The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade by Edgar Allan Poe
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the thousand- and- second tale of Scheherazade

by Edgar Allan Poe

truth is stranger than fiction .

old SAYING .

HAVING had occasion, lately, in_the course of some oriental investigations, to consult the Tellmenow Isitsoornot, a work which ( like the Zohar of Simeon Jochaides) is scarcely known at all, even in Europe; and which_has never been quoted, to my knowledge, by any American -- if_we except, perhaps, the author of_the " curiosities of American literature"; -- having had occasion, I_say, to_turn over some pages of_the first -- mentioned very remarkable work, i_was not a little astonished to discover that_the literary world has hitherto been strangely in error respecting the fate of_the vizier's daughter, Scheherazade, as_that fate is depicted in_the " Arabian Nights"; and_that the denouement there given, if_not altogether inaccurate, as far as it goes, is at_least to blame in not having gone very_much farther .

for full information on_this interesting topic, I_must refer the inquisitive reader to_the "Isitsoornot" itself, but in_the meantime, I_shall_be pardoned for giving a summary of what I there discovered .

it_will_be remembered, that, in_the usual version of_the tales, a certain monarch having good cause to_be jealous of_his queen, not_only puts her to death, but makes a vow, by his beard and_the prophet, to espouse each night the most beautiful maiden in_his dominions, and_the next morning to deliver her up_to_the executioner .

Having fulfilled this vow for many years to_the letter, and with a religious punctuality and method that conferred great credit upon him as a man of devout feeling and excellent sense, he_was interrupted one afternoon ( no_doubt at his prayers) by a visit from_his grand vizier, to whose daughter, it appears, there had occurred an idea .

her name was Scheherazade, and her idea was, that she_would either redeem the land from_the depopulating tax upon its beauty, or perish, after_the approved fashion of all heroines, in_the attempt .

accordingly, and although we_do_not find it to_be leap- year ( which makes the sacrifice more meritorious), she deputes her father, the grand vizier, to_make an offer to_the king of her hand . this hand the king eagerly accepts -- ( he had intended to_take it at all events, and had put off the matter from day to day, only through fear of_the vizier), -- but, in accepting it now, he_gives all parties very distinctly to understand, that, grand vizier or no grand vizier, he has_not the slightest design of giving up one iota of_his vow or of_his privileges . when, therefore, the fair Scheherazade insisted upon marrying the king, and did actually marry him despite her father's excellent advice not to_do any thing of_the kind -- when she_would and did marry him, I_say, will I, nill I, it_was with her beautiful black eyes as thoroughly open as_the nature of_the case would allow .

it seems, however, that_this politic damsel ( who had_been reading Machiavelli, beyond doubt), had a very ingenious little plot in her mind . on_the night of_the wedding, she contrived, upon I forget what specious pretence, to_have her sister occupy a couch sufficiently near that of_the royal pair to admit of easy conversation from bed to bed; and, a little before cock-crowing, she took care to awaken the good monarch, her husband ( who bore her none the worse will because he intended to wring her neck on_the morrow), -- she managed to awaken him, I_say, ( although on account of a capital conscience and an easy digestion, he slept well) by_the profound interest of a story ( about a rat and a black cat, i_think) which she was narrating ( all in an undertone, of_course) to her sister . when_the day broke, it so happened that_this history was not altogether finished, and_that Scheherazade, in_the nature of things could_not finish it just then, since it_was high time for her to_get up and be bowstrung -- a thing very little more pleasant than hanging, only a trifle more genteel .

the king's curiosity, however, prevailing, I_am sorry to_say, even over his sound religious principles, induced him for_this once to postpone the fulfilment of_his vow until next morning, for_the_purpose and with_the hope of hearing that night how it fared in_the end with_the black cat (a black cat, i_think it_was) and_the rat .

