Original subtitles

Yes, yes, yes. Rise and pray for all is writ.

All is writ.

If everything is written down, what's the use of getting up?

Oh, Father. You gave me the whole blanket again.

- That's untrue. - You mean, I took it?

I mean, it is not a whole blanket. Only half.

Only enough to cover one small girl.

It's empty. We ate the last loaf for supper.

- Don't you remember? - Stomachs have no memories.

And I at the moment am all stomach. Not even a crumb.

Perhaps today will be kind to us.

POET: Allah, I make a prayer for my daughter.

MARSINAH: And I, for my father.

POET: Let this day spare her the monkey bites of hunger and want.

Let my verses sell in profusion...

...that my daughter may eat and prosper and wear shoes.

I pray the unselfishness of my father's prayer be noted.

Hmm.

Remove us from Earth If we've nothing to stay for.

They pray the best...

...who have something to pray for.

Oh, look. Look, the camel likes your rhymes.

- See, it's an omen. - I thank you.

POET: Rhymes. Rhymes for sale.

Rhymes. Fine rhymes, sweet rhymes have I.

Rhymes for sale.

Poetry in profusion.

Rhymes to help you sell your wares.

Charm your wives. Educate your children.

Ah. There's a won'thy citizen.

A rhyme for any purpose you name.

What use has a butcher for rhymes?

Sir, to increase your sales. What meat do you sell today?

Nothing. Nothing but leftovers of mutton.

Good, good.

The haunch of the paunch Or the rib of a sheep

Is tasty and tender, Though priced a bit steep.

The part that you can buy With no financial frown

Is on the ground When the sheep's sitting down.

You're mad. Mad.

A man can sell anything in the world except poems.

He can sell poisons, emetics, false noses, but no poems.

BEGGAR 1: Alms for love of Allah. - Has your hunger grown?

- Like a magic tree. BEGGAR 1: Alms for the love of Allah.

There are fresh oranges this morning at the Bazaar of the Vendors.

- I'll be there. - Do not take so many.

- They interfere with your speed of foot. - Oh, my father's wisdom always guides me.

BEGGAR 2: Alms for the love of Allah.

BEGGAR 3: Alms for love of Allah.

BEGGAR 4: Alms for love of Allah.

BEGGAR 5: Oh, great master...

...thou shalt live if thou shalt give. - Ah!

May though soul burn by fire, O thou dog.

A father sending his daughter to steal.

Could anything be baser than that?

Take note, Allah, how low a human can sink to the bottom.

BEGGARS: Alms for the love of Allah.

Sir, do you wish to purchase a poem?

Poem? Are you not a beggar?

I beg your pardon. Do I look like a beggar?

BEGGARS: Alms for love of Allah.

Alms for love of Allah.

BEGGAR: Open thy purse and let the inflicted bend over the house of Mecca.

Hard father, may Allah ruin thee forever.

BEGGARS: Alms for the love of Allah.

You can't beg here.

This is one of the best begging locations in Baghdad.

- Oh? - Why do you think this space is empty?

It's not empty. I'm here.

It must remain empty until old Hajj returns from Mecca.

That begging place belongs to him.

My dear verminous friends, I am a cousin to old Hajj.

- That's impossible. - Please, come, consider.

Only a Hajj may sit here. That is the law.

Would I dare risk it if I were not a Hajj?

- Omar. - Would I?

BEGGARS: Alms for the love of Allah. - Oh, may Allah give thee ease.

- Alms for a starving brother. - May Allah give thee ease.

BEGGARS: Alms for the love of Allah.

Oh, stop it.

BEGGARS: Alms for the love of Allah.

Alms for the love of Allah.

Alms for the love of Allah.

What's this? Where's old Hajj?

Hajj has gone to Mecca, great sir.

Yeah, this fellow claims to be a member of the family.

A customer of Hajj's, I presume? I am taking over his practice.

All my life, I have given one dinar each morning to Hajj the Beggar.

I am too old to change beggars.

You say you're too old to change beggars.

Your attitude strikes me as strange.

It's easy enough to change beggars. What's difficult is to beg change.

Not bad. Ha-ha.

Not bad.

Here, you deserve encouragement. Here.

One dinar is not enough to encourage me.

- Take it. Take it. - No, it's too little. You're too stingy, no.

Now, the beggars tell us what to give.

Well, here.

- But not for the beggar, for the poet. - I thank you.

- You disgrace us. - We mustrt seem to be greedy.

- We're not supposed to notice the amount. - It's the spirit behind the gift that counts.

Never have I seen a profession more keenly in need of new blood.

As of now, this business is under new management.

BEGGAR 1: Alms for the love of Allah.

Give me a few dozen dinar, my friend.

And an already pleasant morning will be made pleasanter for both of us.

If you do not wish my blessing, I'll be happy to give you my curse.

I do not give money away. I'm a businessman.

May the graves of your ancestors vanish in the spring floods.

May your wives grow warts on their noses.

May your taxes increase.

- May your taxes increase. - May your taxes increase.

BEGGARS: May your taxes increase.

May your taxes increase.

May your taxes increase.

- May your taxes increase. - I sat down, feeling desolated

Bowed my head and crossed my knees

Is fortune really predicated Upon such tiny turns as these?

Then fate's a thing without a head A puzzle never understood

And man proceeds where he is led

Unguaranteed of bad or good

Fate

Fate can be the trap in your path

The bitter cup of your tears

Your wine of wrath

Fate can be shade in the desert blaze

Sudden food in a famine found

The sound of praise

Incomprehensible and strange

Fate can play a trick with the twine

To weave the evil and good

In one design

And so my destiny

I look at you and cannot see

Is it good? Is it ill? Am I blessed? Am I cursed?

Is it honey on my tongue or brine?

What fate

What fate is mine

Fate can play a trick with the twine

To weave the evil and good

In one design

And so my destiny

I look at you and cannot see

Is it good? Is it ill? Am I blessed? Am I cursed?

Is it honey on my tongue or brine?

What fate, what fate is...

Good morning, O giant men of the desert. Welcome to civilization.

You are the beggar called Hajj?

Even so am I. Far and wide the name of...

Permit me to correct myself. My name is not Hajj.

- Silence. - But my name... But my name is not...

You, what is this beggar's name?

- He said that Hajj, that he... - Thank you.

But I tell you, you're making a mistake.

It must be a case of mistaken identity. And l...

POET: You're making a terrible mistake.

I don't think...

Now I know what you are. You're slavers.

Slave traders of the desert. Allah! Allah!

- We have him, master. Hajj the Beggar. - Good.

Such a profitless error. I have nothing.

Oh, glorious chieftain, let me be, I pray you.

I'm not won'th selling at the slave market.

Look, my bad legs, injured in a fall, unable to bear my weight.

I'm old, foolish, forgetful and broken-brained.

I'm won'thless. Less than won'thless.

Talks a lot, doesn't he? Are the irons hot?

Quite hot, master.

Take a look at my face. Do you know me?

I know no one and nothing. I have no memory.

- I am Jawan. - Jawan. Oh, no.

Your memory freshens.

Well, it's a famous name, Jawan.

Let me see, it strikes a chord. You're Jawan the great astronomer.

You dissemble poorly.

I'm Jawan, the robber, the brigand, as you very well know.

But I don't know. I've no interest in such matters.

By tomorrow, I will have forgotten your face, I could never identify you.

- Bare his belly. - Why? What for?

We're gonna decorate it with a white-hot coal, gleaming in its navel like a jewel.

- In Allah's name, what have I done? - Can it be he's forgotten?

