Near the coast of Persia was an island ruled by King Shahzaman. He had a son named Qamar-ul-zaman. When he was fifteen, the King told him to select a bride, but the Prince refused to marry. The King was angry and imprisoned him in a castle tower! The castle was inhabited by a female genie, Maimoon. She was surprised to see the handsome Prince imprisoned. One night, she met another genie, Danash, who told her about a beautiful Princess of China. They argued over who was more beautiful. To compare them, Danash brought the sleeping Princess Badoura to the Prince’s chamber. It was impossible to know who was better-looking. They woke the two up in turn so that they themselves might decide. Qamar fell in love with the sleeping Princess and put his ring on her finger, taking hers. The Princess also fell in love with him. The genies put them back to sleep and Danash quietly carried her back to her father’s palace in China.
No One Believes
The Princess missed the handsome Prince and no one believed her when she told them about meeting him. Her nurse’s son, Marzavan, who was like a brother, was the only one who believed her and set off to find the unknown Prince. Meanwhile, the Prince too had missed the beautiful Princess and fallen ill. He was moved to another mansion on an island. Marzavan travelled from one country to another. Finally, he reached the island where Qamar lived. He met Qamar and told him about Princess Badoura and wished to take him there. Pretending to go hunting, Marzavan made out that Qamar died in a hunting accident. He took him to China to meet the Princess. The Prince was disguised as an astrologer. He secretly showed the ring to Badoura who was happy to see him. Then, Qamar introduced himself as the son of King Shahzaman to the Princess’ father. They were married in a splendid ceremony.
Qamar wished to take her home to his father and the King agreed. Prince Qamar and Princess Badoura travelled for many days. One night when she was fast asleep, Qamar took out a talisman tied at her girdle. Suddenly, a large bird swooped down and, snatching the talisman, it flew away! He ran after the bird, chasing it for days till he lost it in a town by the sea. He met a gardener and started working as his assistant. Princess Badoura awoke to find her talisman and her husband missing. She disguised herself as Prince Qamar and went to the Ebony Island. King Armanos offered the hand of his daughter, Hayat-al-nafus, to the Prince. Princess Badoura told her the truth. They both decided to keep the secret! Qamar was living with the gardener. One day, he found the talisman of his Princess! A few days later, when Qamar cut down a dead tree, he found a buried treasure.
Meanwhile, the gardener had discovered that a ship was sailing in three days to the Ebony Island. Qamar filled the treasure in fifty jars and covered them with olives. He hid the talisman in one of them. Qamar gave them to the captain of the ship and said, “I will follow in a while.” But Qamar missed the ship. Princess Badoura had been watching the ships come in, waiting for news of her husband. When she saw the ship, she ran out to check. She bought all the olives and found her talisman! She called the captain of the ship and asked him to fetch the merchant whose jars they were. Qamar was brought to Ebony Island. Princess Badoura, still in disguise, treated him like a prince. The next morning she revealed her true identity. Qamar was delighted to see her. She told King Armanos everything and introduced the real Prince Qamar to him. Hayat became Qamar’s second wife and they all lived happily.
