very surprised and rose immediately. He lit the lamp and diligently looked for her in every part of the room. He found that all the doors were closed except for the one that led to the stable which was open. With bursts of great anger, he removed his sword and went towards the stable through the open door. He heard the young woman cry and concealed himself in a corner where he saw the groom kicking and punching her violently because she had kept him waiting so long. She bitterly sobbed and excused herself that she could not have come earlier because of the Lord with whom she was sharing the bed that night. She said that as soon as he fell asleep, she got up from the bed and rushed to him as quickly as she could and she begged him to stop beating her.
When the Prince saw this, he became very angry and he could hardly refrain from killing both of them. However, considering his dignity he decided to keep his revenge against the wicked woman in reserve for another time, saying to himself, "Wicked woman, how can you withstand to be so ferociously beaten when your face is so delicate that the touch of a rose petal makes you faint in my presence?" And he truly realized the great craftmanship of the statue. He then left and returned to his bed to find out the wickedness of the others, but he did not speak to anyone about it. The next day at the usual hour he sent for the second young woman whose assigned quarters were above the kitchen. He engaged with her until late in varied conversation and after dinner was prepared, they set down alone at the table. And they passed a long time in pleasant conversation. They left the table and the Prince pretended to fall asleep and stayed that way for two hours. The young woman was led to believe that he was really sleeping. Then, she quietly got up, opened the door of the room and went to the kitchen. But the Prince who was not asleep at all and was fully aware of everything, followed her slowly and saw that the young woman who, as soon as she had arrived in the kitchen, was tightly embraced by the cook who took her by the hand and had her lie down on a pile of thorny branches, where they lingered sweetly in amorous pleasures.
The Prince was greatly surprised that she was not at all upset by the thorny branches while she had been so annoyed when the light touch of an ermine garment had caused her to almost faint. "She really is," he said, "no less wicked and malicious than the other woman and he knew now that the statue had judged her very truly as well."
Nevertheless, he let it all pass by in silence and returned to lie down with her in anticipation of a third test the following night. Now he got up early in the morning and thought about nothing else till the hour of the Vespers than how he had chosen to punish the wicked women.
He then asked the third young woman who lived in the quarters above the river to come into his presence. Although he had seen nothing better of her than with the others, he kept hoping, began to caress her and had delightful conversation with her until nightfall. When the tables had been prepared, they went to have dinner. After they had listened for a while to some very fine music, they went to bed. And the prince laid down because he wanted to make sure of her wickedness as well, and after a short while he told the young woman that he was tired and wanted to rest. He persuaded her easily and when she believed that he was really asleep, like the others, she rose quietly from his bed, opened the door slowly and left the room. She went towards a stairway which led to the river. After she had arrived there, she undressed and put the clothes on her head. She took a large empty earthen jar which was nearby and placed it under her arms so she wouldn't drown and crossed the river. When she arrived there, she was tightly embraced by a peasant, and the two of them laid down for a good while and enjoyed themselves amorously.
The Prince had observed everything very well, because he had got up from his bed and followed her secretly to the river. So, he knew that she was no less wicked than the others. While she pretended to faint because of a small boat which she saw sink in the lake through the wind, and had covered her face because she didn't want the male fishes to see it, she passed the river so dangerously and was really fraudulent and deceitful as was shown by the laughter of the statue.
Nevertheless, he did not speak of this to anyone. He returned to his room, and went to bed with a great desire the following day to test the fourth young woman in the same way as he had tested the other three.
And in the morning, he got up early, and up to the hour of Vespers dealt with his affairs. He gave orders that the young woman should come to him, and until late, he passed time with her in the garden in varied conversation. Then they sat at the table with richly prepared foods. Finally, after fine music and songs they went to bed. And after they conversed for a while, the Prince pretended to be asleep. The young woman quietly rose from the bed, dressed herself, took a little book in her hand and went into a nearby small room to pray. But the Prince who had seen everything, led himself to believe that she had deceived him also. He dressed himself as well and followed her. And while he saw her praying there, he still was not sure of her goodness. But he stayed for a while and when she came to the end of her prayer and went towards the door of the small room, the Prince, so as not to be seen by her, immediately returned to bed. And she returned, quietly undressed herself and laid down beside him. Nevertheless, given all this, he still could not convince himself that she was good and thought that she wanted to deceive him through a pretense of sanctity. Therefore, he decided to lie down with her the three following nights and he kept her with him for that length of time. And when he realized that the young woman was truly good and virtuous since he saw her continually persevere in prayer, he chose her as his wife and decided firmly to avenge himself on the other three for the abuse he had suffered.