Fifteen years ago you put a curse upon me, Hajj the Beggar.

I have only been Hajj the Beggar since this morning.

- His mind has rotted like a fig. - I have never seen you before.

I know that. But 15 years ago, you put a curse upon my name, Hajj the Beggar.

Soon after, my only son was stolen from me.

All these years, I've sought for my son everywhere.

I've offered ransom that would purchase all Persia.

- Now, I am to die soon. - Oh, let's hope not.

I must find my son in the weeks remaining to me.

The wise men tell me it is your curse...

...that keeps me from him. - Ah. Do they really?

- How much ransom did you offer? - Never mind. Remove the curse.

Certainly, of course. Delighted to do the best I can under these conditions.

- Don't haggle. Remove the curse. - Jawan, you don't understand.

A curse must be removed voluntarily. That's the law of curses.

A curse is nothing more than a prayer, a prayer for harm.

A prayer is born in the heart, not the mouth.

- You'd pray for me and not mean it. - For money, I would.

- Would Allah accept prayer that's paid for? - Aye, indeed so.

Do you not give money to mosques and to holy men?

Do they not bless you and pray for you?

- That is true. Give him a gold piece. - Is that all your son is won'th?

- Lf my patience snaps... - You'll have eternity to regret it.

Think, Jawan. Listen to death chuckling in your chest.

What good will your wealth be when the chuckle becomes a roar?

Your tongue is cunning. Give him 10 gold pieces.

- A hundred. Do I not offer you your son? - A hundred?

Happiness on Earth as well as a cushion in paradise?

How much is too much for eternal bliss?

Will I find my son this day?

This day? Possibly within the hour.

Saddle a horse. A plain mount, it'll go unnoticed.

Don't risk entering the city. You'll be taken by the Wazir's police. Tortured. Beheaded.

If I must die in Baghdad, how can I avoid it?

By staying out of Baghdad.

No man can avoid his fate. That is kismet.

- Break camp. - Break camp.

Return to the mountains. Wait for me there.

Pray well, Hajj the Beggar.

Excuse me, which way is Mecca?

Hey, ho. Hey, ho, ho. Hey, ho.

I'm rich.

I am rich.

On the rim of torture and death and now, treasure.

Why, I'm the richest man I ever knew.

Today's my day

My day of days

My blessings unfold In a hundred golden ways

Fate has played the trick with the twine

And woven evil and good in one design

And I can face the sun

No more to dodge, no more to run

I can eat, I can buy I can sleep in a bed

In the certainty I'm fed and free

For fate has claimed its child

And smiled on me

Make way for the Wazir. Make way for the Wazir.

MAN 1: Make way for the Wazir. MAN 2: Clear the bazaar.

POLICEMEN: Make way for the Wazir.

- Clear the bazaar. - Clear the bazaar.

- Make way for the Wazir. - Make way for the Wazir.

- Clear the bazaar. - Clear the bazaar.

CHIEF POLICEMAN: Follow.

Make way for the Wazir.

Make way for the mighty Wazir who has eyes in every house.

MAN: And hands in every pocket.

WAZIR: Investigate that laughter.

SUBALTERN: Wife of wives to the Wazir.

Wife of wives to the Wazir.

CHIEF POLICEMAN: To the Wazir's wife of wives.

Salaam, Lalume, possessor of my entire heart.

Happiness attend your return.

Salaam, my exalted husband.

Lalume, I sent you to Ababu to negotiate a loan. Did you get it or not?

And I had thought your impatience was for me.

I found a new and wondrous ointment, feel my skin.

Lalume, without that loan, I perish. Answer me, do I get it?

All the gold 10 camels can carry.

- Heh-heh. Lalume. - But there is a condition.

A high marriage for the three princesses of Ababu.

Oh, what a nuisance.

I don't need any more wives.

In fact, I've got more than I've any use for.

My lord, no one knows that better than I.

However, it is not you the sheik of Ababu wants for a son-in-law.

He wishes his eldest daughter to become wife of wives to the Caliph.

To the Caliph?

And her two sisters, second and third wives to the Caliph.

How can I influence the Caliph?

He's too young to understand an honest bribe.

Nor can I frighten him, not while he keeps that certainty of divine destiny.

He's shown not the slightest inclination to marry.

With your wit and enterprise, you will change his mind.

Remember, all the gold 10 camels can carry.

Are they attractive, these three young women?

Judge for yourself, my lord.

WAZIR: Guards.

CHIEF POLICEMAN: Guards, bring the Ababus.

Exalted Wazir, may I present Their Royal Highnesses the Princesses of Ababu.

In the name of our illustrious Caliph, I welcome you to Baghdad.

What they say?

CHIEF POLICEMAN: They could not be happy here...

...no matter what their father wants. - What? Heh-heh. What?

Not happy in Baghdad?

Why, that's impossible.

Well, Baghdad... Well, it's a symbol of happiness on Earth.

- Fetch me 50 happy people, quickly. - My lord, it will take a month.

Sacred cats of Nefertiti. Am I to be balked at every turn?

Will no one cooperate?

Unless I'm served as a Wazir should be...

...I warn you, heads will roll in the dust.

And the streets of Baghdad will flow with the tears...

LALUME: Baghdad

Don't underestimate Baghdad

GUARDS: A city rich in romantic oriental lore

CHORUS: Aye

LALUME: Baghdad

You must investigate Baghdad

GUARDS: And learn a few of the facts You never knew before

CHORUS: Aye

LALUME: Due south of the Garden of Eden

Due north of the Gulf of Aden

Where every male and maiden

Is laden down

With the blisses of Baghdad

This irresistible

Town

When or where Could you compare high life

To the life you find here

Not since Nineveh, not since Tyre Not since Babylon turned to mire

For a sin of a kind we never mind here

Where or when ever again low life

Like the life well-known here

Not since Nineveh, not since Sidon Not since Jericho started slidir

From the din of a horn That's never blown here

Our palaces are gaudier

Our alleyways are bawdier

Our princes more autocratic here

Our beggars more distinctly aromatic here

Where could you ever pursue your life

With the zeal we feel here?

Not since Babylon read that writing Not since Jericho heard that trumpet

Not since Nebuchadnezzar's Hanging garden went to pot

CHORUS: Aye - Not since that village near Gomorrah got

Too hot for Lot

- No, not since Nineveh CHORUS: Aye, shabash

Not since Nineveh

Ah ah

- Nineveh CHORUS: Come to Baghdad, live in Baghdad

Life in Baghdad Takes you back to Nineveh

CHORUS: Nineveh!

CHORUS: Stay in Baghdad, stay in Baghdad

Stay in Baghdad, stay in Baghdad

Stay in Baghdad, stay in Baghdad Stay in Baghdad, stay in Baghdad

Aye

CHORUS: When or where

Could you compare high life

To the life you find here

Not since Nineveh, not since Tyre Not since Babylon turned to mire

For a sin of a kind we never mind here

Where could you ever pursue your life

With the zeal we feel here?

Not since Babylon read that writing Not since Jericho heard that trumpet, not

Not since

No, no, no, no

Not since Nineveh

Not since

Not since Nineveh, not since Tyre Not since Babylon turned to mire

Not since Nineveh, not since Sidon Not since Jericho started slidir

Baghdad is the gayest town

Since Nineveh Nineveh!

GUARD: Clear the bazaar.

GUARDS: Make way for the Wazir.

Clear the bazaar.

Make way for the Wazir.

Clear the bazaar.

All Highest, pardon thy servant.

