Kabanata Kabanata 8 · Loving Laili

. Loving Laili

Once there was a king called King Dantal, who had a great many rupees

and soldiers and horses. He had also an only son called Prince Majnun,

who was a handsome boy with white teeth, red lips, blue eyes, red

cheeks, red hair, and a white skin. This boy was very fond of playing

with the Wazir's son, Husain Mahamat, in King Dantal's garden, which

was very large and full of delicious fruits, and flowers, and trees.

They used to take their little knives there and cut the fruits and eat

them. King Dantal had a teacher for them to teach them to read and

write.

One day, when they were grown two fine young men, Prince Majnun said

to his father, "Husain Mahamat and I should like to go and hunt." His

father said they might go, so they got ready their horses and all else

they wanted for their hunting, and went to the Phalana country,

hunting all the way, but they only founds jackals and birds.

The Raja of the Phalana country was called Munsuk Raja, and he had a

daughter named Laili, who was very beautiful; she had brown eyes and

black hair.

One night, some time before Prince Majnun came to her father's

kingdom, as she slept, Khuda sent to her an angel in the form of a man

who told her that she should marry Prince Majnun and no one else, and

that this was Khuda's command to her. When Laili woke she told her

father of the angel's visit to her as she slept; but her father paid

no attention to her story. From that time she began repeating,

"Majnun, Majnun; I want Majnun," and would say nothing else. Even as

she sat and ate her food she kept saying, "Majnun, Majnun; I want

Majnun." Her father used to get quite vexed with her. "Who is this

Majnun? who ever heard of this Majnun?" he would say.

"He is the man I am to marry," said Laili. "Khuda has ordered me to

marry no one but Majnun." And she was half mad.

Meanwhile, Majnun and Husain Mahamat came to hunt in the Phalana

country; and as they were riding about, Laili came out on her horse to

eat the air, and rode behind them. All the time she kept saying,

"Majnun, Majnun; I want Majnun." The prince heard her, and turned

round. "Who is calling me?" he asked. At this Laili looked at him, and

the moment she saw him she fell deeply in love with him, and she said

to herself, "I am sure that is the Prince Majnun that Khuda says I am

to marry." And she went home to her father and said, "Father, I wish

to marry the prince who has come to your kingdom; for I know he is the

Prince Majnun I am to marry."

"Very well, you shall have him for your husband," said Munsuk Raja.

"We will ask him to-morrow." Laili consented to wait, although she was

very impatient. As it happened, the prince left the Phalana kingdom

that night, and when Laili heard he was gone, she went quite mad. She

would not listen to a word her father, or her mother, or her servants

said to her, but went off into the jungle, and wandered from jungle to

jungle, till she got farther and farther away from her own country.

All the time she kept saying, "Majnun, Majnun; I want Majnun;" and so

she wandered about for twelve years.

At the end of the twelve years she met a fakir--he was really an

angel, but she did not know this--who asked her, "Why do you always

say, 'Majnun, Majnun; I want Majnun'?" She answered, "I am the

daughter of the king of the Phalana country, and I want to find Prince

Majnun; tell me where his kingdom is."

"I think you will never get there," said the fakir, "for it is very

far from hence, and you have to cross many rivers to reach it." But

Laili said she did not care; she must see Prince Majnun. "Well," said

the fakir, "when you come to the Bhagirathi river you will see a big

fish, a Rohu; and you must get him to carry you to Prince Majnun's

country, or you will never reach it."

She went on and on, and at last she came to the Bhagirathi river.

There was a great big fish called the Rohu fish. It was yawning just

as she got up to it, and she instantly jumped down its throat into its

stomach. All the time she kept saying, "Majnun, Majnun." At this the

Rohu fish was greatly alarmed and swam down the river as fast as he

could. By degrees he got tired and went slower, and a crow came and

perched on his back, and said "Caw, caw." "Oh, Mr. Crow," said the

poor fish "do see what is in my stomach that makes such a noise."