the night having arrived, however, the lady Scheherazade not_only put the finishing stroke to_the black cat and_the rat ( the rat was blue) but before she well knew what she was about, found herself deep in_the intricacies of a narration, having reference ( if I_am not altogether mistaken) to a pink horse ( with green wings) that went, in a violent manner, by clockwork, and was wound up with an indigo key . with_this history the king was even more profoundly interested than with_the other -- and, as_the day broke before its conclusion ( notwithstanding all the queen's endeavors to_get through with it in_time for_the bowstringing), there_was again no resource but to postpone that ceremony as before, for twenty-four hours . the next night there happened a similar accident with a similar result; and then the next -- and then again the next; so_that, in_the end, the good monarch, having been unavoidably deprived of all opportunity to_keep his vow during a period of no less_than one thousand and one nights, either forgets it altogether by_the expiration of this_time, or gets himself absolved of it in_the regular way, or ( what_is more probable) breaks it outright, as_well as_the head of_his father confessor . at all events, Scheherazade, who, being lineally descended from Eve, fell heir, perhaps, to_the whole seven baskets of talk, which the latter lady, we all know, picked up from under the trees in_the garden of Eden-Scheherazade, I_say, finally triumphed, and_the tariff upon beauty was repealed .

now, this conclusion ( which_is that of_the story as we_have it upon record) is, no_doubt, excessively proper and pleasant -- but alas ! like a great_many pleasant things, is more pleasant than true, and I_am indebted altogether to_the "Isitsoornot" for_the means of correcting the error ."Le mieux," says a French proverb, " EST l'ennemi du bien," and, in mentioning that Scheherazade had inherited the seven baskets of talk, i_should_have added that she put them out at compound interest until they amounted to seventy-seven .

" my dear sister," said she, on_the thousand- and- second night, (I quote the language of_the "Isitsoornot" at_this point, verbatim) " my dear sister," said she, " now that all this little difficulty about_the bowstring has blown over, and that_this odious tax is so happily repealed, I_feel that I_have_been guilty of great indiscretion in withholding from_you and_the king ( who I_am sorry to_say, snores -- a thing no gentleman would do) the full conclusion of Sinbad the sailor . this person went through numerous other and more interesting adventures than those which I related; but the truth is, I_felt sleepy on_the particular night of_their narration, and so was seduced into cutting them short -- a grievous piece of misconduct, for_which I only trust that Allah will forgive me . but even yet it_is_not too late to remedy my great neglect -- and as_soon_as I_have_given the king a pinch or two in_order to wake him up so_far that he_may stop making that horrible noise, i_will forthwith entertain you ( and him if he pleases) with_the sequel of_this very remarkable story .

hereupon the sister of Scheherazade, as I_have it from_the "Isitsoornot," expressed no very particular intensity of gratification; but the king, having been sufficiently pinched, at_length ceased snoring, and finally said, " hum ! " and then "hoo ! " when_the queen, understanding these words ( which are no_doubt Arabic) to signify that he_was all attention, and would do his best not to snore any more -- the queen, I_say, having arranged these matters to her satisfaction, re- entered thus, at once, into_the history of Sinbad the sailor:

"' at_length, in my old age, [ these are the words of Sinbad himself, as retailed by Scheherazade] -- ' at_length, in my old age, and after enjoying many years of tranquillity at home, I became once more possessed of a desire of visiting foreign countries; and one day, without acquainting any of_my family with my design, I packed up some bundles of_such merchandise as was most precious and least bulky, and, engaged a porter to carry them, went with_him down to_the sea- shore, to await the arrival of any chance vessel that might convey me out_of_the kingdom into some region which I had_not as_yet explored .

"'Having deposited the packages upon_the sands, we sat down beneath some trees, and looked out into_the ocean in_the hope of perceiving a ship, but during several hours we saw none whatever . at_length I fancied that I_could hear a singular buzzing or humming sound; and_the porter, after listening awhile, declared that he also could distinguish it . presently it grew louder, and then still louder, so_that we_could_have no_doubt that_the object which caused it_was approaching us . at_length, on_the edge of_the horizon, we discovered a black speck, which rapidly increased in size until we_made it out to_be a vast monster, swimming with a great part of_its body above the surface of_the sea . it came toward us with inconceivable swiftness, throwing up huge waves of foam around its breast, and illuminating all that part of_the sea through which it passed, with a long line of fire that extended far off into_the distance .