I should've prevented this indignity.

- I was stepped upon. - Oh.

Inconceivable, All Highest, but true.

You were incontrovertibly stepped upon.

But it is written that they who defile the royal presence will die.

Great ruler, we will all die.

In your words, there's food for much thought.

Yes, and in my thoughts, there is much room for food.

Can't we return to the palace now and have breakfast?

Certainly not.

Now the official year of mourning for my father is at an end...

...I will assume the official duties.

The Caliph's schedule has no intermission.

Then, my boy, heh, alter the schedule with a wave of your hand.

Omar, the duties of royalty are sacred.

My late cousin, Ultimate of Aden...

...strangled to death on a peach pit rather than interrupt an official function.

In my humble opinion, your late cousin was a... Was a fool.

There are many things that only royalty can understand.

Heh-heh-heh. Yes, it must be.

These roaming roamings in the streets incognito...

...do they serve a purpose?

The Caliph is expected to make incognito visits among his subjects regularly.

And he shall do so.

May we ask ourselves what purpose these visits serve?

We may ask ourselves.

- And may we answer ourselves? - We may.

Abba, to learn the ways of the people.

Babba, to stimulate our local storytellers.

Cabba, to introduce a romantic note into the dry business of government.

Dabba...

Dabba?

Omar, she is lovely.

My boy, I've never seen that expression on your face before.

It's sickening.

SLAVE TRADER: Slaves for sale. Gathered from the four corners of the Earth.

Here we have Al Marre of Ankara. Sold into slavery by her husband.

Come gaze at her. What am I offered?

Gaze at this physique, this marvelous physique.

Powerful. Does lots of work.

Makes cheese. Milks goats. Manages estates.

Fifty dinar. Fifty dinar.

Gaze at this magnificent physique. Fifty dinar.

Gaze at this marvelous musculature.

Here she is. Fifty dinar.

- Omar, she is gone. - Oh, my boy...

...Caliphs don't chase girls through the streets.

- Hurry, Omar, hurry. - Oh, my boy.

ORANGE VENDOR: Stop that woman. Stop her. Stop that woman.

Stop the thief. Grab that woman. Grab...

Where are they, you sticky-fingered street girl?

Where are the oranges you stole?

Rest awhile, father of none and son of hundreds.

- Rest till I learn if my daughter be harmed. - It's all right. Let him go.

- Up then, toad. - I'll have you jailed for this.

I'll have every last dinar and... It's the... l...

Come on, Father, before he summons the police.

Marsinah, we don't run away from the police. Not anymore.

Why not?

Because of what I hold behind my back.

- What? - What does it sound like?

- Not copper pieces. - Not copper pieces.

Suppose you could have anything you ever wanted. What would you wish for?

- Breakfast. - Oh, my dear child.

Let us have some breadth of vision. Think big. Very big.

- The other half of the blanket. - The other half... Oh!

We could buy the other half of the blanket.

Good merchants, set forth your silks and jewels...

...your finest garments and sweetest perfumes.

- My daughter will purchase only the best. MERCHANT: Who is this happy mad man?

Those who are slow to serve us...

...will naturally be the last to receive our custom.

- It's gold. Gold. - Gold.

Put it back where you got it.

Never fear, child. It is honestly got, honestly got.

Oh, Father, I'm afraid.

Sweet Marsinah, our frightened days are behind us.

Try to understand. We are rich.

You know the house out near the pomegranate grove?

You mean the one I've always dreamed we might someday...?

- We're that rich? - Yes. Yes, my darling.

If it is still for sale, we can buy it.

But keep some of the money for yourself. You talk only of things for me.

What does a poet need?

What can rival the beautiful things that he invents in his head?

SLAVE TRADER: I have girls. Able bodied slaves for sale or for rent.

Gathered from the four corners of the Earth.

Able-bodied slaves for sale or for rent.

Gathered from the four corners of the earth. One hundred dinar.

- Well, come to think of it. - Think of what?

Well, you should have maids and attendants now.

Fitting for a lady in your position. Don't you think so?

- I wouldn't know what to do with them. - Don't worry about that.

I'll get three or four. No sense in being short-handed.

So many beautiful things.

What shall I buy?

BANGLEMAN: Baubles, bangles and beads

MERCHANT 1: Marsinah, buy from me

MERCHANT 2: Marsinah, buy from me MERCHANT 3: Marsinah, lovely

MERCHANTS: Marsinah, Marsinah, buy

SILK MERCHANTS: Worms work on a Chinese terrace

Worms dream of a happy heiress

Wearing their wares

Answer their prayers

BANGLEMAN: Baubles, bangles and beads

MARSINAH: Baubles, bangles

Hear how they jing, jing-a-ling-a

Baubles, bangles, bright shiny beads

MERCHANTS: Marsinah, buy from me

Marsinah, lovely

Marsinah, Marsinah, buy

Think upon the Macedonian oyster

Having indigestion in his watery cloister

So that Marsinah could have a pearl

- A pearl - Baubles, bangles and beads

Baubles, bangles

Hear how they jing, jing-a-ling-a

Baubles, bangles, bright shiny beads

Sparkles, spangles

My heart will sing, sing-a-ling-a

Wearing baubles, bangles

And beads

I'll glitter and gleam so

Make somebody dream

So that someday he may

Buy me a ring, ring-a-ling-a

I've heard that's where it leads

Wearing baubles

Bangles

And beads

CHORUS: Ahhh

Ahhh

Baubles, bangles Hear how they jing, jing-a-ling-a

Baubles, bangles, bright shiny beads

Sparkles, spangles My heart will sing, sing-a-ling-a

Wearing baubles, bangles and beads

MARSINAH: I'll glitter and gleam so

Make somebody dream

So that someday he may

- Buy me a ring, ring-a-ling-a CHORUS: Oooh

ALL: I've heard that's where it leads

That's where it leads

CHORUS: Wearing amulets, necklaces

Stars in one's hair

MARSINAH: Wearing baubles

Bangles

And beads

BANGLEMAN: Baubles, bangles and beads

Oh. Ladies.

Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I feel that I'm wearying you.

Please rest a while.

WOMEN: Oh, thank you, master.

Frankly, I've never owned slaves before.

I'm a bit vague as to what your rights are.

We have none, master.

Your word is our law.

Well, then we certainly won't have any trouble getting along, huh?

- You are sweet, master. WOMEN: Oh, yes, you are.

Master, if I werert a slave, I'd kiss you.

Oh, my dear child, feel free to express your gratitude at all times.

One thing I will not have around the house is class distinction.

- The Wazir's police. - Oh!

Oh. Be not alarmed.

These fine constables can want nothing from honest, well-to-do citizens.

- Nothing but your name, good sir. - My name? Why, my name is...

Why do you ask?

Jawan the Brigand was recognized in the bazaar this morning.

- I don't suppose you've seen him? - Oh, no.

Very well. Name and place of residence?

Uh... Officer, I wonder if we couldn't save ourselves much inconvenience.

I wonder if one piece of gold would serve to identify me suffic...

- Not the whole thing. - Do you admit possession?

Officer, let there be no misunderstanding. That is my purse.

And it bears on it the sign of the House of Achmed. Seize him.

- Sign of what? - The House of Achmed...

...Iooted by thieves this last moon.

You, return these creatures to the slave mongers.

Add the money to the evidence against this thief. Take him to the Wazir.

The Wazir.

SUBALTERN: Away.

- Ah! - Please don't scream.

Heh. Why should I scream?

I followed you from the bazaar.

Yes.

Are you accustomed to having men follow you?

Yes. Sometimes at great speed.

It is not fitting for you to answer that way.

You should have said, "No."

I think you have no humor.

Goodbye.

I had an uncle who laughed sometimes.

- Who are you? - You may call me Haroun.

Oh, of course, I may.

I may call you Mameluke ben Goathead, but who are you?

Please, I don't wish to say just yet.

Oh.

You're a criminal.

No, not a criminal.

At least, not in his eyes.

Not in whose eyes?

Why...

...AIlah's.

Mmm. Splendid reference.

Do you have any others? More local.

I'm afraid not. I am a stranger here.

Oh, not anymore, I hope.

Yes, I know.

That is not a fitting thing to say.

You are...

...very beautiful.

Probably it's just my pretty clothes that attract you.

Having my hair combed...

...and my face washed.

Yes, that would make a difference.

Oh, I like you, stranger.

What is your business? Your family's business?

We, uh...

- We try to make things grow. - Oh.

Gardeners.

Gardeners.

Gardener...

Gardener, I do not think this is fitting.

No man has ever touched me before.

And no other man ever shall.

It is his will.

I do not belong to you.

This time I'm speaking of Allah's will.

You are too confusing for me.

Please, take your hand away.

I cannot.

Please.

Oh, why do the leaves

Of the mulberry tree

Whisper differently now

And why is the nightingale Singing at noon

On the mulberry bough

For some most mysterious reason

This isn't the garden I know

No, it's paradise now

That was only a garden

A moment ago

Take my hand

I'm a stranger in paradise

All lost in a wonderland

A stranger in paradise

If I stand starry-eyed

That's a danger in paradise

For mortals who stand beside

An angel like you

I saw your face

And I ascended

Out of the commonplace into the rare

Somewhere in space

I hang suspended

Until I know

There's a chance

That you care

Wort you answer the fervent prayer

Of a stranger in paradise

Don't send me in dark despair

From all that I hunger for

But open your angel's arms

To the stranger in paradise

And tell him

That he need be

A stranger

No more

You say you're a gardener.

What flowers should I plant along the fence?

I must go in a moment. Will you meet me here this evening?

I thought hyacinths, but perhaps oleanders.

At moonrise? Here in the garden? Please.

Yes.

Yes, of course.

- Until tonight. - Tonight.

You won't forget? You won't fail me?

I saw your face

And I ascended

Out of the commonplace

Into the rare

BOTH: Somewhere in space

I hang suspended

MARSINAH: Until I know

CALIPH: Till the moment I know

There's a chance that you care

There's a chance that you care

Wort you answer the fervent prayer

Of a stranger in paradise

Don't send me in dark despair

From all that I hunger for

BOTH: But open your angel's arms

To the stranger in paradise

And tell me that I need be

A stranger

No more

Bow low for the mighty Wazir.

SUBALTERN: Bow low for the mighty Wazir.

Silence then obedience. The court of justice convenes.

The court begins its meditations.

"The case of the seller of candlesticks, Ibn Nuwas...

...charged with breaking the pottery pots of Ali Dah doud."

Illustrious Wazir, Ibn Nuwas pleads for a postponement of judgment...

...until his broken legs are mended.

He fell from a cushion while being questioned.

Next case.

Great Wazir, we have apprehended a thief...

...with a hundred pieces of gold taken from the house of Achmed.

Let him appear.

Oh. At last, good fortune returns to me.

Good fortune?

The noble Wazir himself, sitting in judgment.

Who could ask for a more righteous, a fairer, a finer judge?

I loathe fawning criminals.

- He doesn't talk like a thief. POET: Oh.

Let your loveliness be the loot, O princess...

...and every man is a thief.

CHIEF POLICEMAN: Silence.

Oh, let him chatter a bit.

- The evidence against this criminal is as fo... - I need no evidence.

Under the laws of Baghdad...

...I order that the right hand of this liar, rogue and thief be cut off.

Have you aught to say before sentence is executed?

Well, that I am a liar, I am not a big enough liar to deny.

That I am a rogue can be verified by anyone who knows me.

And that I am a thief is as true as if it were written in the Koran.

But, in this particular case...

...I say, for the first time in my life, I am innocent.

I dislike being mocked in public. Add 20 lashes to my sentence.

CHIEF POLICEMAN: Are you done with your protest?

It is rather expensive, but I should like to continue.

I can understand your indifference that I am innocent...

...O dispenser of justice.

I, the pick purse, the brawler, the collector of women, innocent?

I can hardly believe my own ears.

Tell me, what sort of women did you prey upon?

Till I beheld you, O princess...

...my memory of them was that they were all beautiful.

Oh! It's his tongue that should be cut off.

But let the sentence stand. Right hand off.

Oh, noble Wazir.

I assure you that I despise innocence as much as you.

It is at best a temporary state.

- What are you bothering me about? - The small matter of losing my right hand.

As a poet and storyteller, the loss would cripple my career.

- Scoundrel. I'm leaving you your mouth. - Hold.

For that simple sentence, you needed your hand.

It is the gesture which tells the story. Let me convince you.

LALUME: Oh, let him.

I love being convinced.

Dear hand, deft hand

Clever and facile extremity

Fond companion to me

From my birth

Sweet hand, swift hand

Spinner of fable and fantasy

Faithful friend of my art

Would they rend us apart

Leaving no finger or fist there

But just the hint of a wrist there

Where then my spirited wit My mercurial charm

Am I fated to sit With an elbow and arm

And no digits to top them off

If they lop them off

How could I plead to you? How could I pray to you?

How intercede with you? What could I say to you?

Like a dog with no tail Like a spoutless whale

Like an elephant sunk If you cut off his trunk

Hold

I'd like to hear a little more

When you tell a story Amorous or gory

You can tell it best If you gesticulate

Suppose the mighty Sinbad Meets a jinn who's been bad

They will guess the rest If you gesticulate

A tongue is a tongue A lung is a lung

And a tale you can shout or sing Without the gesture, nothing

Nothing.

Should Scheherazade Undulate her body

That can be expressed if you ges...

Can be assessed if you ges...

She'll be undressed If you gesticulate

If I tell you I was walking by the sea And found a genie in a bottle

- That's trite CHORUS: Quite

For practically everyone has seen a genie

Someone had to throttle In a bottle

Right, but if I say the bottle

Was so teeny

So teeny

And so was the genie

So was the genie

Until with trembling hand

I pulled the cork

And threw the jug And covered up my eyes

And the smoke began to curl And the smoke began to swirl

And it swirled and it curled And it curled and it swirled

As higher it did rise

Till it was so high

CHORUS: So high

And so was the genie

So was the genie

- Then two great arms reached down CHORUS: Two great arms

- And lifted me up CHORUS: Up

- Up, up CHORUS: Up, up

- Into the sky CHORUS: So high, so high

And we did fly

CHORUS: And he did fly

The genie and I

CHORUS: How he did fly

- We did sail - Did sail

- Did sail - Did sail

Is this a tale?

CHORUS: This is a tale

- Are you convinced? - We are convinced

You see

You see

For the facile finger Listeners will linger

They will be impressed if you ges-

Applaud with zest if you ges...

If it's a question of a story, gory

Sinbad, in bed

Bottle, smoke, genie, arms Fly, sky, high, I state

Reiterate

POET AND CHORUS: Gesticulate

With your hands

With your hands

Rather clever, you must admit.

Too clever. Much too clever for an ordinary sort of thief.

I'm sure he's stolen more than a hundred pieces of gold.

Where have you hidden the money?

Believe me, great sir, I have stolen nothing.

Both hands off for that lie.

What money I have was given me for removing a curse from a mars head.

Oh, you presume to have power over curses?

The power of prayer is infinite, Great Wazir. And I pray exceedingly well.

Send men to his home. Bring me who you find.

- All his confederates. - No.

No, there is no one in my home, no one at all.

Only a wretched, half-mad daughter, ugly, cackle-voiced.

Please, she had done no wrong.

Oh, we've touched a sore spot. We're on the trail now. Go, hurry

Yes, Great Wazir. Where do you live?

You refuse to answer?

You dare to refuse to answer?

May Allah curse you. May calamity strike you.

May disaster overwhelm you.

May you be driven from this palace, kicked into the road.

A curse on your head.

A curse on the head of the Wazir of Police. Ah. Aah!

POLICEMAN: Exalted Wazir.

- Exalted Wazir, we have captured Jawan. JAWAN: Let me go.

Let me go. Let me go.

There he is. The cheat.

The pretender of powers.

Let me tear out his liver. Let me rip his belly to ribbons.

He removed a curse from me for 100 pieces of gold.

And he swore I'd find my son before this day was over.

Where, you dog of a thief, where is my son?

Oh, mighty Wazir, have your men release me.

Gaah!

Allah be praised. Allah is merciful. And Mohammed is his prophet.

That amulet around your neck.

Oh, mighty Wazir, answer an old man one question.

Where did you get it?

This amulet's been with me since childhood.

At last I have found you. Ali, my little Ali.

What does this mean?

I am your father.

JAWAN: Oh, Ali, the light of my soul.

I put that amulet around your neck one week before you were kidnapped.

Look.

Here's the other piece.

See how they match.

Why, they fit perfectly.

Yes, of course.

Oh, forgive my taunts, Hajj the Beggar, forgive me.

Allah be praised.

A man with the power to curse and uncurse. A magician-beggar.

JAWAN: Oh, speak to me, speak to me.

My father's heart aches for one word from its son.

I'll attend to you in a moment.

Oh! What a glorious end to all of my search. Oh.

Speak to me, speak to me.

You are Jawan, the robber and murderer. Is that true?

Yes, I'm too overcome to say much more.

You said enough. You've confessed to being a criminal of the worst sort.

Take him to the dungeons and dispose of him.

But I am your father.

All the more reason to be rid of you. For the leading judge of Mesopotamia...

...to have as a father the leading criminal of Mesopotamia, a disturbing thought.

Oh, let me something other from my sors lips than a sentence to death.

- To the dungeons with him. - Oh, but my Ali. Just to be near my Ali.

My baby, my little baby.

Ali, Ali, the light of my life, my soul.

My sun, my stars, the moon.

Never have I seen a more touching reconciliation.

- We can use this man. - Yes.

Yes, I rather think so.

Have the kindness to have your menials release me.

Oh. Yeah, you heard him, release him. Heh.

Wait.

Wait, oh, what an idiot I am.

Did you not place a curse upon my head?

With all the venom you could summon?

What became of that curse? What became of that curse?

Let all mouths close but mine.

HERALD: Let all mouths close but mine.

The holy, the good, the wise, the just, the omnipotent...

...the commander of the faithful.

Nenone al Raschid Ben Mohammet ibn Khasimoun...

...the Caliph.

Arise, my subjects. Arise and rejoice.

Even the walls of my chambers rejoice at Your Highness' presence.

Your Caliph rejoices at the tidings he brings.

He is pleased to notify his Wazir that he has chosen a bride.

See that the proper proclamations are made.

Tell the foreign embassies all candidates for the Caliph's hand...

...should return to their homes.

May every citizen share his Caliph's happiness.

Ruined.

WAZIR: Ruined, hopelessly, utterly, gracelessly ruined.

Who could have put this wicked spell upon me? Who?

- The beggar. - You sent for me?

You. It was you who did this.

Reverse my decision in the case of Hajj the Beggar. Magician.

- Restore all his gold to him. - Yes, Great Wazir.

Heh-heh. Now, let's come to terms quickly.

How much to lift that curse of yours?

Forgive me, but I can do no more today.

Consider what I've already done.

Suppose we should raise you to the rank of emir?

Emir? Me? An emir?

Lalume, an emir is second only to me.

Don't haggle with the wizard.

He may take offense and turn you into something worse than you are.

My daughter and I...

...members of the nobility.

But only if you undo the harm you've caused and prevent the Caliph's marriage.

Prevent the Caliph's marriage? Oh-ho-ho, but you are too kind.

It is overwhelming. What a day.

But how could one possibly refuse such an offer?

And how can one possibly accept it?

Don't tell me you doubt your power.

Indeed I do.

As a matter of fact, each time it functions, I am more and more astonished.

Still it does function. We've seen it.

Yes.

Yes, it does, doesn't it?

- Noble Wazir, I accept your offer. - Done.

SUBALTERN: Great Wazir. - Yes?

- Shall we dismiss the court? - No, I feel good.

I'll sentence the rest of the criminals before my nap.

Come here.

You know when really angered at someone, my husband usually drops him alive...

...from a high battlement onto a long hook.

Thus will you be impaled when he discovers you're a fraud.

Then, may I make a suggestion? Let's not tell him.

He doesn't need to be told.

He'll know the moment the Caliph marries.

That is why I hesitated before accepting his offer.

But, well, love is an uncertain business.

And if lover's quarrel, as young lovers often do, then I'm an emir.

If not, well, that is kismet.

You'd gamble your life on such a slim chance?

Princess, I have risked floggings for a handful of dates.

I envy you.

Every moment an adventure.

A life totally without monotony.

Yes. That you can say for it.

Since my so-called marriage to the Wazir, I have waked each morning...

...with the chart of my day staring down at me from the ceiling.

The path of every hour already mapped.

And the map of each hour the same.

Have you ever known that torment?

It is one of the few I have been spared.

You are fortunate.

Afternoons dull

Mornings duller

Duller the nights before

Suddenly you Suddenly color

I suddenly see

Monotony for me

Will be no more

Bored by the night and the day was I

Seldom gay was I

Before now

In a world without you was I

And I was bored

So bored

Then came your eyes compelling me

Telling me something wild

On your lips lay adventure

And lightning flashed When you smiled

So smile now

Wake the fires that sleep in me

Make them leap in me

With your kiss

And whatever it is I'll be

I won't be bored

Not bored

Bedeviled, yes

Bedazzled, yes

Bewildered and breathless, yes

But not bored

How could I ever be bored

Not with your lips on mine

Your magical lips

Pressed on mine

Not bored

I will never again

Be bored

What kind of a sentence did he get?

Your gold.

The Caliph's trumpeters.

WOMAN: Look, they're beautiful.

Silence, you fools. Silence, you caterwauling trulls.

Well, beggar, why do you not begin your magic?

Now?

Could it be that our great wizard does not know what the music means?

The Caliph is on his way to fetch his bride.

What? Are you certain?

Why are you disturbed?

Did you not promise to stop this wedding?

Great sir, as I've already told you, I've exhausted today's rations of powers.

- I couldn't possibly... - I see. Guard.

WAZIR: Guards, draw swords.

Guards, this reluctant magician...

...is not to leave the palace under any circumstances.

He has a tremendous spell to weave, in which I'm sure he will not fail.

However, should he fail...

- Executioner. - Executioner forward.

Executioner, prepare the room of the 29 fires.

Watch him carefully, he's slippery.

But I suspect that he is not fireproof.

- What are you doing? - Shh!

I'm calling on my powers.

Assist me, all of you.

Oh, powers above and powers below.

Ye who weaves at your tanglesome skeins...

...and daily spins the tapestry of agony and joy...

...that mortals call the history of man...

...cup thy ear to Hajj the Beggar.

Aye, shabash.

Goat of Mendes.

Baphomet.

Blight and blast our Caliph's love.

Twice this day hast thou seen fit to grant what I ween.

Twice this day has thou let...

...Hajj's humble prayer climb up heavers stair.

And kismet so ordained. My goal should be attained.

Another prayer, another cry.

Grant again, grant it, I ask thee now, ask thee now.

Kismet, mystery of fate.

Fate

Heed me as I lower my knee

A beggar begging your ear

To hear his plea

Fate, let the sound of my voice beguile

Look with love on your slave below

And show your smile

'Tis but a trifle I ask

That in the master design

Which you have written and sealed You change one line

This love that mustrt be

This he, this she

Turn her smile into scorn

Turn his heart into stone

- Turn the honey on their lips to brine CHORUS: Ohhh

POET: Then fate

The day is mine

CALIPH AND CHORUS: Play on the cymbal

The timbal, the lyre

Play with appropriate passion

Fashion songs of delight and delicious desire

For the night of my nights

Come where the so well-beloved Is waiting

Where the rose and the jasmine mingle

While I tell her the moon is for mating

And 'tis sin to be single

CALIPH: Let peacocks and monkeys

In purple adornings

Show her the way To my bridal chamber

Then get you gone Till the morn of my mornings

After the night of my nights

CALIPH AND CHORUS: After the night of my nights

CHORUS: 'Tis the night of my nights

Play on the cymbal The timbal, the lyre

Play with appropriate passion

Fashion songs Of delight and delicious desire

For the night of my nights

Come where the so well-beloved Is waiting

Where the rose and the jasmine mingle

While I tell her the moon is for mating

CALIPH: And 'tis sin to be single

CHORUS: Let peacocks and monkeys

In purple adornings

Show her the way to my bridal chamber

Then get you gone till the morn Of my mornings

After the night of my nights

'Tis the night of my nights

After the night of my nights

CALIPH: 'Tis the night of my nights

MAN: Marsinah.

MARSINAH: Father? - Oh, Marsinah.

Thank heavens I found you. I've looked everywhere for you.

I can't explain now.

- But we have to make a trip to Damascus. - Damascus?

Oh, my poor father. Some angry husband again?

Oh, no, it's much worse than that. I'm in great danger of the Wazir.

His police may be here at any moment. Come.

- The Wazir? - Yes, Marsinah, I can't explain now.

- Look I'll tell you all about it as we go. - Oh.

Father, Father, I can't leave now.

But this is a matter of life or death.

But I was to meet someone here. Someone...

Police.

MAN 1: To the bride of the Caliph. Ha-ha.

MAN 2: To the second and third and future wives...

...the All Highest will take now that he has a first wife.

And to the silks he shall buy her. And the satins and the jewels.

- Gentlemen, to polygamy. MEN: To polygamy.

So you see, instead of becoming an emir, I have incurred the wrath of the Wazir.

- Do you understand now why we must flee? - Yes, I understand.

Help me saddle this beast and we'll get out of here. I'll leave a fair price for him.

MAN 1: Out of the way. MAN 2: Get out of the way.

- Look. - Where is Hassan?

Procession is returning without the bride.

Can't be true. Why would any woman run from the Caliph?

- She just wasrt there. - News will be all over Baghdad by morning.

Did you hear?

It isn't true. It can't be.

On the contrary, it must be.

Father, you frighten me. What are you going to do?

Return to the palace and become an emir.

- No. - But Marsinah.

- No, I won't let you. - But, Marsinah.

You're not going to put yourself into the clutches of that butcher.

- Marsinah. - You're no more of a magician...

...than he is. Than that camel is.

Marsinah. Now, listen, you must wait here.

If I have not returned before dawn, you go swiftly and secretly to Damascus.

Here's what's left of our gold. Ample to buy your living for years.

Keep 10 gold pieces so that you can have a dowry and marry a man of substance.

And keep still another 10 in case that your husband should be mean or cruel.

You give me this...

...instead of my father.

Marsinah, when a mars fortune is on the rise...

...he knows it beyond logic, beyond reason.

Trust me as you always have.

- But I'm content the way we are. - And?

We have more than enough money to satisfy us.

Only a fool would risk his neck for more.

No, Marsinah, come here.

A fool sat beneath an olive tree

And a wondrous thought had he

So he rose and he told it to the sky And where was I?

Behind the tree I overheard

His reverie

Why be content with an olive When you could have the tree?

Why be content to be nothing When there's nothing you couldn't be?

Why be contented with one olive tree

When you could have The whole olive grove?

Why be content with a grove When you could have the world?

The fool stood beneath the olive tree

"What a wondrous thought," said he

But alas, it is very, very deep

And so he yawned and went to sleep

Because, you see

He was a fool

Why be content with an olive When you could have the tree?

That which has lulled you to sleep, fool Has awakened me

Why should I sigh that my lot is my lot That I can't make it anything more

When that is a lie

An excuse for a fool to snore

I walked

From behind the olive tree

With a wondrous change in me

For I walked with my eye upon a star

If you have heard and do not heed

There is a word

For what you are

And, oh, my friend

The word is

Fool

Lalume.

Bow low for the Mighty Wazir.

- Lalume. LALUME: My lord?

Lalume, he's succeeded. Our wizard has succeeded.

I'm not surprised, are you?

I am flooded with relief.

Had the Caliph married that backyard bride...

...why, I truly believe I'd have had to kill myself.

My dear husband, you will never have to kill yourself.

Now, where is he now, do you suppose?

I shall have to destroy him as soon as possible.

Destroy him? Why?

A man who's abetted me in a treasonable act, knowing what he knows,

how could I let him live?

Of course.

But what a pity though.

Think of the power you are throwing away.

Imagine the Wazir of police with a wizard in his employ.

Power within power.

Power.

- Yes. - You could change the face of Baghdad.

All Persia. All Arabia might be yours.

Oh, wise, Lalume.

We must befriend him. Make him a permanent guest in our home.

Then persuade him to put his talents to our use.

But perhaps he won't return.

- Perhaps he... - He will return.

- How can you be sure? - You'd just be angry if I told you.

- Oh, nevertheless, I wish he would... Oh! - Your wish is my command.

Oh. Greetings, great wizard. Heh.

Well done. Excellently done.

I thank you.

Oh, your patent of nobility awaits only your signature.

Your coronet, I shall bring with my own hands.

Oh, inform the harem to entertain my magical guest.

To delight him continuously. Feed him sweetmeats and watermelons.

Feed him rahadlakum.

It shall be done, my lord.

- Rahadlakum? - An ecstasy of taste.

A delight that will steal your brain away.

Well, some other time, perhaps. Without my brains, I am defenseless.

LALUME: What's wrong? - Ahem.

You are hostile.

Great Lady, I have but one goal.

To take my coronet of office...

...collect my grant from the Caliph's treasury and live in well-fed obscurity.

I want you to remain here.

In what capacity?

Your fullest.

- Lalume. - Hmm?

You have saved my life and befriended me. And I'm grateful.

But you know me as I know you.

We are practical people who live by real values in Allah's name.

- Let's not try to fool each other. - I'm not trying to fool you.

- Not at all. - But I have a daughter. I can't desert her.

Your daughter would be as safe here as you.

- Safer. - Yet, I'm no magician.

How long do you think I could live under the Wazir's roof before he found out?

About 30 years.

Guard.

- The Emir Hajj commands you. - Uh...

Go to the camel stables hard by the street of the vendors.

You'll find a young lady there who'll answer to the name of Marsinah.

- You fetch her to me. - Immediately, Emir Hajj.

Emir Hajj.

Can it really be?

- Come with me. - Where?

- To the harem. - Must I?

Pretty poet. I would like the Wazir to believe it was his harem...

...that enticed you to remain here.

It would simplify our lives.

I understand.

On days when my lord groweth restless

And bored with his sword and his plume

His handmaiden hath what he needeth

And what doth he need

Rahadlakum

On nights when my lord looketh listless

And black is the hue of his gloom

His handmaiden hath what he lacketh

And what doth he lack

Rahadlakum

'Tis sweet with the meat of the litchi nut

Combined with the kumquat rind

The kind of confection

To drive a man Out of his Mesopotamian mind

And lo, if my lord feeleth faithless

And roameth by night from his room

His handmaiden fanneth her fires

And out of her pan Riseth a tantalizing perfume

He scenteth the scent He turneth his face

His previous place in her embrace He doth resume

And love is in bloom The while they consume

- Rahad - Rahad

BOTH: Rahadlakum

Oh, gracious emir...

...everyone marvels at your wizardry.

May an humble servant plead the benefit of your magic?

He may.

My third wife is soon to spawn a child. I now have seven daughters.

Will the gracious emir this time grant me a boy?

My good man, this assurance I can give you.

If it is not a boy, it will not be my fault.

Thank you.

Thank you.

You know, I wouldn't be surprised if he did have a boy.

After all, didn't the Caliph's commoner disappear as I guaranteed?

Did not Jawan find his son?

Could it possibly be that I actually do possess the power?

Ahem. Allah, this is me again.

Restore my missing tooth.

No magician.

Just an ordinary man.

Far from ordinary.

WAZIR: Lalume.

WAZIR: Lalume, why don't you answer?

Where's Hajj?

Oh, bother, he's disappeared again.

- Ah. - Gah!

My coronet.

Where were you this time?

That would be hard to explain to a layman.

Your Emirship.

Your Emirship.

I thank you.

- How do I look? - Ooh, heh-heh. Magnificent.

Does he give you a kind of creepy feeling?

Do you mean a sort of tingly sensation under the skin?

- Yeah. - He certainly does.

Perhaps now you'll remain here as our guest.

Magician though I may be, I am unable to tear myself away.

All Persia, all Arabia, all Mesopotamia...

SUBALTERN: Great Wazir?

Yes.

- Great Wazir, a summons from the Caliph. - Hmm.

Call my litter.

Enjoy yourself, friend. I shart be long.

Now, let's see, where were we?

About here, I think.

Oh, I'm being foolish. Not now, not here.

But when, Lalume? And where, Lalume?

And in heavers name, how soon can we be there, Lalume?

I have heard of an oasis in the desert, about a week's journey by dromedary.

- Not that I've ever been there. - Of course not.

It is called the Oasis of Delightful Imaginings.

No one around for miles and miles.

The sound of palm trees rustling in the distance.

Warm desert winds caressing your skin.

Glorious emir.

- Yes. - The lady has been brought as commanded.

Marsinah.

Marsinah.

- Oh, Father, you're safe. - Yes, of course.

I was so worried about you, with you here in that butcher's clutches.

Eh-eh-eh... Marsinah, may I present the butcher's wife?

My daughter, Marsinah.

- Forgive me, great lady. - Uh...

Notice anything, Marsinah? Ahem.

- An emir. You really are. - Yes.

She must have gowns and silks befitting her station.

My dressmaker will prepare a selection for your choice.

Thank you.

- Father, can we leave this place now? - Hmm?

I didn't want to ask while she was still here, but please.

You have your emirship. Isn't that enough?

Please, let us leave and buy our pretty house.

But you prefer a house to a palace?

Father.

Father.

I tried to tell you before.

- I have fallen in love. - Oh.

It was there that I met him. Maybe he'll come back.

At a time like this, you talk of infantile infatuation.

It's love, Father.

It is real and deep as the one I feel for you.

Marsinah.

Please forgive me. L...

I didn't realize.

I'll never find him again.

There's no way. L...

- I don't even know his name. - Darling.

- Where he lives, nothing. - Darling, please. Please don't cry.

We'll find him.

Now, what's he like, huh?

Can you describe him?

Wazir, all your men, your entire force...

...is to be set upon the task of finding a certain young woman.

Your Caliph has already described her to his councilors who will assist you.

Start the search immediately.

Immediately, highness.

A gardener? Hmm.

Well, tell me a little more about him. Is he a tall gardener?

Short gardener?

I don't know anything else.

Well, now, come, let's have some facts.

Were his eyes gray?

Brown?

His eyes were...

Oh, Father, we talked only for a few moments.

He touched my hand.

You'd say his eyes were

Sometime bright

But only sometime

Often dark

Well, that is plain

Plain words can't tell the thrill

Then tell it how you will

Dawrs promising skies

Petals on a pool drifting

Imagine these

In one pair of eyes

And this is my beloved

Strange spice from the south

Honey through the comb sifting

Imagine these

On one eager mouth

And this is my beloved

CALIPH: And when she speaks

And when she talks to me

Music

Mystery

And when she moves And when she walks with me

Paradise

Comes suddenly near

MARSINAH: All that can stir

All that can stun

All that's for the heart's lifting

Imagine these

In one perfect one

And this is my beloved

CALIPH AND MARSINAH: And this is my beloved

Wazir, why have I had no tidings?

All Highest, the search is barely under way.

We have so little information to start with.

You mean you have nothing to report? Nothing at all?

Great ruler, I need time.

True, Wazir, true.

But a royal marriage has been promised the people.

And a royal marriage must be given them.

Exactly the point I was about to make.

You were?

Proceed.

Permit me to observe the illusion that you can be happy with one woman...

...it's a phase man goes through.

If Your Highness would glance into my harem...

...my wives are entertaining three ravishing young guests.

I am not in the mood, Wazir, for visiting other mers harems.

Not a visit, highness, a glance.

I have secret means of watching.

It's a small device from which I've derived a great deal of innocent amusement.

The simple creatures do not know they're being observed.

They are the princesses of Ababu.

Note their charms.

Consider that an alliance with them would mean a safe northern frontier.

I do not require your advice on military security.

But if you would look again, highness, it is not military security I'm offering.

It is she.

It is.

Here in your harem.

My boy. My poor boy.

But this is impossible. Impossible.

Your Highness...

...one marries so many people.

Of course, she cannot now become your wife.

But if you'd care to have her as a concubine, with my compliments.

Concubine?

No, Wazir.

It was not a concubine I sought.

But I don't understand.

A harem wife to the Wazir of police walking alone in the bazaar?

How is it possible?

She must have bribed the guard.

You. Get me the facts.

Yes, Excellency.

I pray Your Highness does not blame me for his disappointment.

The incident is closed.

I shall hold a diwan this very night.

You may present your three princesses of wherever it is.

Inform marriage missions from other nations...

...to present their candidates for the Caliph's hand.

This night will he choose a wife of wives.

Well, where'd she come from?

The new emir brought her.

Oh, my brilliant magician.

He transferred the woman to my own harem.

His power is unbounded and therefore so is mine.

Bring me the girl.

Put her over there.

The Caliph believes this woman to be one of my wives.

