Original subtitles

(epic orchestral music)

(bright, tender orchestral music)

- [Narrator] 2000 Years ago, central Persia lay helpless

under the iron heel of a tyrant, whose fierce cavalry

scourged throughout the land, looting, slaying,

and carrying off the young maidens

to be sold in the slave market at Tehran.

Such was the lot of the despairing people,

when suddenly, from out of the sandy wastes,

rode Omar, the Desert Hawk, a lowly blacksmith,

yet a valiant Robin Hood who boldly championed their cause,

rid the land of the tyrant and his fierce riders,

and stole the heart of the lovely Princess Scheherazade.

(soft, exotic orchestral music)

(hooves clop)

- Down, you jackals.

Sal am to the Hamud Pasha, royal tax collector

of His Highness, Prince Murad, Lord of Tehran.

- Speak up, you rogues, and give account of yourselves.

- But noble lord, I have already paid my taxes.

See, here is my receipt.

(paper rustles)

- A clumsy forgery.

For that, you pay double.

- Most noble lord, have mercy on me, I am a poor man.

- And a sniveling dog.

Tear open the merchandise,

let none of these knaves escape in the darkness.

(boxes clunk)

Seize this one.

She'll fetch a pretty price in the slave market at Tehran.

- Have mercy, have mercy, I've been robbed.

By the beard of the prophet,

- I swear it. - Hold.

- [Dancer] No, no don't.

- Speak dog, who robbed you.

- The Desert Hawk, most noble lord.

He robbed me of 300 pieces of gold

I have received for slave girls

I sold in the market at Barsora.

- The Desert Hawk.

Where was he, when did you see him?

- Only yesterday, most noble lord,

in the hills of Gida, where I awaited the caravan.

- What did he look like?

- Alas, most noble lord, he was muffled to the eyes.

- Fool.

Listen to me, you cringing carrion.

To the man who leads me to this scavenging Desert Hawk,

Prince Murad will pay 1,000 pieces of gold.

(crowd murmurs)

Think of it... 1,000 pieces of gold, free of taxes,

to which I'll add 100 pieces of my own for the opportunity

to cross swords with this sniveling jackal.

- I trust, my noble lord, you have the money with you.

- The Desert Hawk.

(suspenseful orchestral music)

At him, guards, cut the carrion down.

(crowd clamors)

- Here is the opportunity you sought.

(horses neigh)

(swords clang)

(combatants clamor)

(intense, dramatic orchestral music)

- My prayers will follow you always.

- While Murad lives, we all have need of prayers.

- How much longer, oh Desert Hawk,

are we to suffer under the heel of this tyrant, Murad?

Are we to be murdered and robbed forever?

- There's always hope, my friends,

as long as men are willing to rise against an oppressor.

- Have you forgotten, oh lord?

The Princess Scheherazade is now on her way

to the capitol to wed the tyrant.

- And her father, the Caliph of Baghdad

has promised soldiers to put down any rebellion.

- If this be true, the time to resist is now.

Come, step up all of you who will ride

with the Desert Hawk and rid the land

of this plague who calls himself Prince Murad.

(crowd softly murmurs)

What are you, men or jackals?

- But noble Desert Hawk, your followers are too few.

- And what if we are captured?

Death by slow torture.

(Omar chuckles)

- Very well, my friends.

Since you will not fight, pack up your goods and go.

Quickly, before more of Prince Murad's

tax collectors find you.

(ominous orchestral music)

(soft, exotic orchestral music)

- And upon sighting any travelers

approaching the Oasis of the Moon,

you will summon the guard by two blasts on your horns.

Mount and ride.

(dramatic orchestral music)

(hooves clop)

Any further orders, Excellency?

- It appears we have taken all precautions

to protect Her Highness, Captain Ras.

But I shall not rest comfortably

until I have delivered her safely to Prince Murad in Tehran.

(water splashes) (maidens giggle)

Also, make certain, Captain that none of the men

attempt to spy upon her harness while she bathes.

(bright, tender orchestral music)

(water splashes) - Such happiness, my princess.

Is it the sparkling pool after the long journey

from Baghdad, or is it--

- Or is it because or is it because soon,

you'll be married to Prince Murad?

- Impudent wretch.

(water splashes)

- I hear that he's tall and very handsome.

- Romantic and tender.

- If Prince Murad lacks any of those qualities,

there shall be no marriage.

- You are very fortunate, my lady,

to have such an indulgent father.

- I have his promise I need never marry

a man I could not love.

(dramatic horn orchestral music)

- Guards, guards. - They called the guards.

Quick, my lady, strangers approach.

(water splashes)

(hooves clop)

- Draw scimitars.

(swords clank)

Princess Scheherazade rests at the Oasis of the Moon,

and none shall approach without inspection.

