He told them of the attempt on his life made by his guest of the previous day, and then retired into his cell. The dervishes, who could not imagine what had become of him, were enchanted at his reappearance. The fairies and genies ceased talking, but the dervish did not forget a word of all they had said and when morning came he perceived a place in the side of the well which was broken, and where he could easily climb out. This will deliver her so completely that Maimoum, the son of Dimdim, will never dare to approach her again." Now to cure the princess the dervish must pull out seven of these white hairs, burn them, and with their smoke perfume the head of the princess. "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. "She has fallen into the power of the genie Maimoum, the son of Dimdim," replied the first voice. "But what is the matter with the princess that she needs the dervish's prayers?" asked another voice. And this he would have done, without our help, the very day before the Sultan has arranged to visit this holy dervish, and to entreat his prayers for the princess, his daughter." But his character soon won him the esteem of all, and the envious man's hatred grew, till he came here with the deliberate intention of causing his death. This man, from pure goodness of heart, forsook the town where he lived and came to dwell here, in the hope of curing one of his neighbours of the envy he felt towards him. 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?"Īnd the first speaker answered, "I will tell you. The dervish himself could see nothing, but he took for granted that something strange had happened, or he must certainly have been dashed against the side of the well and been killed. He then ran off triumphantly, without having been seen by anyone, and congratulating himself that the object of his hatred was dead, and would trouble him no more.īut in this he was mistaken! The old well had long been inhabited (unknown to mere human beings) by a set of fairies and genies, who caught the dervish as he fell, so that he received no hurt. 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 to and fro, always nearer to the well, and when they were quite close, he seized the dervish and dropped him in. "What I have to say must not be overheard," he whispered "command, I beg of you, that your dervishes retire into their cells, as night is approaching, and meet me in the court." The excuse he gave for his appearance was that he had come to consult the chief of the dervishes on a private matter of great importance. So he left his house and his business to look after themselves, and betook himself to the new dervish monastery, where he was welcomed by the founder with all the warmth imaginable. 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 till he had in some way worked ill to the dervish whom he hated. The fame of his virtue gradually spread abroad, and many people, including several of the highest quality, came to visit him and ask his prayers. In order to live a quieter life, the good man put on the robe of a dervish, and divided his house into a quantity of small cells, where he soon established a number of other dervishes. About half a mile from this city he bought a nice little place, with a large garden and a fair-sized court, in the centre of which stood an old well. So he sold his house and the little furniture it contained, and moved into the capital of the country, which was luckily at no great distance. In a town of moderate size, two men lived in neighbouring houses but they had not been there very long before one man took such a hatred of the other, and envied him so bitterly, that the poor man determined to find another home, hoping that when they no longer met every day his enemy would forget all about him. The Story of the Envious Man and of Him Who Was Envied We begin by continuing the story of the second dervish, and a story he told. This is part four of our stories from The Arabian Nights Entertainments, selected and edited by Andrew Lang. Today’s stories are The Story of the Envious Man and of Him Who Was Envied and The Story of the Third Dervish, Son of a King. I’m Susan Poulter, a Librarian at the Main Library.
Hello, and welcome to Family Folktales from the Nashville Public Library. These stories can be found in The Arabian Nights Entertainments.
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