"Very well," said the crow, "open your mouth wide, and I'll fly down

and see." So the Rohu opened his jaws and the crow flew down, but he

came up again very quickly. "You have a Rakshas in your stomach," said

the crow, and he flew away. This news did not comfort the poor Rohu,

and he swam on and on till he came to Prince Majnun's country. There

he stopped. And a jackal came down to the river to drink. "Oh,

jackal," said the Rohu, "do tell me what I have inside me."

[Illustration:]

"How can I tell?" said the jackal. "I cannot see unless I go inside

you." So the Rohu opened his mouth wide, and the jackal jumped down

his throat; but he came up very quickly, looking much frightened and

saying, "You have a Rakshas in your stomach, and if I don't run away

quickly, I am afraid it will eat me." So off he ran. After the jackal

came an enormous snake. "Oh," says the fish, "do tell me what I have

in my stomach, for it rattles about so, and keeps saying, 'Majnun,

Majnun; I want Majnun.'"

The snake said, "Open your mouth wide, and I'll go down and see what

it is." The snake went down: when he returned he said, "You have a

Rakshas in your stomach, but if you will let me cut you open, it will

come out of you." "If you do that, I shall die," said the Rohu. "Oh,

no," said the snake, "you will not, for I will give you a medicine

that will make you quite well again." So the fish agreed, and the

snake got a knife and cut him open, and out jumped Laili.

She was now very old. Twelve years she had wandered about the jungle,

and for twelve years she had lived inside her Rohu; and she was no

longer beautiful, and had lost her teeth. The snake took her on his

back and carried her into the country, and there he put her down, and

she wandered on and on till she got to Majnun's court-house, where

King Majnun was sitting. There some men heard her crying, "Majnun,

Majnun; I want Majnun," and they asked her what she wanted. "I want

King Majnun," she said.

So they went in and said to Prince Majnun, "An old woman outside says

she wants you." "I cannot leave this place," said he; "send her in

here." They brought her in and the prince asked her what she wanted.

"I want to marry you," she answered. "Twenty-four years ago you came

to my father the Phalana Raja's country, and I wanted to marry you

then; but you went away without marrying me. Then I went mad, and I

have wandered about all these years looking for you." Prince Majnun

said, "Very good."

"Pray to Khuda," said Laili, "to make us both young again, and then we

shall be married." So the prince prayed to Khuda, and Khuda said to

him, "Touch Laili's clothes and they will catch fire, and when they

are on fire, she and you will become young again." When he touched

Laili's clothes they caught fire, and she and he became young again.

And there were great feasts, and they were married, and travelled to

the Phalana country to see her father and mother.

Now Laili's father and mother had wept so much for their daughter that

they had become quite blind, and her father kept always repeating,

"Laili, Laili, Laili." When Laili saw their blindness, she prayed to

Khuda to restore their sight to them, which he did. As soon as the

father and mother saw Laili, they hugged her and kissed her, and then

they had the wedding all over again amid great rejoicings. Prince

Majnun and Laili stayed with Munsuk Raja and his wife for three years,

and then they returned to King Dantal, and lived happily for some time

with him.

They used to go out hunting, and they often went from country to

country to eat the air and amuse themselves.

One day Prince Majnun said to Laili, "Let us go through this jungle."

"No, no," said Laili; "if we go through this jungle, some harm will

happen to me." But Prince Majnun laughed, and went into the jungle.

And as they were going through it, Khuda thought, "I should like to

know how much Prince Majnun loves his wife. Would he be very sorry if

she died? And would he marry another wife? I will see." So he sent one

of his angels in the form of a fakir into the jungle; and the angel

went up to Laili, and threw some powder in her face, and instantly she

fell to the ground a heap of ashes.

Prince Majnun was in great sorrow and grief when he saw his dear Laili

turned into a little heap of ashes; and he went straight home to his

father, and for a long, long time he would not be comforted. After a

great many years he grew more cheerful and happy, and began to go

again into his father's beautiful garden with Husain Mahamat. King

Dantal wished his son to marry again. "I will only have Laili for my

wife; I will not marry any other woman," said Prince Majnun.