- Well met, Captain.

I'm Prince Murad, Lord of Tehran,

come to his quarter highness to my palace.

- Advance, Your Highness, and welcome.

- Forward.

(hooves clop)

His Highness Prince Murad, Lord of Tehran.

- Ahmed Bey, at your service, Your Highness.

Pray this mount, and refresh ourselves.

I shall have Princess Scheherazade informed of your arrival.

- Have the man feed and water the horses.

And I know that you'll treat the soldiers

of Her Highness with your usual courtesy.

- With more than my usual courtesy.

- A loaf of bread, a jug of wine.

These would be most refreshing.

- Sinbad, we are to treat the soldiers

of Her Highness with the, with the,

- Aladdin, you know you can depend on me.

- Oh, my lady, my lady, it is Prince Murad.

And though I didn't see his face,

he is tall, and splendidly dressed.

And his voice, it is gentle and filled with laughter.

- And no doubt he has ugly teeth and warts on his nose.

Still, bring my richest robe, my rubies,

and the spikenard from Hindustan.

- All you have to do, friend Mokar,

is to choose the cup the pea is under, and I will pay.

Watch the cup says they go past,

and soon, a fortune you'll amass.

- Why, 'this is child's play.

See?

(Mokar laughs)

I like your foolish game, friend Aladdin,

but let us make it worth my while.

Shall we say five gold pieces to begin?

- I am a poor man, but as you are my friend,

five gold pieces to begin.

(Mokar chuckles) (money clinks)

And now, friend Mokar, we shall see

if fortune still shall smile on thee.

(soft, playful orchestral music)

- A noble blade, Captain.

- And tempered in Damascus by Agrippo,

the forger of great swords.

- Truly a fine possession.

And these chests you guard so closely?

- Contain the dowry of the Princess Scheherazade,

from which all must keep their distance.

- Treasure, I know of another treasure,

a king's ransom in gold, silver and emeralds,

but two days ride from Baghdad.

- Then why do you not go and get it?

- Alas, I'm bound in service to my master

for 10 more years, and by then,

but perhaps an an hon our able man

like you would get it for me.

Share and share alike.

- And how would I find his vast treasure?

- With this.

But first, Captain, a token of good faith.

Some trifling amount such as 10 pieces of gold, huh?

- Trifling?

- I thought to a great man like the Captain.

- As you say, the amount is of small consequence.

(money clinks)

- Guard well this map, there is is no other like it.

(paper rustles)

- It all depends on whether the hand is quicker

than the eye, the hawk swifter than the falcon,

or the brain mightier than the sword.

- And what of this troublesome rogue

they call the Desert Hawk?

- It's largely on his account that I'm here,

to give the princess safe escort.

He's a fabulous fellow.

- But when the Caliph's soldiers arrive,

you will be able to make short work of him.

- And when am I to receive these soldiers?

- As soon as you're wed, of course.

- Of course.

(gong echoes)

- Her Highness.

(soft, tender orchestral music)

Your Highness, Prince Murad, Lord of Tehran.

- Your obedient servant.

- [Ahmed] His Highness has come to protect you

from a possible attack by the Desert Hawk.

- Is this jackal, then, so dangerous?

- Not while I am here.

And who could risk the loss of so rare a jewel?

- You are a fair spoken, Prince Murad.

- What man could be but silver-tongued

in the presence of such priceless beauty?

- And a poet, as well.

- Had you expected to meet some

uncouth barbarian, my princess?

- I had heard only that you were handsome.

- And you are disappointed.

- Did I say that?

I also heard that in your harem are to be found

many of the fairest flowers in all Islam.

(Omar laughs)

- A pleasing thought, but alas, I have no harem.

- A prince and no harem?

Such a thing is unheard of.

- It is written in the Quran that a man

who knows too many loves may never cherish one.

- The man who follows that advice

shall have his choice of loves.

- If that is true, then I have much to say.

(soft, tender orchestral music)

And then, I dreamed a dream, and in that dream,

I met you here and we fell in love,

married on the self-same day.

Then, I held you in my arms.

- My Lord forgets.

This was just a dream.

- But need it be?

I have a holy man with me.

If you would say the word, this dream could be reality.

- There is no precedent for action such as this.

- Nor is there precedent for beauty such as yours.

The sun, the moon, the stars, they fade before your charms.

And so do I.

(romantic orchestral music)

- Praise be the God, the Lord of All Creatures.

The Most Merciful, the King of the Day of Judgement.

Thee do we worship, and of Thee do we beg assistance.

Direct these two in the right way,

in the way of those to whom Thou hast been gracious,

not of those against whom Thou art incensed,

or of those who go astray.

Then will their union be one of love

for each other and for all mankind.

Amen.

(solemn, exotic orchestral music)

- As Allah is my witness, I do solemnly swear

to cherish the princess Scheherazade above all women.

(sword rattles)

And to protect her with my sword and with my life.

(soft, bright orchestral music)

- Still asleep.

She sleeps, but the prince is not here.

My lady, my lady.

(bright, tender orchestral music)

My lady.

- Where--

- Perhaps His Highness is gone for an early ride.

- You are happy, my lady,

and do not regret your hasty marriage?

- [Handmaid] A most unnecessary question.

- [Handmaid] Do you wish to rise now, Your Highness?

- [Handmaid] The water in the pool is very warm.

- I think I shall stay abed a while.

(hooves clop)

- Someone approaches.

- My husband.

My robe, quickly.

Prepare my bath.

Hurry, hurry.

(hooves clop)

(horse snorts)

(ominous orchestral music)

- Awaken those sleeping dogs, Yussef.

(whip cracks)

- They appear to be drugged.

- Words can you, strangers?

- Seize him, Yussef.

- Guards, guards!

- Hold your tongue, you fool.

Inform Her Highness Princess Scheherazade

that Prince Murad, Lord of Tehran, desires an audience.

- Prince Murad.

Your Excellency, Your Excellency.

(Ahmed groans)

- Oh my hand, my mouth.

I fear, Excellency, that the wine

we drank last night was drugged.

- And Her Highness?

All I know, Excellency, is that outside,

a noble person demands audience with Her Highness

and claims he is the real Prince Murad.

- You fool.

- But how were to know, Your Highness?

His men wore the trappings of the House of Murad,

and they carried at your royal standard.

(gong echoes)

- Why am I summoned in such haste?

- Your Highness, there has been a grievous error.

Here's the real Prince Murad.

- I'm in no mood for jesting.

- It is no jest, Your Highness.

Some impostor has taken advantage of your hospitality,

- Your Excellency, all the treasure chests have disappeared.

- What does the jackal look like?

- About your height, clean-shaven,

- Where did you get this bracelet?

- It was a gift from the man

who called himself Prince Murad.

- It bears the emblem of the Desert Hawk.

Where is he?

- When I awakened this morning, he was gone.

- When you awakened?

- Last night, Her Highness was married to this impostor--

- Fool, dope, unspeakable--

- Enough.

You forget that you are in the presence

of Princess Scheherazade,

daughter of the mighty Caliph of Baghdad.

Go, bring me back the head of this charlatan,

lest my father sent his troops against you

for permitting such an outrage in your realm.

- The mind of a woman varies more than the desert winds.

(suspenseful orchestral music)

(horse snorts)

(hooves clop)

- Akbar, take two men and see yourself here.

If the princess sends couriers

to the Caliph, dispose of them.

Captain Yussef, bring me the head of the Desert Hawk,

and one-third of the treasure is yours.

- Loaded down with treasure, Your Highness,

he cannot of travel very far.

This time, he shall not escape.

(soft, suspenseful music)

(metal rattles)

(thieves clamor)

Our lovely princess brought an equally lovely dowry.

(metal rattles)

- Did you ever see so much gold, Omar?

- Which will be used only to rid the land of Prince Murad.

(metal clanks)

- Now, how do you suppose that got in there?

- Help him pick them up and pack them,

and watch him closely.

- That I will.

Miserable thief.

- Miserable thief, huh?

(metal clinks)

- You will hide the treasure safely, Holy One.

- It will be secure at the Well of Silence,

until your followers have need of it.

- Fortune has indeed smiled upon us.

- I aided thee to prevent Prince Murad

from receiving reinforcement from the Caliph.

But my son, in the sight of Allah,

thou art truly married to the princess.

- I can think of worse calamities, Holy One.

- A commoner went into a princess by trickery.

For this, my son, the penalty is death.

- Omar.

Omar.

(hooves clop)

Prince Murad's soldiers approach.

- Mount and ride.

Aladdin, Sinbad, meet me at the marketplace tomorrow.

Holy One, ride to the south, I'll try and hit them off.

(dramatic orchestral music)

(hooves clop)

(ominous orchestral music)

- Look, there.

(dramatic orchestral music)

- A thousand pieces of gold are the man who cuts him down.

Circle and cut him off.

(soldiers shout)

(soldiers shout)

(swords clang)

(swords clang) (horse neighs)

(swords clang)

After him, after him.

(horses whinneys)

(Omar laughs)

- Aref, ride to Baghdad with all speed

and deliver this dispatch to His Eminence, The Caliph.

(dramatic orchestral music)

(soft, ominous orchestral music)

- With Murad and my father joined against him,

we'll see how high and long this hawk can fly.

- No punishment is great enough for his insolence.

- To risk so much for love is hardly insolence.

Courage is a better word.

- Why do you keep defending this cursed hyena?

- It is your husband, my lady.

- Husband in name only.

(tense orchestral music)

And alive only, until my father receives my message

and sends his finest warriors to wreak vengeance upon him.

(dramatic orchestral music)

- A rider approaches wearing the trappings of the Caliph.

- So much the worse for him.

(hooves clop)

(swords clang)

(gong loudly echoes)

- Welcome, Prince Murad.

(soft, exotic orchestral music)

(gong echoes)

- Welcome to the Palace

of a Thousand Delights, Your Highness.

Pray, be seated.

Partake of refreshments?

- Your eye for beauty doesn't grow dim with age, Kibar.

- Neither do my wits, Your Highness.

They tell me you did not come to the Lord of the Assassins

to gaze upon rare beauty, but for profit, as usual.

- Of which you will demand your half, as usual.

There is a small matter

concerning the Princess Scheherazade,

daughter of the Caliph of Baghdad.

(slow, exotic orchestral music)

- What you tell me, Your Highness,

suggests that you wish the Princess Scheherazade

to be, shall we say, eliminated.

- Exactly, but the crime must be laid to the Desert Hawk.

- Thus the Caliph, who would've sent

his troops against you--

- Would instead join me, and together,

we will wipe out this imprudent scoundrel.

- And the reward for silencing the princess?

- 1,000 pieces of gold.

- 2,000.

(Murad chuckles)

- That's robbery.

- In which we both indulge, Your Highness.

- Agreed.

But do your work swiftly.

- To hear is to obey, Your Highness.

- You wish me to take care

of the matter of the princess, master?

- With but one small alteration, Samad.

You will arrange that it appear

that princess has been slain,

but you will bring her to me, here, unharmed.

- But, master,

- Prince Murad grows weary of dividing the spoils with me.

In command of the Caliph's soldiers,

after removing the Desert Hawk, he might be tempted--

- Be tempted to remove the Lord of the Assassins, also.

- You're improving, Samad.

With the princess as our guest, that danger will be removed.

And then, who knows?

The princess may be most alluring.

- I know of whom my princess thinks.

- I think only that by tomorrow morning,

my father's soldiers shall arrive.

- But when they do, you won't,

- It seems our little Yasmin

has lost her heart to this impostor.

- Impostor, charlatan, I care not.

But to be in the arms of the Desert Hawk

would be heaven, indeed.

- Unless his wits are duller than I think,

his arms are far away tonight.

(soft harp music)

(ominous orchestral music)

- Above all, keep your faces covered.

The signal should be heard at any moment.

(knife thuds) (guard grunts)

(horn bellows)

(hooves clop)

- Guards, turnout.

Guards, turnout.

Forward.

(hooves clop)

(suspenseful orchestral music)

(soldiers shout and yell)

- My lady, my lady.

It's your husband, he's returned for you.

- You still wish to be in his arms?

- Oh, Your Highness, if only that were possible.

- Then change clothing with me, and your shall.

But hurry.

(swords clank)

(soldiers shout)

- No, no, you shall not enter here.

(dramatic orchestral music)

- Seize them, quickly.

- Guards, guards protect us.

(handmaidens shout)

You'll find you made a grave mistake.

- Let me go, let me go.

(handmaidens shriek)

(sword clangs)

Let me go.

(hooves clop)

- Well?

- We followed the Desert Hawk's tracks

to stony ground and lost them.

The men are spreading out across the desert.

(hooves clop)

- Wounded men.

In the name of Allah, how did this occur?

- The Desert Hawk and his followers

attacked us, Your Highness.

The Princess Scheherazade

has been abducted, and, I fear, slain.

Her headdress is--

- Why didn't you defend the princess?

- I and my guards were lured to the head of the ravine

by trickery, Your Highness, I swear it.

- Of course.

Yussef.

(sword thuds)

(guards murmur)

This is how I deal with sniveling cowards.

Akbar, ride to Baghdad.

Report to the Caliph that the Desert Hawk

has attacked the princess' caravan,

but her bodyguards fled, and she was slain.

Implore him to send soldiers to help me hunt down

the Desert Hawk and avenge the princess.

(hooves clop)

Water the horses, quickly.

(handmaidens shriek)

- Let me go, let me go.

- My humble apologies for the delay.

- You are not the Desert Hawk.

- So it appears.

- Who are you, then?

Answer me.

- A pretty pigeon, but too inquisitive.

Baku.

Keep a civil tongue in your head,

or I'll open your back with a lash.

- When my father hears of--

- No, no, remember, you're only a handmaiden.

- Deliver these three handmaidens

to Abdul, the slave dealer in Tehran.

Warn him, I shall expect top prices.

- I forbid it.

You shall not deprive me of my handmaidens.

- There are many handmaidens awaiting you, Your Highness.

- Where are you taking me?

- To the Palace of a Thousand Delights,

and my master, Kibar.

(upbeat, exotic orchestral music)

(people clamor)

(animals bleat)

- Behold, my masters, this magnificent offering

from far off Pasargadae.

A truly lusty wench, my masters.

A good worker and a pleasing disposition.

Come, my masters, what am I bid?

Look at what you get for your money.

- 12 pieces of gold.

- 14 pieces of gold.

- [Abdul] Why, my masters, surely you jest.

This lovely maiden has been brought from far-off Pasargadae.

- A king's ransom in gold and precious stones.

- Which we will share, friend Sinbad?

- Of course, but first, a small token of your good faith.

A trifling amount such as 10 pieces of gold, hmm?

- Nine gold pieces?

Eight?

(Sinbad sighs)

- I will not forget thee, friend Sinbad.

- Of that, I am sure.

(paper rustles)

It all depends whether the hand is quicker than the eye,

the hawk swifter than the falcon,

and the brain mightier than the sword.

Was your day a prosperous one?

- Nothing, but it is written that there will be such days.

(metal clangs)

- What skulduggery have you been up to?

- I'm practically an honest man.

- The straighter the face, the greater the lie.

Tell me, pretty Naga, which of these is a love potion?

- Neither, Omar.

More is the pity.

- You waste your time, Naga, Omar is already in love.

- With a princess.

- A princess?

- Another of Sinbad's famous fairy tales, little Naga.

- I am not so little, I am soon to be 15.

- And already very beautiful.

(horn blares)

- Attention.

Attention to this proclamation from His Highness,

Prince Murad, Lord of Tehran.

(paper rustles)

A foul crime has been committed

by a scavenger known only as the Desert Hawk.

He has raided a caravan at the Oasis of the Moon

and slain the Princess Scheherazade.

- Scheherazade slain?

- Hence the hands of all true men of Islam

will be raised against this so-called Desert Hawk,

for whose head His Highness will pay

the sum of 5,000 pieces of gold.

(crowd murmurs)

- She was so beautiful, so,

as Allah is my witness, I shall not rest until--

- Omar.

Welcome, oh slender one.

- More slave girls have arrived

and need some fitting with their chains.

I bring the work to you, if you will share the fee with me.

- Rest assured you'll get what you have coming.

(Abdul sighs)

- Open.

- 5,000 pieces of gold is a goodly sum.

- Aye, but a value only to the living.

What's the you, blacksmith, of 5,000 pieces of gold?

Would you cross scimitars with the Desert Hawk?

- I doubt that I would be lucky enough to collect it.

(guards chuckle)

- You.

Bring in the blacksmith.

Come, come.

You can start with this one.

(chains rattle)

You, you're next.

- If you value your life,

you'll return me safely to my father.

- Oh, but surely.

And your father is?

- The mighty Caliph of Baghdad, I am Princess Scheherazade.

- Hmm.

The Princess Scheherazade was slain by the Desert Hawk.

You take me for a fool, wench?

- Hurry. - You bloated, stupid ox.

I am Princess Scheherazade.

- You.

- So, a low-born blacksmith is the fabulous Desert Hawk.

- Desert Hawk.

The Desert Hawk.

Desert Hawk, Desert Hawk.

The Desert Hawk.

(dramatic orchestral music)

(door clangs)

(people clamor)

(vase thuds)

- The Desert Hawk, after him.

- Close off the square.

(punch thuds)

(hooves clop)

- Now is the time for all good men to leave.

(soft, playful orchestral music)

- Could I interest you in buying a good blacksmith's shop?

Very reasonable.

- I have but five coppers to my name.

- Sold, you are now a blacksmith.

(dramatic orchestral music)

(hooves clop)

(soft, ominous orchestral music)

- Oh, get out.

Get out, get out.

- Calm yourself.

It is written that cleanliness is next to godliness.

Yes.

(hooves clop)

(gong loudly echoes)

- Welcome to your new home, Your Highness.

I trust you'll be very happy here.

- Why have I been brought here?

- To save your life, Your Highness.

Prince Murad had ordered your death.

- Prince Murad?

- But I, as your friend--

- Then take me quickly to my father, the Caliph.

- It is not safe for you to travel

without escort, Your Highness.

But a note to your father will provide you with that.

In the meantime, your every wish is my command.

- Then return my three handmaidens.

- Knowing Samad, that may not be so simple.

They were sure to bring a good price

at the slave market, master.

- Which you, no doubt, intended to turn over to me.

- [Samad] Of course.

It appears we are too late to get them back, Your Highness.

- But you must, you must.

A princess cannot be sold into slavery.

- A princess?

- It was it her order we changed clothes

to trick the Desert Hawk, but now--

- Bungling fool.

