Prince Ahmed went to search for his arrow following the direction in which he had shot. He found it on a steep craggy rock. He picked the arrow up and looked around.
There appeared to be a hollow in the rock. So, he stepped in and found that it opened onto a path with stairs. He walked down the stairs and saw an iron door. He opened the door and walked in.
It was dark when he entered, but as he walked along, he saw that it was becoming lighter. The passage opened into a large square with a magnificent palace in it. A beautiful lady with her attendants sat there.
“Welcome, Prince Ahmed!” said the lady. The Prince was surprised; she knew his name. “Come in and I will explain,” she said, leading him into the palace.
When she had seated Ahmed and served him food and drink, she began, “I am Pari Bano, the daughter of a very powerful genie. I sent the carpet, the ivory tube and the apple to your brothers and to you. I brought your arrow here, knowing you will follow it.”
The Prince was fascinated with her beauty and her story. But he wondered why she should have done all this.
“I wish to marry you, Prince Ahmed,” explained Pari Bano. Ahmed realised he loved her for her beauty and wisdom. Nur-un-nihar was now married to his brother. So, he agreed to marry Pari Bano.
She showed him the great wealth she possessed and soon there was a feast to celebrate the marriage of Ahmed and Pari Bano. For six months they lived in great happiness. One day, Ahmed wished to meet his father, the Sultan, who must be anxious about him. “Let him know you are happy, my dear,” said Pari Bano, “But do not tell him about me or our marriage or where I live.”
She sent twenty horsemen with him and wished him a speedy return. Prince Ahmed met the Sultan and told him he was very happy. He told him that he couldn’t tell him any more about himself.
The Sultan permitted him to come whenever he liked. However, when he left, some of the jealous vazirs of the Sultan’s court said the Sultan must find out where he went. The Sultan called a sorceress and asked her to discover Ahmed’s secret.
The sorceress went to the place where Ahmed had found the arrow and hid there hoping to catch him. Ahmed rode up with his horsemen but near the hollow, she lost sight of him suddenly.
She went into the hollow but could not see the iron door, for it had been enchanted by Pari Bano and only the men she permitted could see it. She watched and waited outside the hollow.
When Ahmed was next visiting the Sultan, the sorceress lay outside the hollow moaning and groaning with pain. Ahmed went up to her to help. He had her carried into Pari Bano’s palace.
Pari Bano knew instantly that the woman was pretending and that she had come to learn Ahmed’s secret, but she told her husband that she would protect him. Ahmed left the woman in Pari Bano’s care and went to meet the Sultan.
Pari Bano gave the woman a potion. She sat up immediately and said she felt well and would go now. Pari Bano’s attendants let her out, but she could not see the iron door even though she passed through it!
She ran to tell the Sultan all that she had seen and added that perhaps Pari Bano would like to dethrone him. This made the Sultan very uneasy and he consulted his vazirs about what he should do.
“Sir, ask Prince Ahmed for a tent that is so small that it can be held in your palm, but that can accommodate your whole army,” they advised.
So when it was time for Ahmed to go, the Sultan asked him to bring this gift from his wife.
“I will try, father,” replied Ahmed, “But if I never come again to visit you, it will be a sign that I have not succeeded in my mission.”
When Ahmed came home, Pari Bano told him all about the woman. She had given her only water to drink and she said she was cured! It was clear that she was a spy.
Then Ahmed told her about the Sultan’s wish. Pari Bano laughed and gave him an enchanted tent that he presented to his father on his next visit.
This time, his vazirs advised him to ask for water from the Fountain of the Lions that was said to cure all illnesses. When Ahmed told Pari Bano, she was angry.
“This is a wicked plan!” she said, “But I will help you. The fountain is in a castle where four lions guard the entrance. Take two horses, one to ride and one with a sheep cut into four parts. When you reach the entrance, throw the four pieces to the lions as they roar and enter quickly. Take this ball of thread as you leave my palace, for it will lead you to the castle and this bottle to carry the water.”
Prince Ahmed did exactly as she said and rode to the Sultan’s palace. The lions followed him tamely. The crowds seeing the lions scattered. But the jealous vazirs advised the Sultan to ask for one last gift.
“Ask him, Sir, for a man who is only a foot and a half high but with a thirty-foot-long beard and he should carry a very heavy iron bar on his shoulder and he should be able to speak!”
When Ahmed told Pari Bano about this, she smiled and said she had a brother, Shaibar, who was just the man described by him.
“But,” she warned, “he must not be insulted in any way, for he is quite ferocious.”
She introduced Ahmed to Shaibar and Ahmed received him with affection and courtesy. He went to the Sultan’s court when Pari Bano told him all about the sorceress and the Sultan’s request.
But when the Sultan saw him, he shut his eyes in disgust! This made Shaibar furious. He hit the Sultan with his iron rod so hard that he died. Then he killed the wicked vazirs too. He called for the sorceress and killed her as soon as she came. He asked that Ahmed be made the Sultan.
Prince Ali was given a province to rule and went to live there happily with his wife. Hussain remained with the saint and was soon known as a sheikh himself.
Sultan Ahmed ruled the kingdom wisely with Pari Bano beside him.