Among the many fierce animals he had, which he had fight together for entertainment, there was a horrible and frightful mule. Late one evening, he called his servants and entered the stable with them. He ordered that they take the mule out and tie it to a spot where he knew the evil woman had to pass. The servants did as he ordered and so that the groom would not remove the mule from the spot, he ordered them to stay that night in the stable with the groom.
And when he returned to his room, he ordered that the young woman, whose quarters were above the stable, should come to him. She obeyed his command and immediately went to meet the Prince. He received her smilingly and had a fine meal prepared and sat with her at the table. And they entertained themselves there for a good while with songs and music. And because it was already late, they rose from the table and the prince took her by the hand and led her to bed. Suddenly, when he went to bed, he indicated that he was tired and pretended to fall asleep. The loose woman, whose mind was on her groom, saw this, took her clothes and quietly rose from the bed, as she had done before, and went to the staircase which led to the stable. She went downstairs, expecting that the groom was waiting for her there as he had before, and she laid down beside the ferocious mule. When he became aware of her, the mule attacked her so fiercely with his hooves and his teeth that in a short while he caused her a harsh and cruel death.
The following day, the servants who remained with the groom reported the incident to the Prince. While outwardly he showed great sorrow, he was incredibly glad.
And because he had decided to have the other two young women die, he had the one whose dwelling was above the kitchen come to his quarters. And as with the other one who had been killed by the mule, they dined and entertained themselves and they went to bed late. But first, he had given the order to one of his trusted servants to immediately remove the first four steps of the stairs leading to the kitchen. This had been done right away and the Prince enjoyed amorous conversation with the young woman for a long time, after which he pretended to go to sleep. The wicked woman who ardently loved the cook and not the Prince, slowly got up from his side and with her clothes under her arms moved toward the kitchen. When she reached the stairs, she placed her foot down to descend but did not find the steps. She fell violently and because she was at great height, she broke all her bones and died instantly.
The Prince was very happy and cheerful about this, although he showed great sorrow to the person who brought him this news.
And since only the third one remained to avenge himself, he sent for her late the following day. He ardently caressed her when she came before him and as with the other two, he dined with her and engaged in varied conversation until it was time to go to bed.
However, the day before he had asked one of his trusted barons to steal the earthenware vase that she carried under her arms in order to cross the river securely, and to replace it with another similar one which had not been fired. This order was diligently carried out. Now, the Prince went to bed with the evil woman and enjoyed her for a long time amorously, after which he pretended to fall asleep as he had done before. When she became aware of this, she quietly got up, took her clothes, left the room and went to the river with the clothes on her head and she held the unfired vase under her arms. She went into the river where the vase sank since it was unfired and she immediately drowned with it as well.
When the report reached the Prince in the morning, he was overjoyed because he had firmly avenged himself on the three wicked women. He then wanted to give all his thoughts to fulfill his promise to the fourth young woman who was wholly devoted to prayer and in which he saw goodness and rare virtues, to take her as his wife. The wedding was celebrated with great solemnity. And in a short time, she gave him three sons, and his vassals, who wanted to see offspring, were endlessly comforted. And he devoted himself with his wife wholly to virtuous works and they lived quietly and happily for many years.
The Emperor was greatly moved with compassion for the three wicked women and their cruel and bitter fate of death imposed upon them by the Muslim Prince. Although he blamed their malfeasance, he also severely accused women of their wicked nature. After he finished thinking about this, he gave orders that the court should be dressed in dark brown, the color with which the sixth palace was also decorated. The next Saturday morning they were to ride there on horseback. So, he set out on the road early on Saturday morning with all his barons and within three hours they arrived at the palace. When he found the maiden there, he took her by the hand and engaged with her for some time in varied conversation. He then sat down at the table where they enjoyed an abundance of noble food.
And after dinner he took some rest in his room and then called for the sixth storyteller to be brought before him. He appeared in his presence, made a humble bow and began to tell his story as follows: