English Original
You must know, sire, that my father was Mahmoud, the king of this country, the Black Isles, so called from the four little mountains which were once islands, while the capital was the place where now the great lake lies. My story will tell you how these changes came about.
My father died when he was sixty-six, and I succeeded him. I married my cousin, whom I loved tenderly, and I thought she loved me too.
But one afternoon, when I was half asleep and being fanned by two of her maids, I heard one say to the other, "What a pity it is that our mistress no longer loves our master! I believe she would like to kill him if she could, for she is an enchantress."
I soon found by watching that they were right. When I mortally wounded a favorite slave of hers for a great crime, she begged to build a palace in the garden, where she wept and bewailed him for two years.
At last I begged her to cease grieving for him, for although he could not speak or move, by her enchantments she just kept him alive. She turned upon me in a rage, uttered magic words, and I instantly became as you see me now—half man and half marble.
Then this wicked enchantress changed the capital, a populous and flourishing city, into the lake and desert plain you saw. The fish of four colors are the different races who lived in the town; the four hills are the four islands which give my kingdom its name. All this she told me to add to my troubles. And every day she comes and beats me with a whip of buffalo hide.
When the young king finished his sad story, he burst into tears, and the Sultan was much moved.
"Tell me," he cried, "where is this wicked woman, and where is the miserable object of her affection, whom she just keeps alive?"
"Where she lives I do not know," answered the unhappy prince, "but she goes every day at sunrise to see if the slave can speak to her, after she has beaten me."
"Unfortunate king," said the Sultan, "I will do what I can to avenge you."
They agreed on a plan for the next day. The Sultan then rested, and the young king gave himself up to hopes of release. The next day, the Sultan went to the palace in the garden where the black slave was. He drew his sword, ended the slave's life, and threw the body down a well. He then lay down on the couch and waited for the enchantress.
She went first to the young king, beating him with a hundred blows. Then she came to the room where she thought her wounded slave was.
She approached the couch and said, "Are you better today, my dear slave? Speak but one word to me."
"How can I be better," answered the Sultan, imitating the language of the Ethiopians, "when I can never sleep for the cries and groans of your husband?"
"What joy to hear you speak!" answered the queen. "Do you wish him to regain his proper shape?"
"Yes," said the Sultan. "Hasten to set him at liberty, so that I may no longer hear his cries."
The queen at once took a cup of water, said words that made it boil as if over fire, and threw it over the prince, who instantly regained his own form. He was filled with joy, but the enchantress said, "Hasten away from this place and never come back, lest I kill you." So he hid himself to see the end of the Sultan's plan.
The enchantress returned and said, "Now I have done what you wished."
"What you have done is not enough to cure me," said the Sultan. "Every day at midnight, all the people you changed into fish lift their heads out of the lake and cry for vengeance. Go quickly and give them their proper shape."
The enchantress hurried away and spoke words over the lake. The fish then became men, women, and children, and the houses and shops were once more filled. The Sultan's suite, encamped by the lake, were astonished to find themselves in a large and beautiful town.
As soon as she had disenchanted the lake, the queen returned.
"Are you quite well now?" she said.
"Come near," said the Sultan. "Nearer still."
She obeyed. Then he sprang up and with one blow of his sword cut her in two.
He then found the prince. "Rejoice," he said, "your cruel enemy is dead."
The prince thanked him again and again.
"And now," said the Sultan, "I will go back to my capital, which I am glad to find is so near yours."
"So near mine!" said the King of the Black Isles. "Do you know it is a whole year's journey from here? You came here in a few hours because it was enchanted. But I will accompany you."
"It will give me much pleasure if you will escort me," said the Sultan, "and as I have no children, I will make you my heir."
The Sultan and the prince set out together, the Sultan laden with rich presents.
The day after he reached his capital, the Sultan assembled his court, told them all that had happened, and announced his intention to adopt the young king as his heir. He gave each man presents according to his rank.
As for the fisherman, whose discovery led to the prince's deliverance, the Sultan gave him much money, making him and his family happy for the rest of their days.