Go to Tehran, bring back the real princess.

If you fail again, it will be most unfortunate.

- I'm so grateful, my lord,

for here, I know the princess will be safe.

- Very safe.

Her presence will guarantee

that I become the master of Tehran.

(soft, exotic orchestral music)

(hands claps)

Now, noble masters, open wide your purses,

(whip cracks) for I shall offer you

the richest jewel in all Persia.

Behold, noble masters, the perfection of this treasure.

The smooth whiteness of her brow.

The deep sapphire blue of her eyes.

The graceful beauty of her body.

Come, my masters, what am I bid?

- Five pieces of gold.

- Six.

- Behold, the noble carriage of our head,

the rose petal texture of a skin.

Come, my masters, who will save 50 pieces of gold?

(crowd murmurs)

Distance lends enchantment, slave dealer.

I would inspect the winch before I bid.

- Your wish is my command.

Draw near, noble lord.

- Not bad.

Strong hair, thick skull, no doubt.

Quiet, I've to come to save you.

- For whom?

- For myself, of course.

Ah, a well-shaped ear.

(crowd laughs)

Clean, without warts.

- [Abdul] Oh, I assure you, my noble Lord,

she is without blemish.

- Show me your teeth.

- [Abdul] Open your mouth, wench.

(crowd laughs)

I've seen worse.

- Oh, the unmatched pearls of ivory whiteness.

- Well, certainly ivory whiteness.

But bring me those two wenches up here,

and I will bid for all three.

- At once, noble lord.

(hands clap)

(crowd murmurs)

- May Allah forgive you.

- Now, my masters, what am I bid

for these three visions of supreme delight?

- 10 pieces of gold.

- 15.

- 20 pieces of gold.

- 25.

- Enough, I bid 100 pieces of gold.

(crowd clamors)

- Sold to you, my noble lord.

- Follow me, wenches.

- Where did you get the gold?

- From your most generous dowry, Princess.

Where's little Yasmin?

- Taken to the Palace of a Thousand Delights,

a mistake for me.

- Omar.

(hooves clop)

- Kibar has discovered his mistake

and is searching for the princess.

We must separate, to meet later at the Well of Silence.

(soft, ominous orchestral music)

Enough of this silence.

Have you no thanks for your deliverer?

- Small thanks are due you

for endangering my life with your trickery.

- It is as the moving finger which writes,

and having writ, moves on,

nor all your piety, nor--

- A plague on your rhymes, blacksmith.

Why have you done this to me?

- Because, after marrying you, Murad would receive soldiers

from your father to grind my people deeper under his heel.

To prevent that, we had to provide another husband for you.

So, I made the sacrifice.

- You made the sacrifice?

Why, you low-born uncouth barbarian.

(playful orchestral music)

- That is no way to address your lord and master.

- Master?

You, a filthy blacksmith?

Wait.

You cannot leave me here to die of thirst.

- Follow my tracks, and you will someday reach water.

- Lift me back onto the saddle, immediately.

Mark you, blacksmith, there will come a day of reckoning.

I'll have you flayed alive for this, boiled in oil,

and your your flesh cast to the vultures.

Wait.

Wait.

Wait.

(soft, ominous orchestral music)

(horse snorts)

- My horse has earned a rest.

Here's water, surly one.

Perhaps I was over-harsh with you, princess.

- There is no fight left in me.

- It is written that a man must be master in his house,

even though he loves his wife above all women.

(soft, tender orchestral music)

What miracle is this?

The surly princess returns the love of a blacksmith?

- Whose name she does not even know.

- I'm called Omar.

- Omar, the Desert Hawk.

The rhymester, the blacksmith.

I know not which intrigues me most.

(soft, ominous orchestral music)

- There still remains the small matter of your father.

Is he a reasonable man?

- In all things, Omar,

accepting where his daughter is concerned.

- I was afraid of that.

Perhaps, in time,

he'll understand-- (Scheherazade sighs)

More water.

- No, it's just that I'm faint with hunger.

- I have provisioned the saddlebags.

- Oh, wait.

Look Omar, there are lush dates.

- Which you shall have at once.

Mmm, ripe and tasty, here.

(soft, suspenseful music)

Stop, come back.

- It now becomes your turn to walk, blacksmith.

- Stop.

(playful orchestral music)

(horse whinneys)

- They are long overdue.

Perhaps something has happened to the princess.

- A little taming by friend Omar, I suspect.

- At which he's a past master.

- He would not dare.

- A lowly blacksmith.

- In the eyes of Allah, all men are born equal.

- Look, there.

It is the princess.

(hooves clop)

We were so worried, my lady.

- We feared misfortune had befallen you.

- Misfortune?

That grinning hyena forced me to walk miles

across the sands, like a common slave.

