Kismet

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Kismet

Once upon a time when old Baghdad

was new and shiny,

there was a beggar and what a rascal!

He called himself the king of beggars.

Having convinced himself that he was

a king of some kind,

He'd roam the streets at night

seeking adventure

disguised as a prince.

In a great palace in the city

lived a great lady.

A beautiful lady.

And she had quite a time

with this prince.

Of course, she didn't know

that he was only a beggar.

Her lord and master was

the Grand Vizier.

A very powerful man.

When you know him better,

you won't wonder that she wandered.

On the throne sat the young caliph,

ruler of this great empire.

But he was not content to sit and rule.

He wanted the truth about his kingdom

and his people.

And to learn the truth, he also roamed

the streets of Baghdad at night

disguised as a gardener's son.

And one day in this disguise,

he met his fate.

And adorable maid.

And who do you think she was?

None other than the daughter

of that rascal, the king of beggars.

Here is the fabulous old city.

Let's cross the river with this caravan

right into the exotic heart of romantic,

fantastic Baghdad.

A caravan!

Look, a whole dinar.

Dinar, bah. Pigeon food. Look here comes

the feed for elephants.

Round is the moon. 'Round goes the moon.

The wind and the rain and the moon

'round again.

Halt, the magical great of the earth.

Here's a creature who will

talk thy mother-in-law to death.

She puts on her best feathers,

and comes from nowhere

only to greet nobility.

A thousand blessings, my benefactor.

May the golden cupboards of the

water of life be open to thee.

Alms for the love...

The stench of my soul

increases from dawn to dawn.

Alms for the love of Allah.

Hurry, hurry, the buzzards

are waiting for thee.

Look, the rich dervish miser.

Not one dinar from him in twenty years.

I've been much too patient with him.

Get away from there, mongrel.

One moment, kind merchant,

in the name of Allah.

Must the poor give away their blessings

forever, oh great of heart?

Out of my way, beggar.

But this small boy looks hungry.

A little compassion.

Put that back.

As thou sayest.

Let the little boy starve.

What, already hatched?

How time flies.

Give me that.

- Very well, my friend, very well.

- No, give it to me.

All right, all right,

but don't let it fall.

You know how young it is.

It's just a baby.

How did the donkey's ear lay an egg?

You're holding up the caravan.

Out of the way.

A thousand pardons, kind merchant.

...Alms for the love of Allah...

Did you see that?

That thief.

Sharp eyes, sharp ears, very useful.

Gold?

An embarrassment of riches.

Fate has been very kind.

Tonight I shall celebrate.

Moolah, take my place.

Moolah you can extract from the caravan.

Watch him, Feisal.

See he doesn't fall asleep.

You're not leaving with all these

fine pickings?.

I have a rendezvous.

Scum!

To the caliph I may be dirt

but to dirt, I am the caliph.

Salam, dirt.

What are you doing up there, old cactus?

Looking for a sweetheart?

Never you do that again.

Marsinah.

- My little lotus bud.

- Good evening, father.

Open your pretty lips, my little dove.

- Delicious.

- And why not, my pigeon?

It's mixed with sugar and vinegar

like the good and bad things in life.

Rose water to give it perfume,

and sweet seeds for flavor.

And it's all put together by honey bees

I have working for you

in a corner of the caliph's garden.

A special flock of bees?

Very special.

- And look what I'm making for you.

- Mm, delicious.

I thought you might come home late

and be ravenously hungry.

What a pity.

I must go to a banquet tonight.

Again?

Again? As king of the world of magic,

I'm very much in demand.

How is this little hand going to look

when you grow up and marry

the prince I promised you?

Maybe he'll be hungry sometime.

Your prince is never hungry.

A little thirsty but never hungry.

I have a confession, father.

Let's have it.

I promised Karsha I would tell you.

I was looking over the wall

without my veil.

That's why Karsha was on the ladder

trying to see what I was looking at.

Outside those wall, my blossom,

is a very ugly world.

Except in a palace of your own.

That's why I built the wall around you.

Leave it there.

Until your prince comes

to batter it down

and carry you off to a world

as lovely as you are.

The fairy tale always comes true.

Never forget that, my little princess.

Now, I must dress for the feast.

Sorry, kitties, but he's going out

with royalty tonight.

Thank you, my beauty.

Let me see how you look.

Oh, beautiful.

Now that you have me beautiful, off to

bed with you and get your beauty sleep.

Blessings, my rose, sleep well.

I've hung a lovely moon

in the sky for you.

Sometimes the old moon keeps me awake.

Turn your pretty little nose

into the pillow

or I'll come up and blow out the moon.

- Bah!

- Huh?

I said, Bah!

That's all I've heard you say

in thirty years.

One of these days,

I'll say more than that.

Police, guards, police.

Police? I don't see any police.

What are you fighting for

on a night like this?

I called them liars. They were liars.

So's everybody.

Not when you make them

lose their jeppers.

Then they tell you the truth.

- Is that what you want?

- Yes, I want the truth.

Truth, my friend, is boredom.

Maybe so but it's exciting

and worth fighting for.

Give me a man who laughs when he fights.

- Come and have some wine.

- Thanks, I will.

Hey, Prince...

Don't expect the truth from anyone here.

They're charming people.

They don't bother with it.

Charming people? They look like

a bunch of

back alley merchants

and cutthroats to me.

To you? My friend,

they are all nobility.

I don't recognize any of them.

How should a young elephant like you

recognize nobility?

I go to all the parades.

Excellency, I have a place for you.

Salam, ladies.

I won't tell you their names but

they're all queens in disguise.

Magic black eyes.

Take one look and turn away.

They're dangerous.

Don't worry. He told me I was

the only girl in Baghdad.

So you are, my blossom.

Hardy young antelope I've fell in with.

What draggle tail part of the city

do you come from?

Mind if I choose for myself?

Save me Laeida?

She is not in yet.

Drink some wine.

In a few minutes, you'll see

a young beauty worth fighting for.

I hope I can agree with you.

Agree with me?

- The insolence.

- I'm sorry.

My friend, if she weren't

a lovely sight to behold,

she wouldn't be coming here

for an evening with me.

Oh? Well, might I ask just who you are?

Keep it to yourself.

One of the princes of the empire.

I sit in the counsels of the caliph.

Oh.

You do?

Then you know the new caliph.

Tell me, what's he like?

The new caliph is a yahoo.

A yahoo?

His father left him a score

of lovely ladies.

And what does the young gander do?

He turns them loose.

Bah!

Heart of a king should be big enough

for all the women in the world.

If a king can't act like a king,

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