Arabian Nights Page #4

Help! Let us out!

- Hey, let us out!

- What is this?

The plague!

- We shall all die.

- And you'll lose your money!

Let them out.

Hurry up, you fool, let them out.

The rope!

I'll wait for you at the

dunes of El Sohmra.

- Shall I help you hold him?

- No, help me let go of him.

- But if the slavers should follow.

- They will not.

- You are safe, Sherazade.

- Ali, Ahmad and the others?

They, too, will have escaped.

I told Ali we would meet here.

Then we will return to Bagdad,

to the palace of Kamar.

No, not to Kamar.

Sherazade, you shall

not return to Bagdad now.

You will ride with me

beyond the river.

You speak as though

I were your slave.

There are different kinds

of slavery... a woman taught me.

A woman?

A woman whose beauty shames

the glory of the desert sunset.

Hello?

Hello!

Ahmeen! Sherazade!

You see?

As I told you, they are free!

Ahmad, you are safe!

All of you!

Never fear, my little one.

We were more than a match

for those cutthroats.

We must hurry to the river.

There is still danger.

In the village is a smithy

where we can be rid of our chains.

Hurry, we must go quickly!

- Can he not work faster?

- Silence!

Don't sound like

a frightened woman.

Even on that slave block,

you were unafraid.

Fear and anger

walk different roads.

By the beard of the prophet,

you would have killed that slaver.

I would.

Only those who wear chains,

know the joys of freedom.

Enough of this philosophy. What we need

is speed! Should those slavers come...

- If you have the strength, O feeble one.

- O stomach of jelly!

If my wife were here, she could

break you from your chains.

The boat is here, but the ferryman

is afraid to take us across.

I will persuade him. Come to the

boat as soon as you are ready.

I'm sure your wife

would be more gentle.

You know this calls to mind

an experience I once had.

Sinbad, this is no time for tales.

- Come. Sinbad will follow.

- What if the ferryman should refuse him?

He won't.

Ahmeen will not fail his friends.

Listen.

The slavers!

Quickly, hurry!

We must go quickly!

Hurry, hurry! Come on!

Lay down your arms.

In whose name?

In the name of Kamar Zaman,

the Caliph of Bagdad.

- These are the men?

- Yes, lord, yes. I swear I did not know...

Silence!

Where is she?

Sherazade, where is she?

Sherazade... at last!

At last.

You see, my beloved, a city built on the

sands of the desert to receive you.

This and all Bagdad shall be yours.

My lord, you should not enter that city.

If you'd be recognized...

Sherazade may need me.

Onward!

Salaam.

Salaam,

O commander of the faithful.

You see, Nadan, my

search has been rewarded.

You are the chosen of Allah.

Sherazade, this is Nadan, my Grand Vizier

and friend, as loyal as my right hand.

Peace and happiness be with you

and your beloved, O my lady.

Nadan, prepare a feast that shall

be remembered through the ages.

Let us have wine and music.

This is the day when only joy

is in the tents of the Caliph.

Saleem will escort you

to your quarters.

- What clothes!

- What luxury!

- What food!

- And you have me to thank for it all.

Sherazade had

something to do with it.

May I get you something to eat?

There was no triumph in her eyes

when she looked at me, only sadness.

- Only that, my lord?

- What else?

- Perhaps love.

- I dare to hope so.

While you had eyes only for

Sherazade, Nadan was watching.

I think he recognized you.

If he did, I must go to him and caution

him to keep my secret from Sherazade.

She must not know who I am yet.

You cannot trust him!

He's loyal to Kamar.

- This is madness.

- Well, what would you have me do then?

Reveal yourself to your

people, not to Nadan.

When they know you're alive, they will

rise and restore you to the throne.

You there, you are wanted.

You must find Sherazade.

Tell her to have courage

and I will keep my promise.

Come.

What do they want with him?

What has happened?

I'll try to find out.

This is the man, my lord.

You may leave us.

Wait outside.

Come closer.

I am told it was you who planned

the escape from the slave market.

I played my part, my lord.

And that it was you who rescued

Sherazade from the man who bought her.

It was my fortune to be

the first to reach her.

Perhaps that was because

you had a stronger motive.

- What motive, my lord?

- The strongest of all, love.

Who am I to aspire to Sherazade,

the chosen of Kamar?

Who or what you are is no matter.

Love can come to the

lowliest and to the highest.

That is true, my lord.

But the lowliest can hardly dare to hope

to be loved for himself alone...

- by one as far above him as the stars.

- Then you do love Sherazade.

- My lord, I did not say...

- I say it!

I watched you closely

when she was with Kamar.

Your lips may lie now, but then

your eyes told me the truth.

Arrest this man.

Not so fast, little one.

- Is it forbidden to enter there?

- Forbidden?

No man but the Caliph and the

Lord Vizier can enter the harem.

But I'm not a man.

I'm only a boy.

Boys grow fast.

Now be off with you!

You cannot loiter here.

Well? What are you staring at,

son-of-a-frog?

At your magnificence,

O mightier than the moon.

I was thinking,

when I grow up, I, too, might stand

guard over the harem of the Caliph.

Make a prayer that you won't have

to do it in such a heat as this.

Your kerchief is red

and angry like the sun.

Perhaps if it were blue,

it would be more cooling.

But I, I have no blue one.

- Now you have, O mighty one.

- Beelzebub! Magic!

- Doubtless, too, your honor is thirsty.

- As a goat in the desert!

Drink, my lord.

Now I'll make it vanish. Watch.

By Allah!

He, too, has vanished.

A boy! Catch him!

Catch him! Catch him!

- Bring him here. Show him to us.

- Let's see him!

No! Please let me go.

It is serious.

Don't be serious.

What brought you here?

- I came to find Sherazade.

- The new favorite.

- I bring her a message from...

- A lover?

Already a tryst!

We must help him.

If Kamar should find out,

he'd be furious.

There's the tent of Sherazade.

We must move cautiously.

Let's hide him.

What are you doing there?

- What do we do now?

- What can we do?

Start a fight!

Stop it. Stop it. Stop it!

Get in the water.

Stop it, I say.

Stop it.

Come here! Come here!

Come here!

Here he comes!

Look at this one.

Just think of it. From now on,

you can have everything you want.

Sherazade? Sherazade?

Sherazade?

Ali! I have come with

a message from my master.

He said he will keep his promise.

But he's in great danger.

And he's heedless of that danger

because of his love for you.

Make way, make way for the Grand Vizier.

Look!

You mustn't be found here.

Quick!

What is this man to you?

Is he your lover?

- I have loved no man.

- But he has admitted that he loves you.

- He said that?

- And you love him.

That isn't true!

Can't you understand?

She is Sherazade, whose dream

it was to marry a king.

Why should she choose

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