"How can you marry Laili? Laili is dead. She will never come back to

you," said the father.

"Then I'll not have any wife at all," said Prince Majnun.

Meanwhile Laili was living in the jungle where her husband had left

her a little heap of ashes. As soon as Majnun had gone, the fakir had

taken her ashes and made them quite clean, and then he had mixed clay

and water with the ashes, and made the figure of a woman with them,

and so Laili regained her human form, and Khuda sent life into it. But

Laili had become once more a hideous old woman, with a long, long

nose, and teeth like tusks; just such an old woman, excepting her

teeth, as she had been when she came out of the Rohu fish; and she

lived in the jungle, and neither ate nor drank, and she kept on

saying, "Majnun, Majnun; I want Majnun."

At last the angel who had come as a fakir and thrown the powder at

her, said to Khuda, "Of what use is it that this woman should sit in

the jungle crying, crying for ever, 'Majnun, Majnun; I want Majnun,'

and eating and drinking nothing? Let me take her to Prince Majnun."

"Well," said Khuda, "you may do so; but tell her that she must not

speak to Majnun if he is afraid of her when he sees her; and that if

he is afraid when he sees her, she will become a little white dog the

next day. Then she must go to the palace, and she will only regain her

human shape when Prince Majnun loves her, feeds her with his own food,

and lets her sleep in his bed."

So the angel came to Laili again as a fakir and carried her to King

Dantal's garden. "Now," he said, "it is Khuda's command that you stay

here till Prince Majnun comes to walk in the garden, and then you may

show yourself to him. But you must not speak to him, if he is afraid

of you; and should he be afraid of you, you will the next day become a

little white dog." He then told her what she must do as a little dog

to regain her human form.

Laili stayed in the garden, hidden in the tall grass, till Prince

Majnun and Husain Mahamat came to walk in the garden. King Dantal was

now a very old man, and Husain Mahamat, though he was really only as

old as Prince Majnun, looked a great deal older than the prince, who

had been made quite young again when he married Laili.

As Prince Majnun and the Wazir's son walked in the garden, they

gathered the fruit as they had done as little children, only they bit

the fruit with their teeth; they did not cut it. While Majnun was busy

eating a fruit in this way, and was talking to Husain Mahamat, he

turned towards him and saw Laili walking behind the Wazir's son. "Oh,

look, look!" he cried, "see what is following you; it is a Rakshas or

a demon, and I am sure it is going to eat us." Laili looked at him

beseechingly with all her eyes, and trembled with age and eagerness;

but this only frightened Majnun the more. "It is a Rakshas, a

Rakshas!" he cried, and he ran quickly to the palace with the Wazir's

son; and as they ran away, Laili disappeared into the jungle. They ran

to King Dantal, and Majnun told him there was a Rakshas or a demon in

the garden that had come to eat them.

"What nonsense," said his father. "Fancy two grown men being so

frightened by an old ayah or a fakir! And if it had been a Rakshas, it

would not have eaten you." Indeed King Dantal did not believe Majnun

had seen anything at all, till Husain Mahamat said the prince was

speaking the exact truth. They had the garden searched for the

terrible old woman, but found nothing, and King Dantal told his son he

was very silly to be so much frightened. However, Prince Majnun would

not walk in the garden any more.

The next day Laili turned into a pretty little dog; and in this shape

she came into the palace, where Prince Majnun soon became very fond of

her. She followed him everywhere, went with him when he was out

hunting, and helped him to catch his game, and Prince Majnun fed her

with milk, or bread, or anything else he was eating, and at night the

little dog slept in his bed.

