The Tale of Hodja Nasreddin- Disturber of the Peace by Leonid Solovyov

Author:Leonid Solovyov [Solovyov, Leonid]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780981269511
Publisher: Translit Publishing
Published: 2010-02-15T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

Before taking Guljan to the palace garden to see the emir, Arslanbek called the old hags from the harem and commanded them to prepare Guljan so that the emir’s gaze would be pleased to contemplate her perfection. The hags immediately set about their customary work: they washed Guljan’s tear-stained face with warm water, dressed her in light silk, put surma on her eyebrows and rouge on her cheeks, poured rose oil on her hair, and painted her nails red. Then they summoned His Great Chasteness, the head eunuch, from the harem – a man once known to all of Bukhara for his debauchery, he had been called into the emir’s service as a result of his knowledge and experience, castrated by the palace physician, and placed on one of the highest posts in the country. He was responsible for tirelessly watching the emir’s one hundred and sixty concubines, so that they would always have an enticing look and be able to arouse passion in the emir. This post became more difficult every year, because the emir became more and more satiated, while his strength diminished. And in the mornings, the head eunuch would not infrequently receive ten lashes from his ruler instead of a reward, which, however, was not that great a punishment for the eunuch. As he prepared the beautiful concubines for their meetings with the emir, he experienced torments far more horrible and quite comparable to those awaiting hell-bound sinners, who are condemned to be surrounded by nude houri while bound to posts with iron chains.

When the head eunuch saw Guljan, he took a step back, stunned by her beauty.

“She is truly magnificent!” he exclaimed in a high-pitched voice. “Lead her to the emir, get her out of my sight!” He hurried away, bashing his head against the walls, grinding his teeth, and exclaiming:

“O, how hard is my life, how bitter!”

“This is a good sign,” said the hags. “It means our sovereign will be pleased.”

The poor, silent Guljan was led to the palace garden.

The emir got up, approached her, and lifted her veil.

All the viziers, officials, and sages covered their eyes with the sleeves of their robes.

The emir could not take his eyes off her beautiful face for a long time.

“The moneylender did not lie to us!” he said loudly. “Triple the reward he was promised.” Guljan was led away. The emir cheered up considerably.

“He is pleased, he has cheered up! The nightingale of his heart has taken to the roses of her face!” the courtiers whispered. “Tomorrow morning, he will be happier still! Allah be praised, the storm has passed over our heads without striking us with either thunder or lightning.”

The court poets, gaining courage, stepped forward and began to praise the emir, comparing his face, in verse, to the full moon, his body to the slender cypress, and his reign to the moonlight. The King of the Poets finally found an opportunity to recite, as if in a burst of inspiration, the verses that had been hanging on the tip of his tongue since the previous morning.

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