Nyktóvia

xiv.

Traduction of a text I wrote when I was 12/13 for school (I love it)

WITH CHARACTERS FROM THE TALES OF THE ARABIAN NIGHTS

"Shariar, do you know the story of the old woman with tears of silver? asked Dinarzade.

"No," replied the sultan.

"It's a pity, my sister is, as you may know, an excellent storyteller..."

At these words, the sultan ordered Scheherazade to tell the story.
— "Once upon a time, began Sheherazade, an old woman named Shehela who, when she cried, came out of her eyes, not tears but silver beads, which is why she was nicknamed "the old woman with tears of silver". She lived at the court of King Solomon, this imposing and cruel being who had no sympathy for almost anyone. One day, at the dawn of summer, the king called Shehela to his quarters.

— Shehela, he said coldly, since I have ample confidence in you and you are my treasurer, I order you to go immediately to the nearest kingdom in search of a prince worthy to succeed. Your sister will accompany you. Now go do your business, a man will guide you and meet me in the courtyard, at the entrance of the castle when you are ready. You may dispose.

Touched by the king's great confidence in her, she could not refuse such a request. She made an elegant and low reverence and went towards her apartments which she shared with her younger sister, Leila. She informed her of the situation and the two old women prepared their affairs. Finally ready, they headed to the main entrance of the palace where a young man who was to be their guide and the king himself were waiting for them. As a departure gift, the latter offered them a beautiful perfume with violet - which is the favorite flower of Shehela - exceptional property. Anyone who sniffs it is immediately bewitched. Following this offering, the two women and the guide set out for the nearest kingdom.

After a day of walking, the trio arrived at a large door with bright colors closed with double turns. Trying in vain to open it, they began to lose hope. They sat on the ground and began to eat. Wanting to stretch his legs, the guide went walking a little further. A few seconds later, he came running back, a radiant smile on his face.

"I have found a great building in the same colours as this door," said he, excited, "it must be a sort of observation post for anyone who wishes to enter the kingdom without permission."
Immediately, the two older women got up and started, following their guide to this alleged observation post. Arriving at the place where the building was to stand, they saw, indeed, on the aisle, a great construction. Shehela approached the door anxious and struck three blows at the great central door. Hearing nothing, she began to open the door and was surprised to see that it was open. She beckoned to her companions to follow her and entered a room full of light. In the centre of the room was a display with a gold key. The guide, named Houmed, uncorked the entrance steps and ran over the key when he ran into a large, imposing man. He fell, buttocks against the ground, a little stunned. When Houmed crossed the eyes of the newcomer, he magically rejuvenates. He was now a child, sleeping peacefully. Without further ado, Leila and Shehela descended the steps as quickly as they could, and the latter took out her violet perfume and sprinkled it on the man. The old woman with the tears of silver took advantage of the situation to order the fat man to make them younger, her and her sister, and to give her the key which gives access to the continuation of their quest. The two sisters, who had now taken on the appearance of an eighteen-year-old woman, ran off towards the exit, hastily opening the imposing door and closing in triple turns behind them.

They walked another week, and one morning, a little before dawn, Shehela awoke with the sudden certainty that she and her sister should make a present to the prince whom they would have chosen to succeed King Solomon, so she woke up her younger sister, explained her point of view and they set out to find the best gift worthy of a prince. They walked a good half hour before finding themselves on the outskirts of a small trading village. They entered easily and asked the merchants for advice of presents for the prince and all spoke to them of a flower which lives only one day but is unfortunately guarded by a monster with two heads, six tails and three eyes, raised by the gardener of sorrow, a frail man shut up, sad and carrying the rain with him wherever he goes. Determined to obtain this famous flower, the two sisters went around the market to buy provisions and they also decided to take a second present, in case they could not get the flower. They set their sights on a learned turtle who could speak named Zoya. After their purchases, they set off for the gardener's lair and his monster.

Two days later, at midnight, they were in front of the door of the gardener of sorrow. They entered the property and were directly attacked by the big monster resembling a black wolf about three meters high. The big wolf threw himself on the two women and they managed to avoid him. After a long fight, Shehela grabbed a date nucleus that she had found on the ground and threw it with all her strength into the heart of the monster as it pounced on it. The two-headed wolf stopped in flight and fell back into a thud on the clay floor. Alerted by the din, the gardener took a bouquet of his most powerful flowers, the black flowers of eternal sorrow, and went out, bewildered. The threshold of the door hardly crossed that he noticed the lifeless body of his big wolf of "company" lying on the side. Unable to bear it, he began to cry and ran at a blazing speed towards Leila who saw nothing coming. He made her see his bouquet and the face of the young woman darkened immediately and one could see tears beading at the corner of her eyes. As soon as she could, Shehela took out her bewitching perfume and emptied it on the gardener. Since the man was still at the young woman's orders, the curse of the flowers on Leila disappeared. She ordered the gardener to pick two flowers that lived only one day, which he did without a hitch. After recovering her sister and her two flowers, Shehela came out of the gardener's property, who, no longer in the field of vision of the elder, regained his mind. The two sisters ran as long as possible and arrived at dawn at the gates of the palace of the kingdom neighbouring that of King Solomon. They could enter after showing carte blanche and went to the royal family. They entered the great hall, where they saw not one, but two princes of the same age. They each made a beautiful bow and devoured the two princes with the look while the latter did the same with them. After explaining the fruit of their visit to the kingdom, the princes instantly agreed to follow them to King Solomon. The four of them had set out as quickly as possible. The princes were twins, Alihar, the eldest of a few minutes had fallen under the spell of Shehela and Malik, the youngest, had fallen in love with the beautiful and sweet Leila. Fortunately for them, their feelings were reciprocal. Back at the court of King Solomon, the two young women explained their exploits and offered a flower to each of the princes and Zoya, the talking turtle, to the two princes in gratitude for following them.

A few months later, Alihar renounced the crown and his brother rejoiced to become king. On the same day the two sisters and two brothers were married in general jubilation. No longer feeling at home at the court of King Solomon, Shehela began to find a place to live with her new husband. She had heard of a majestic jujube with silver pearls and it was on this place that she set her sights. She announced the news to everyone and Alihar and set off for this corner of paradise. After two weeks of searching for this famous tree and earning money from Shehela's silver tears, the two lovers finally found the silver beaded jube. They settled down and renamed it... the jujube of love."