But one night the little dog disappeared, and in its stead there lay

the little old woman who had frightened him so much in the garden; and

now Prince Majnun was quite sure she was a Rakshas, or a demon, or

some such horrible thing come to eat him; and in his terror he cried

out, "What do you want? Oh, do not eat me; do not eat me!" Poor Laili

answered, "Don't you know me? I am your wife Laili, and I want to

marry you. Don't you remember how you would go through that jungle,

though I begged and begged you not to go, for I told you that harm

would happen to me, and then a fakir came and threw powder in my face,

and I became a heap of ashes. But Khuda gave me my life again, and

brought me here, after I had stayed a long, long while in the jungle

crying for you, and now I am obliged to be a little dog; but if you

will marry me, I shall not be a little dog any more." Majnun, however,

said "How can I marry an old woman like you? how can you be Laili? I

am sure you are a Rakshas or a demon come to eat me," and he was in

great terror.

In the morning the old woman had turned into the little dog, and the

prince went to his father and told him all that had happened. "An old

woman! an old woman! always an old woman!" said his father. "You do

nothing but think of old women. How can a strong man like you be so

easily frightened?" However, when he saw that his son was really in

great terror, and that he really believed the old woman would came

back at night, he advised him to say to her, "I will marry you if you

can make yourself a young girl again. How can I marry such an old

woman as you are?"

That night as he lay trembling in bed the little old woman lay there

in place of the dog, crying "Majnun, Majnun, I want to marry you. I

have loved you all these long, long years. When I was in my father's

kingdom a young girl, I knew of you, though you knew nothing of me,

and we should have been married then if you had not gone away so

suddenly, and for long, long years I followed you." "Well," said

Majnun, "if you can make yourself a young girl again, I will marry

you."

Laili said, "Oh, that is quite easy. Khuda will make me a young girl

again. In two days' time you must go into the garden, and there you

will see a beautiful fruit. You must gather it and bring it into your

room and cut it open yourself very gently, and you must not open it

when your father or anybody else is with you, but when you are quite

alone; for I shall be in the fruit quite naked, without any clothes at

all on." In the morning Laili took her little dog's form, and

disappeared in the garden.

Prince Majnun told all this to his father, who told him to do all the

old woman had bidden him. In two days' time he and the Wazir's son

walked in the garden, and there they saw a large, lovely red fruit.

"Oh!" said the Prince, "I wonder shall I find my wife in that fruit."

Husain Mahamat wanted him to gather it and see, but he would not till

he had told his father, who said, "That must be the fruit; go and

gather it." So Majnun went back and broke the fruit off its stalk; and

he said to his father, "Come with me to my room while I open it; I am

afraid to open it alone, for perhaps I shall find a Rakshas in it that

will eat me."

"No," said King Dantal; "remember, Laili will be naked; you must go

alone and do not be afraid if, after all, a Rakshas is in the fruit,

for I will stay outside the door, and you have only to call me with a

loud voice, and I will come to you, so the Rakshas will not be able to

eat you."

Then Majnun took the fruit and began to cut it open tremblingly, for

he shook with fear; and when he had cut it, out stepped Laili, young

and far more beautiful than she had ever been. At the sight of her

extreme beauty, Majnun fell backwards fainting on the floor.

Laili took off his turban and wound it all round herself like a sari

(for she had no clothes at all on), and then she called King Dantal,

and said to him sadly, "Why has Majnun fallen down like this? Why will

he not speak to me? He never used to be afraid of me; and he has seen

me so many, many times."

King Dantal answered, "It is because you are so beautiful. You are

far, far more beautiful than you ever were. But he will be very happy

directly." Then the King got some water, and they bathed Majnun's face

and gave him some to drink, and he sat up again.

Then Laili said, "Why did you faint? Did you not see I am Laili?"

"Oh!" said Prince Majnun, "I see you are Laili come back to me, but

your eyes have grown so wonderfully beautiful, that I fainted when I

saw them." Then they were all very happy, and King Dantal had all the

drums in the place beaten, and had all the musical instruments played

on, and they made a grand wedding-feast, and gave presents to the

servants, and rice and quantities of rupees to the fakirs.

After some time had passed very happily, Prince Majnun and his wife

went out to eat the air. They rode on the same horse, and had only a

groom with them. They came to another kingdom, to a beautiful garden.