"' as_the thing drew near we saw it very distinctly . its length was equal to_that of three of_the loftiest trees that grow, and it_was as wide as_the great hall of audience in your palace, O most sublime and munificent of_the Caliphs . its body, which_was unlike that of ordinary fishes, was as solid as a rock, and of ajetty blackness throughout all that portion of it which floated above the water, with_the exception of a narrow blood- red streak that completely begirdled it . the belly, which floated beneath the surface, and of_which we_could get only a glimpse now_and_then as_the monster rose and fell with_the billows, was entirely covered with metallic scales, of a color like that of_the moon in misty weather . the back was flat and nearly white, and from_it there extended upwards of six spines, about half the length of_the whole body .

"' the horrible creature had no mouth that we_could perceive, but, as_if to_make up for_this deficiency, it_was provided with at_least four score of eyes, that protruded from their sockets like those of_the green dragon- fly, and were arranged all around the body in two rows, one above the other, and parallel to_the blood- red streak, which seemed to answer the purpose of an eyebrow . two_or_three of_these dreadful eyes were much larger than_the others, and had the appearance of solid gold .

"' although this beast approached us, as I_have before said, with_the greatest rapidity, it must_have been moved altogether by necromancy- for_it had neither fins like a fish nor web- feet like a duck, nor wings like the seashell which_is blown along in_the manner of a vessel; nor yet did it writhe itself forward as do_the eels . its head and its tail were shaped precisely alike, only, not far from_the latter, were two small holes that served for nostrils, and through which the monster puffed out its thick breath with prodigious violence, and with ashrieking, disagreeable noise .

"' our terror at beholding this hideous thing was very great, but it_was even surpassed by our astonishment, when upon getting a nearer look, we perceived upon_the creature's back a vast number of animals about_the size and shape of men, and altogether much resembling them, except that_they wore no garments ( as men do), being supplied ( by nature, no_doubt) with an ugly uncomfortable covering, a good_deal like cloth, but fitting so tight to_the skin, as_to render the poor wretches laughably awkward, and put them apparently to severe pain . on_the very tips of_their heads were certain square- looking boxes, which, at first sight, i_thought might_have_been intended to answer as turbans, but I soon discovered that_they were excessively heavy and solid, and I therefore concluded they were contrivances designed, by their great weight, to_keep the heads of_the animals steady and safe upon their shoulders . around the necks of_the creatures were fastened black collars, (badges of servitude, no_doubt,) such as_we keep on_our dogs, only much wider and infinitely stiffer, so that_it_was quite impossible for_these poor victims to move their heads in any direction without moving the body at_the same time; and thus they were doomed to perpetual contemplation of_their noses -- a view puggish and snubby in a wonderful, if_not positively in an awful degree .

"' when_the monster had nearly reached the shore where we stood, it suddenly pushed out one of_its eyes to a great extent, and emitted from_it a terrible flash of fire, accompanied by a dense cloud of smoke, and a noise that I_can compare to nothing but thunder . as_the smoke cleared away, we saw one_of_the odd man-animals standing near the head of_the large beast with a trumpet in_his hand, through which (putting it to_his mouth) he presently addressed us in loud, harsh, and disagreeable accents, that, perhaps, we_should_have mistaken for language, had they not come altogether through_the nose .

"' being thus evidently spoken to, i_was at a loss how to reply, as I_could in no manner understand what_was said; and in_this difficulty I turned to_the porter, who was near swooning through affright, and demanded of him his opinion as_to what species of monster it_was, what it wanted, and what kind of creatures those were that so swarmed upon its back . to_this the porter replied, as_well as he_could for trepidation, that he had once before heard of_this sea- beast; that_it_was a cruel demon, with bowels of sulphur and blood of fire, created by evil genii as_the means of inflicting misery upon mankind; that_the things upon its back were vermin, such as sometimes infest cats and dogs, only a little larger and more savage; and that_these vermin had their

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