- Omar is a man among men.

- Come, my lady, we have food and drink prepared.

- As soon as I have eaten, we ride to the Oasis of the Moon

to meet my father's soldiers.

- But where is Omar?

- Plodding across the sands, I trust.

- Incredible.

- Unpardonable.

- Unpardonable, indeed.

I cannot wait until my father's men make him their prisoner,

and lash him as he plods all the way to Baghdad.

- I shall so advise your husband.

- Pig.

Impudent pig.

(tongue clicks)

- You had best rehearse a softer speech,

if you want help from Omar.

- I need no help from a blacksmith.

- Blacksmith, perhaps, Your Highness,

but a champion of his people,

who daily risks his life to free them from their bondage.

(soft, ominous orchestral music)

- Omar.

Omar.

(soft, playful orchestral music)

(handmaiden screams)

(dramatic orchestral music)

- So, the princess sought to escape by trickery.

- You took the princess with you, noble master.

- She tells a different tale.

Well come, speak.

Which of you is the true princess?

In the Palace of a Thousand Delights,

there are many devices to help you find your tongues.

- Would you break the sacred law of the Quran?

These slaves belong to another.

- Cease your prattle, old one.

- In the name of Allah-- (sword thuds)

- No!

- Take them.

(soft, suspenseful orchestral music)

Now, my master needs no longer fear

Prince Murad, nor the Caliph.

(dramatic orchestral music)

It's the Caliph of Baghdad, Your Highness.

It was with heavy heart I sent a message to Your Eminence.

Where is this murdering jackal,

whom they call the Desert Hawk?

- Fled to sanctuary, and now hiding in a fortress

far to the south called the Palace of a Thousand Delights.

He is under the protection of Kibar, lord of the assassin.

I did but await your forces before attacking,

and putting all within the fortress to the sword.

- I came for vengeance.

Lead me to it.

(dramatic orchestral music)

(hooves clop)

(soft, ominous orchestral music)

- Holy One, Holy One.

- The assassins seized the princess.

Go with Allah.

- The assassins?

They'll take her to the Palace of a Thousand Delights.

- And Sinbad, also.

But what can we do?

- One thing only.

- Why rescue your life for her, Omar?

She treated you like dirt beneath her heel.

- I took a solemn vow to protect her

with my sword and my life.

- But it will take an army to rescue her from that fortress.

- Then you and I will be an army.

(hooves clop)

(gong loudly echoes)

- Bring the prisoners inside,

and treat them with great courtesy.

The man I suspect to be a follower of the Desert Hawk.

- You have done well, Samad.

For that, I shall overlook your blundering.

Bring the prisoners to me.

(hands clap)

- This is the one that calls himself Sinbad.

- An honest man, master.

- With that face?

- Your own is far from reassuring.

(hand slaps) - Keep a civil tongue in your head, dog.

- And which of your lovely maidens

is the Princess Scheherazade?

- I am Undine, a handmaiden.

- I am Maznah.

- And I am Yasmin.

- I see.

There was another handmaiden,

who also claimed she was not the princess.

(hands clap)

Don't be alarmed.

The unfortunate girl met with a slight accident,

which temporarily robbed her of mind and speech.

She was lovely, but so stubborn.

A great pity.

(body thuds)

Now tell me, which of you is the Princess Scheherazade?

Take the girls to the dungeon.

We shall continue our little talk later.

I must caution Gorah.

There's an art in applying the lash,

up to, but not beyond, a breaking point.

(gong loudly echoes)

(gate creaks)

- From whence come you?

- From His Highness, Prince Murad,

with gifts of rare wine for your master.

- [Guard] Enter.

A bearer of gifts.

(barrel thuds)

- Hold, lest you cause a leak,

and waste such precious nectar.

- The master's orders require sampling.

- That I know, and as you see, am prepared.

Behold, how it sparkles in the moonlight.

(wine gurgles)

Oh, the truth, camel driver.

'This is a rare nectar.

- There is none finer.

- I take no man's word for the quality of wine.

- Or of women, I trust.

(guards laugh)

Here, drink.

Come, there is enough for all.

(wine gurgles)

(guards shore)

(guard laughs)

- "This is good to the taste.

(Sinbad laughs)

- 'This is also good for the beard.

(wine splashes)

(body thuds)

(barrel thuds)

All were thirsty.

- Allah is with us.

- Omar, quick, the changing of the guards.

(guard shouts)

- Well?

- They are drunk, captain.

- Nay, drugged.

- Secure all gates.

This way.

(soft, suspenseful orchestral music)

- It's Kibar and Samad.

Stun them, but don't kill them.

We need them as hostages.

(footsteps clop)

- What brings you here?

- We search for an intruder

who drugged the courtyard guards.