"We must go into that garden and see it," said Majnun.

"No, no," said Laili; "it belongs to a bad Raja, Chumman Basa, a very

wicked man." But Majnun insisted on going in, and in spite of all

Laili could say, he got off the horse to look at the flowers. Now, as

he was looking at the flowers, Laili saw Chumman Basa coming towards

them, and she read in his eyes that he meant to kill her husband and

seize her. So she said to Majnun, "Come, come, let us go; do not go

near that bad man. I see in his eyes, and I feel in my heart, that he

will kill you to seize me."

"What nonsense," said Majnun. "I believe he is a very good Raja.

Anyhow, I am so near to him that I could not get away."

"Well," said Laili, "it is better that you should be killed than I,

for if I were to be killed a second time, Khuda would not give me my

life again; but I can bring you to life if you are killed." Now

Chumman Basa had come quite near, and seemed very pleasant, so thought

Prince Majnun; but when he was speaking to Majnun, he drew his

scimitar and cut off the prince's head at one blow.

Laili sat quite still on her horse, and as the Raja came towards her

she said, "Why did you kill my husband?"

"Because I want to take you," he answered.

"You cannot," said Laili.

"Yes, I can," said the Raja.

"Take me, then," said Laili to Chumman Basa; so he came quite close

and put out his hand to take hers to lift her off her horse. But she

put her hand in her pocket and pulled out a tiny knife, only as long

as her hand was broad, and this knife unfolded itself in one instant

till it was such a length! and then Laili made a great sweep with her

arm and her long, long knife, and off came Chumman Basa's head at one

touch.

Then Laili slipped down off her horse, and she went to Majnun's dead

body, and she cut her little finger inside her hand straight down from

the top of her nail to her palm, and out of this gushed blood like

healing medicine. Then she put Majnun's head on his shoulders, and

smeared her healing blood all over the wound, and Majnun woke up and

said, "What a delightful sleep I have had! Why, I feel as if I had

slept for years!" Then he got up and saw the Raja's dead body by

Laili's horse.

"What's that?" said Majnun.

"That is the wicked Raja who killed you to seize me, just as I said he

would."

"Who killed him?" asked Majnun.

"I did," answered Laili, "and it was I who brought you to life."

"Do bring the poor man to life if you know how to do so," said Majnun.

"No," said Laili, "for he is a wicked man, and will try to do you

harm." But Majnun asked her for such a long time, and so earnestly to

bring the wicked Raja to life, that at least she said, "Jump up on the

horse, then, and go far away with the groom."

"What will you do," said Majnun, "if I leave you? I cannot leave you."

"I will take care of myself," said Laili; "but this man is so wicked,

he may kill you again if you are near him." So Majnun got up on the

horse, and he and the groom went a long way off and waited for Laili.

Then she set the wicked Raja's head straight on his shoulders, and

she squeezed the wound in her finger till a little blood-medicine

came out of it. Then she smeared this over the place where her knife

had passed, and just as she saw the Raja opening his eyes, she began

to run, and she ran, and ran so fast, that she outran the Raja, who

tried to catch her; and she sprang up on the horse behind her husband,

and they rode so fast, so fast, till they reached King Dantal's

palace.

[Illustration: How Loving Laili became young again]

There Prince Majnun told everything to his father, who was horrified

and angry. "How lucky for you that you have such a wife," he said.

"Why did you not do what she told you? But for her, you would be now

dead." Then he made a great feast out of gratitude for his son's

safety, and gave many, many rupees to the fakirs. And he made so much

of Laili. He loved her dearly; he could not do enough for her. Then he

built a splendid palace for her and his son, with a great deal of

ground about it, and lovely gardens, and gave them great wealth, and

heaps of servants to wait on them. But he would not allow any but

their servants to enter their gardens and palace, and he would not

allow Majnun to go out of them, nor Laili; "for," said King Dantal,

"Laili is so beautiful, that perhaps some one may kill my son to take

her away."