I would not have him discover me in a lie.

Ah. Witness this ceremony and enter it into the records as of a month ago.

Empowered as judge of Baghdad to create and cause marriage...

...between two true believers...

...I officially accept this creature as wife of the 7th rank. Therefore, be she mine.

Huh?

Congratulations.

- What is your name, woman? - Marsinah.

What has happened?

- Marsinah, the Wazir has taken you as a wife of the 7th rank.

Have her scrubbed and anointed.

I shall visit her after the Caliph's diwan tonight.

If you do, I'll kill myself. I swear it.

Really? Oh, this may be the first interesting wedding night...

...I've had in years. Hmm.

Inform the embassies to present their candidates for royal marriage...

...at the diwan tonight.

Excellency, you dare not take that risk.

Suppose the All Highest chooses the wrong bride?

I'm taking no risk at all.

My magician shall officiate at the ceremony.

All Highest, the emir of whom I told you.

Let the diwan begin.

Oh, Prince of True Believers, first of the enchanting maidens...

...who aspire to the incredible honor of becoming your wife.

The beauteous Zubbediya of Damascus.

Sire, perhaps your guards should advance a pace.

CALIPH: Why so? - Princess Zubbediya is charm incarnate.

One cannot forget that Damascus is a province famous only for the fact...

...that your great grandfather was assassinated there.

O commander of the faithful, a second contestant for your noble heart.

Samaris of Bangalore.

Alluring as the mirage, pulsing as the sirocco.

And agile as the mongoose.

And now...

...now, Great Caliph, the three princesses of Ababu.

O imperishable ruler, it is said in the Koran...

...that he who looks out of three windows sees more than one olive tree.

So devoutly do these princesses desire your happiness...

...that they have put aside the natural rivalry of womankind.

And each is prepared to marry that third of you, which she can serve best.

Ah. The delight in your eyes shows your decision.

O fount of wisdom, all Baghdad will rejoice...

...and all Ababu as well.

Your Caliph has made no decision.

You have your curses ready in case he chooses Samaris or Zubbediya?

As ready as ever, Great Wazir.

You know, I'm consumed with curiosity as to what trick you would use.

- Couldrt possibly give me just a hint? - No, l...

All right, I understand. Forgive me.

- Secrets of the trade. - Hmm.

Oh. Oh-ho, by the way...

...that was an ingenious feat of magic you performed today.

Which?

Oh. Transferring the Caliph's beloved to my harem.

What?

- Oh, oh. Just routine wizardry. - Wonderful. Heh-heh.

But you should have told me.

I thought all was lost when the Caliph saw her this evening. Heh.

I told him that she was one of my wives.

- A jeweled brain. - Heh-heh.

And then, just to protect myself, I married her.

She swore she'd kill herself.

Angry little thing. Can't understand what attracted the Caliph.

What's her name?

Marsinah. That's it, Marsinah.

Marsinah.

- No. - Yes, yes, Marsinah.

In Allah's name, what have I done?

Oh, that's all right. She won't be a danger to us for long.

In fact, she'll cease to exist very soon after I get down to my palace tonight.

Heh-heh.

Oh, look at him, descendant of Mohammed, outwitted by an ordinary mortal.

A knife. The trick has something to do with a knife.

I have written the name of Ababu upon it. Hide it in your boot.

- My boot? - Quickly or you'll spoil the trick.

My boot. Ha-ha.

Mighty Caliph, behold.

What have you there?

A blade of virgin iron, All Highest.

As you can see...

...nothing is written upon it.

My lords, ladies.

I throw it thus into the pool.

When retrieved from the water...

...the magic blade will be inscribed with the name of our Caliph's bride-to-be.

Noble Caliph, lest you suspect fraud...

...your loyal Wazir himself will retrieve it from the bottom of the pool.

- Who? Me? OMAR: The Wazir?

Only he can serve the end I have in mind.

Wazir, explain this fellow's arrogance.

He is a man of wondrous magic, Your Highness.

The most potent of wizards.

- Proceed. - Your indulgence, All Highest.

Too much light quarrels with my art.

May they smother all the torches but this one?

This trick may take a little while. O most tender of lords.

Now?

Now.

All the way to the bottom, my brilliant assistant.

Have no fear. I am here to help you.

Your foot. Give me your foot.

My foot?

Uh... Heh.

This feat, if you trouble to try, will help you to understand...

...the infinite slowness of eye compared to the speed of hand.

He seems to be struggling.

If I didn't know that he was a magician, I'd swear the man was drowning.

Yes, he struggles well, doesn't he? All part of the illusion, of course.

Let me assure you, he is doing exactly what I wish him to do.

Gentle ruler, be not angry when I say...

...your subjects have been told your heart is broken.

Perhaps your heart has died.

What judgment would you pass if your love were lost because a lie spoken?

- What judgment upon the man who lied? - Why do you ask? Whom do you accuse?

A lover of torture, a drinker of tears, who laughs aloud when the innocent weep.

And to all beseechments turns stone-deaf ears.

Who is this man? Name me his name?

A bargain, great Caliph. Name me his sentence first.

His death, without delay and without mercy.

I thank you for your verdict. It has been carried out.

CALIPH: The Wazir. Rescue the Wazir.

Guards. After the assassin. Don't let him escape.

CALIPH: Has my physician been summoned?

PHYSICIAN: Here, All Highest.

GUARD 1: Come back.

- Where's the assassin? - This way.

Find the traitor.

PHYSICIAN: Here we are. Let's go.

MAN 1: Does he live? MAN 2: His heart is quite still.

PHYSICIAN: Hold.

I hear a beat. He lives.

- Father. - Marsinah.

POET: It's all right.

You are safe now.

Everything's gonna be all right.

You attempted murder before the very eyes of the protector of the faithful.

You have defiled his presence.

- Noble Caliph, l... - Silence.

For a crime such as yours, there is no defense to be spoken.

No defense to be spoken, All Highest.

But a living defense. A breathing one, my daughter.

Then the magiciars story was true.

Entirely true, sire.

She was not the Wazir's wife, All Highest. Not until after you left there.

Then she was seized and married by force.

Such a marriage shall have life no longer than my Wazir.

- The gardener. - Not the gardener, my dearest.

- The Caliph. - Marsinah?

Your name is Marsinah?

Only Marsinah.

I am no more than what I seemed.

And I am no less than I seemed, no less in love, no less humorless.

Is this man be pardoned, O Caliph?

Pardon him, All Highest. His crime was a service. Let him go free.

No. Don't ask that. Under the circumstances...

...it would embarrass the All Highest to pardon his father-in-law.

Oh, prince of justice, let me help you to compose this most difficult of verdicts...

...against a man who in his life never once did right.

And never once wronged anyone.

Condemn the scoundrel to some dreadful oasis.

At least a week's camel journey away.

Force him to take with him the widow of the soon-to-be-late Wazir.

And all the property she can get...

...before the accounts are audited.

Condemn him to lighten her sorrow...

...and to toil ceaselessly...

...to remove all grief from her heart.

You have just condemned yourself for life, my lord.

And finally, O prince of true believers...

...take from me my greatest treasure, my daughter, Marsinah.

Take her away forever, by marrying her to the end of her days.

Such is the Caliph's pleasure.

And so he orders.

Princes come, princes go

An hour of pomp and show they know

Princes come and over the sands

And over the sands of time

They go

Wise men come ever promising

The riddle of life to know

Wise men come

Ah, but over the sands

The silent sands of time

They go

Lovers come, lovers go

And all that there is to know

Lovers know

Only lovers know