中文翻译
陛下，您要知道，我的父亲马哈茂德是黑岛国的国王。这个国家因四座小山而得名，它们曾是岛屿，而都城就在如今那片大湖所在的地方。我的故事将告诉您这些变化是如何发生的。
我父亲六十六岁时去世，我继承了他的王位。我娶了我的表妹，我深爱着她，也以为她同样爱我。
然而一天下午，我半睡半醒，她的两个侍女为我扇风时，我听到其中一个对另一个说：“真可惜，我们的女主人不再爱我们的主人了！我相信如果可能，她会想杀了他，因为她是个女巫。”
我很快通过观察发现她们是对的。当我因一项大罪重伤了她心爱的奴隶后，她请求在花园里建一座宫殿，在那里她为他哭泣哀悼了两年。
最后我恳求她停止为他悲伤，因为尽管他不能说话也不能动，她只是用魔法维持着他的生命。她勃然大怒地转向我，念出一些咒语，我立刻变成了您现在看到的模样——半人半大理石。
然后，这个邪恶的女巫将都城——一座人口众多、繁荣昌盛的城市——变成了您所见的湖泊和荒漠平原。湖中四种颜色的鱼是曾经住在城里的不同种族；那四座小山就是赋予我国名的四个岛屿。她告诉我这一切，是为了增加我的痛苦。不仅如此，她每天还来用牛皮鞭抽打我。
年轻国王讲完他悲伤的故事后，再次泪流满面，苏丹深受感动。
“告诉我，”他喊道，“这个邪恶的女人在哪里？她勉强维持着生命的那个可怜情人在哪里？”
“我不知道她住在哪里，”不幸的王子回答，“但她每天日出后，在鞭打完我之后，都会去看那个奴隶是否能对她说话。”
“不幸的国王，”苏丹说，“我会尽我所能为你报仇。”
他们商定了第二天的计划。苏丹随后休息了，年轻国王则沉浸在被解救的希望中。第二天，苏丹来到花园里黑人奴隶所在的宫殿。他拔出剑，结束了奴隶的生命，将尸体扔进一口井里。然后他躺在奴隶的卧榻上，等待女巫。
她先去了年轻国王那里，打了他一百鞭。然后她来到她以为受伤奴隶所在的房间。
她走近卧榻说：“你今天好些了吗，我亲爱的奴隶？对我说句话吧。”
“我怎么能好呢，”苏丹模仿埃塞俄比亚人的语言回答，“当你丈夫的哭喊和呻吟让我永远无法入睡？”
“听到你说话真让人高兴！”王后回答。“你希望他恢复原形吗？”
“是的，”苏丹说，“赶快放了他，这样我就不再听到他的哭喊了。”
王后立刻取来一杯水，念了些咒语让水像在火上一样沸腾，然后将水泼向王子，王子立刻恢复了原形。他满心欢喜，但女巫说：“赶快离开此地，永远别再回来，否则我杀了你。”于是他藏起来，想看看苏丹计划的结局。
女巫返回后说：“现在我已按你的愿望做了。”
“你所做的还不足以治愈我，”苏丹说，“每天午夜，所有被你变成鱼的人都会把头伸出湖面，呼喊复仇。快去，让他们恢复原形。”
女巫急忙离开，对着湖念了咒语。鱼随即变成了男人、女人和孩子，房屋和店铺再次住满了人。在湖边扎营的苏丹随从们惊讶地发现自己身处一座美丽的大城镇中。
女巫解除了湖的魔法后，立即返回宫殿。
“你现在完全好了吗？”她说。
“过来，”苏丹说，“再近些。”
她照做了。接着他跳起来，一剑将她劈成两半。
然后他找到王子。“高兴吧，”他说，“你残忍的敌人死了。”
王子再三感谢他。
“现在，”苏丹说，“我要回我的都城了，很高兴发现它离你的都城这么近。”
“离我的这么近！”黑岛国王说，“您知道从这里到那里要走整整一年吗？您几小时就到了是因为这里被施了魔法。但我愿意陪您同行。”
“如果您能护送我，我将非常高兴，”苏丹说，“而且我没有子嗣，我将立你为我的继承人。”
苏丹和王子一同出发，苏丹满载着黑岛国王赠送的丰厚礼物。
回到都城的第二天，苏丹召集了他的朝臣，告诉他们发生的一切，并宣布他打算立年轻国王为继承人。他根据每个人的等级赠送了礼物。
至于那位渔夫，由于他的发现导致了王子的获救，苏丹给了他很多钱，让他和他的家人在余生都过上了幸福的生活。