EBONY HORSE REDUX

I compose this piece by beginning in Cairo.

The early morning lambent rays of the sun have found their way into a narrow street of the business area Li is walking through. He is tall, fair and handsome if you overlook his snub nose and slant eyes. He is dressed in white drawstring pants with a long white shirt on top. His hair is tied into a pigtail. In the street men are hauling goods on their back. Carts drawn by men or asses are struggling thorough flagged paths trying to find their way to destinations. Li eyes a signboard on a shop selling hardware: FULL SET OF CROWN PRINCE’S EBONY HORSE FOR SALE. Li walks into the shop.

SELLER: The sultan ordered the horse destroyed. I collected the parts you see here in this room. You can assemble all these into the horse only if you’re very skilled.

Li: Leave that to me. How much do you want?

There is hard bargaining. Price is paid. Parts are put on horse drawn carts and carried away.

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 Rubi Isle on tellus is a prosperous territory ruled by a king. Tellus is earth’s twin roughly eight centuries behind us but is evolving.

Mr.Fez is a learned man of Rubi Isle, a kind of historian, manages the Rubi Isle amusement park and lives nearby. This morning he is walking on his way to deposit the previous day’s collections of the park to the treasury. He is dressed in a cloth which covers him only waist down. That is the same dress for men and women in RI. He runs into Cifon the barber.

Cifon: You’re the man I wished to talk to! Can you tell me the date of our king’s coronation anniversary?

Fez: It is in a week from now.

Cifon: Thanks. I’m expecting our king to summon me before the event. The chief fisherman has summoned me today to trim his beard and I’m late. Have to rush. You’re lucky to run the beautiful amusement park. Bye!

Fez moves on

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Li working night and day rebuilds the ebony horse. It is a difficult job as there are a large number of parts to be put together. He has been merely told it was powered by one million jinn power. He is going to test it this morning. He takes the horse into the alfresco courtyard and mounts it. He twists what he assumes is the start lever and the horse instantly takes off into space with lightning speed and he is soon a long way from Cairo. He takes time to reach for the landing lever and when he does he sees he is over a strange landscape and the horse lands on top of the biggest building to be seen. Parking the horse Li climbs down and sees he has landed on top of a palace. He is welcomed by the king himself. No communication is possible as their languages are different. Nobody asks about the horse which is considered merely wooden. The king orders that Li should be put up in a house adjoining the palace and that a comely young woman Sigma would be his cook and housekeeper. She tutors her language to Li for 3 days and he learns he is on Rubi Isle on planet tellus but that does not mean much to him.

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The king summons Sigma on day 4 and questions her.

She says “His name is Li. He is slow in picking up our language. He didn’t like my cooking and cooked for himself. He makes many dishes and his cooking is very tasty. He showed me how to pack cooked food in leaves so that it could even be sent by runners to others if needed. Another strange thing: He eats very fast using 2 twigs.”

The queen asks “Is Li not interested in you as a woman ?”

“No. He wants to be left alone. I would’ve liked a baby through the talented man but I’m disappointed.”

The queen says “It is a shame that you as a woman should admit defeat by a mere male.”

“Madam I did my best but he was stone cold.”

“I’ll try to find a way.”

*

 Li is invited to witness coronation day celebrations. Li says to himself ”This place is good but I’m bored. I wish to be back in Cairo but the king has asked me to stay. I can’t refuse.”

It is Coronation Day anniversary. Li is seated with the royalty. First there is a dance sequence featuring a bevy of girls. King honours the best troupe. Next there is a wrestling match and the best wrestler is awarded the prize. This is followed by an archery contest. Li is fascinated by the chariot race which was won split second by a veteran racer. The runner ups vehicle crashes though the racer escapes. The royals and invitees now shift to the boat race in the river nearby. Li sees 4 boats in the competition each with ten rowers. Initially boat 3 is in the lead. Boat 2 goes slightly ahead. But soon boat 3 rows ahead and is the winner. Prizes are distributed.

All move back to the space outside the palace. Now there is a beauty contest. Sigma has told Li that she would be one of the contestants. She stands decorated with flowers in her hair, bead necklaces round her neck, and flower rings round her wrists and ankles. Li is told that a witch appointed by the king would be the judge. Looking at the bevy of contestants for the beauty contest Li knows the witch would find it difficult to judge the winner. At the end the witch announces someone else the winner and Sigma as the runner up.   

In a few moments there is a stir. Li is surprised to see Sigma severely assaulting the declared winner. She is restrained by bodyguards. Sigma hasn’t agreed with the verdict!

 At the end of the ceremony Li slips away and quickly climbs to the roof of the palace. Straddling the ebony horse he operates the lever to lift. There is no response! “Am I going to be in RI the rest of my life?”

END

NOTE: The story of the ebony horse is told in the book THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT. The capacity of the horse has been used to make it do fictional interplanetary travel!

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