One evening, in the medina where the merchants had gathered to sell their goods and the charmers and dancers were amusing the gathering crowds; when no one was expecting it, a donkey appeared. Its eyes were wide and its ears were pricked as if he had seen and heard something above the hustle of the buyers and sellers. It clattered its hooves and began to gallop as if it was mad, knocking down stalls and scattering oranges and other goods as he went. The people ran to get out of the mad donkey’s way. Some people fell and injured themselves.
A beautiful woman had her back to the donkey as he made his frantic way across the medina. Aamir saw the danger and ran to save the woman from being knocked over. But as he flew to catch her he tripped and, instead of saving her, they both tumbled onto the floor.
“Please forgive me,” he said to the woman. Immediately he saw her beauty, he fell in love with her. “I must marry this woman,” he thought.
“I am not hurt. Thank you for saving me,” she said. “I am the daughter of the King and I must give you a reward for saving me. This must be a sign from God that we should meet again and be friends.”
“I would like that very much, but I am only a humble servant, and I cannot visit a princess without the King’s permission.”
“Then come to the palace at midnight tonight and you will find my father is willing to talk to you,” she said as she disappeared into the night.
That night Aamir set off to the palace and, reaching the palace gates, he asked for an audience with the King. He was shown into the garden courtyard, which was lit by a thousand flickering candles, each one on a gold candlestick. He was dazzled by the light and did not see the princess watching him from the window overlooking the garden.
Palace guards led him through a doorway into another fabulous garden which had emeralds encrusted into the walls and diamond mosaics sparkled in the fountain pools. There were so many riches, more than Aamir had ever seen in one place. His hand felt the riches at his fingertips. As he walked through the garden a voice whispered, "Aamir, Aamir.” He looked round and realised that the voice was a magical spirit so he listened intently. As if dancing in the candlelight, causing the light to flicker as he spoke, the voice asked, “What means the most to you here?” Aamir thought about why he had come to the palace and he answered truthfully, “For all the wonderful jewels and riches here, there is none that sparkles like the beautiful princess.”
“You have answered well, young man. Walk on to see the King.”
Aamir walked on through a huge carved doorway into another garden filled with lush plants and flower blossoms, the like of which he had never seen before. The colours of the blooms in the moonlight radiated silver and rich purple and red. The scent of the flowers made his senses spin in the heady musk and floras. He could see wisps of sheer fabric and hints of women’s glistening bodies hiding between the blooms. Giggles from the ladies floated in the air. Stepping on the straight pathway by the side of the running water canals, again the voice, like trickling drops spoke. “Aamir, Aamir. What means the most to you here?”
Once again, Aamir thought about the incident in the medina and the beautiful princess, and he answered, “For all the wonderful aromas and heady perfumes, there is none that has the fragrance like the beautiful princess.”
Again, the voice whispered in the fragrant air, “ You have answered wisely, young man. Walk on to see the King.”
Aamir walked on and wondered what delights he had in store as he pushed open the huge carved doors in front of him. He was taken by surprise when he saw nothing but a large empty stable and, baying and kicking his heels in one corner, was the mad donkey which had knocked him and the princess down as it stampeded through the medina. The air stunk of stale straw and there was nothing to light the dirty crumbling walls. He stood for a minute not knowing what to do, but then the stink of the place became too much for him and he started to cough and gasp for fresh air.
At that moment, just as he thought he would pass out with the stench, the whispering voice asked him, “Aamir, what means the most to you here?”
Staggering under the heavy fog of composting straw, Aamir found it hard to think. His head became like the fog, heavy and senseless, but he knew he must answer the voice if he was to obey the King. He said, “For all the stench and madness in this place, I would still stay if it means that I can see the beauty of the princess again.”
“Then you will,” said the voice. “For thirty-three nights and thirty-three days you will stay in this place and, at the end of that time, you will see the King.”
Aamir was determined to think of nothing else during those days except the riches he had seen, and the fragrant aromas he had encountered and, most of all, he remembered the beautiful princess.
While he stayed there, he found he became accustomed to the smells, and began cleaning out the stables. He tethered the donkey that became calmer as he drank the water that Aamir gave him from the old broken fountain at the side of the door. He scrubbed the donkey’s back and cleaned his feet, until the donkey allowed him to sit on his back. Each day he rode him round the stable, and each day the donkey became more tame, until thirty three days had passed.
That morning, the stable door opened and a rush of fresh air entered the place. The voice whispered, “Aamir, Aamir. It is time for you to meet the King. Follow me.” Aamir followed the fresh breeze into a further courtyard. The donkey quietly followed. He saw the Princess sitting under a bow of jasmine and remembered why he had come to see the King. He looked round, and there in front of him was a throne. The voice whispered, “Go and bow by the throne and the King will come to you.” Aamir did as he had been directed.
Someone clapped and Aamir looked up. In front of him was the donkey, with a crown on his head. Suddenly the donkey disappeared and in his place stood the King.
“Welcome, young man,” said the King. I am King Faris Haroum, The Horseman King. This is my daughter, Princess Amira Jamilla. She has told me of your bravery against the mad donkey in the medina. But I already know of you, Aamir Khayrat, for I have been watching over you since the death of your father. Many years ago, I met your father who saved me from a terrible death. A herd of spellbound wild horses stampeded, and your father dragged me from under their feet. I owe my life to him. I lived, but with a curse. At every full moon I turn into a mad donkey and cannot control my actions. I was the donkey in the medina that day.”
“I knew of your good deed in saving my daughter. It was a test, and you passed it. I had to be sure you would be worthy of my daughter’s hand and, since you walked into the first garden in my palace, I have been testing you. I had to know whether you would put riches to one side for her sake, whether you would put beauty aside for her sake, and whether you would put hard work before all those things in order to protect and provide for her. You have proved this to me and today I give you her hand in marriage."
By Tina Zee, from the book ‘Confluence, Celtic and Arabian Visions and Stories’.