- Find the culprit, and bring him to me in the dungeon.

- Remain on guard here.

You others, follow me.

Guards.

Scour the palace for an intruder.

Bring him to the dungeon.

(suspenseful orchestral music)

(guard groans)

(gate creaks)

(Sinbad groans)

- But master, who would dare enter the palace unbidden?

- The one man who can identify the princess.

- The Desert Hawk?

(Sinbad groans)

(Sinbad groans)

- How can I tell you what I do not know?

- That you will soon discover.

(Sinbad groans)

- Gorah.

Has he talked?

- But soon.

- He can wait.

I have more interesting work for you.

Gorah is overeager to show his mastery of the lash.

The scars will remain always,

and yet, such misfortune could be avoided.

If the Princess Scheherazade will identify herself,

her two handmaidens shall go free.

- Why do you want the princess?

- To send a message to her father,

advising him that Prince Murad ordered her death,

and to demand that he wipe out this traitor,

in which case, her death

will be pleasant and quite painless.

- And if the princess refuses?

- Her death will be slow and most unpleasant.

- And her two handmaidens?

Will you set them free, unharmed?

- [Kibar] Agreed.

- I am the Princess Scheherazade.

- You shall not sacrifice yourself for me, Yasmin.

I am the Princess Scheherazade.

- Silence, both of you.

I am the Princess.

- So, instead of three handmaidens,

I have now three princesses.

We'll see what the lash has to say.

Gorah.

One lash, to each in turn.

And then, repeat.

(soft, suspenseful orchestral music)

Guards, guards.

(swords clang)

(combatants grunt)

(intense, dramatic orchestral music)

Guards.

Guards.

(swords clang)

- Release Sinbad.

It appears that the princess has need of a blacksmith.

- A blacksmith was never more welcome.

(keys jingle)

Guards.

Guards.

The Desert Hawk is in the dungeon.

Trap him there.

Guards.

(dramatic orchestral music)

(hooves clop)

- There they are. - Slay the dogs.

(swords clang)

- Wait, I've got a score to settle with this one.

- Mercy, mercy.

- Of course.

(metal clangs)

The Desert Hawk, the Desert Hawk.

(guard groans)

(gong loudly echoes)

(gate creaks)

- Welcome, Prince Murad.

- Cut them down.

(soldiers shout)

(dramatic orchestral music)

(swords clang)

Wait here a while, Your Eminence.

'This is safer that I enter first carry on the rout.

Men of Tehran, inside.

Guard every door, and send more men to me here.

You will stay close.

(soft, suspenseful orchestral music)

(maidens scream)

(Kibar shouts)

Guards.

(swords clang)

(dramatic orchestral music)

- This way.

- Guards, seize them.

Hurry, after them.

(guards shout)

(swords clang)

Behold, the death of the Desert Hawk.

- And Kibar's, as well.

(suspenseful orchestral music)

Pull out your swords.

(soldiers shout)

- Quick, make for the courtyard.

(knife rattles)

(swords clang)

- It was the traitor Murad who planned my death.

- Take them to safety and guard them well.

- This way.

- Release them.

Forward.

(swords clang)

- Stand back.

This man's mine.

(swords clang)

(dramatic, climactic orchestral music)

(Prince Murad groans)

- Mercy.

Mercy.

(water splashes)

- Let none escape.

Chain them and throw them in the dungeon.

I salute a valiant warrior.

- Wait.

Do not be deceived.

This desert carrion tricked me into marriage,

and then abducted me.

- Seize him.

- So, the wench becomes a princess once again.

- I promised you a day of reckoning, blacksmith.

- Take him away.

(chains rattle)

(gong loudly echoes)

(soft, tender orchestral music)

- Greetings, noble blacksmith.

Now, what should I do with you?

Should I begin by ordering a hundred lashes?

Or perhaps a little stretching on the rack?

- It matters little, now that my people

are freed from Murad and Kibar.

- And does it matter little

that you must be master in your own house?

- Wench or princess, a woman is only a woman

and always needs a master.

- "Twas the answer I expected.

So, to save your worthless life, I persuaded my father

to make you Prince Omar, Lord of Tehran.

Well, what more do you want, Your Highness?

- Remove these chains, and I'll show you.

- No.

I would play master a little longer, husband mine.

- Omar.

Omar.

(soft, playful orchestral music)

I've been fleeced.

- So it appears.

Who did this terrible thing to you?

- The wench, Maznah.

My shell game, her father invented it.

- Aladdin.

- Omar.

- A man should never argue with a woman.

- It appears you've learned your lesson.

If that be true,

(chains rattle)

There is no longer need to keep you captive.

I set you free to make your choice of loves.

- I had not finished.

A man should never argue with a woman,

unless his arms are free to hold her.

(romantic, dramatic orchestral music)