Thousand & One Nights: 2. Timid As Steel

On the morning of the third day, two kings, Shahriar of India Indochina and Shahzaman of Samarkand returned to the camp. Shahriar sat on his throne, and his brother Shahzaman sat nearby.  From the camp, they went to the palace of Shahriar. He summoned his vizier. When the vizier arrived the king said, "take my wife and put her to death." Then Shahriar went himself to the palace caught his lady and bound her, and handed over her to the vizier, who took her out and put her to death. Then brandishing his sword he walked to the harem, entered it and caught hold of his cocubines, one by one, and killed them.  There was resistance, flight, cries and shrieks and weeping, and the poor helpless children running here and there, terrorized and their mothers falling dead before them.

All the slave girls were perished, and new imported cocubines were brought in. He then swore to marry for one night only, and kill the woman next morning in order to save himself from the wickedness of cunning women. He would murmur, as if he was in delirium, "There is not a single chaste woman anywhere on the entire face of the earth."

After two days, he provided his brother, Shahzaman with supplies for his journey and sent him back to Samarkand with gifts and money.  The brother bade him good-bye, and set out for home. He did not want to follow his brother.

Shahriar sat on his throne and ordered his vizier to find a wife from among princes' daughters. The vizier found him one, and he slept with her, and was done with her, and the next morning ordered the vizier to put her to death.  The vizier who could not disobey him put her to death. That very night he took the daughter of one of his army officers, slept with her and the next morning ordered the vizier to put her to death. And the vizier did so. It became King Shahriar's custom to take every night the daughter of a merchant or commoner, spend the night with her, and then have her put to death, next morning. He continued to do this until all the girls perished, their mothers mourned, and there arose a clamour among the fathers and mothers, who called the plague upon his head, complained to the Creator of the heavens, and called for help on Him who hears and answers prayers.

The vizier who put the girls to death had two daughters: the elder Shahrazad and the younger Dinarzad.
Shahrazad had read books of literature, philosophy and medicine. She knew poetry by heart, had studied history, and was acquainted with the sayings of men and maxims of sages. One day, she said to her father: "Father, I will tell you, what is in my mind."
"What's it?" said her father.
"I would like to marry me to king Shahriar."
"You fool! Don't you know that it is a one day marriage. Next day you will be killed. He will ask me to conduct it. And I cannot disobey him."

"I know it. And I am going to take a risk."
"You idiot. You know nothing," said the vizier.
"He is an indoctrinated man. An indoctrinated is blind. He doesn't see reason. I will lead him to reason. There must be an end to his stupidity."

The vizier was furious, and he said, "I am afraid that what happened to the donkey and ox with the merchant will happen to you."

"Father," she asked, "what happened to the donkey, the ox, and the merchant?"

End of the Section 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

( 16 )CHARLES DICKENS: DAVID COPPERFIELD: CHAPTER 16: I AM A NEW BOY IN MORE SENSES THAN ONE

Next morning, after breakfast, I entered on school life again.  I went, accompanied by Mr Wickfield to the scene of my future studies- a grave building in a courtyard, with a learned air about it that suited very well to the stray rooks and jackdaws who came down from the Cathedral tower to walk with a clerkly bearing on the grass plot - and was introduced to my new master, Doctor Strong. Doctor Strong looked almost as rusty, to my thinking, as the tall iron rails and gates outside the house; and almost as stiff and heavy as the great stone urn that flanked them, and were set up, on the top of red brick wall, at regular distances all round the court, like sublimated skittles for Time to play at.  Doctor Strong was in his library, with his clothes not particularly well brushed, and his hair not particularly combed, his knee-small unbraced, his long black gaiters unbuttoned, and his shoes  yawning like two caverns on the hearth-rug.  Turning upon me a lustreless eye, t...
Read more

Sailing Around Erethraean Sea: Three

Updated 29/11/2024 Below the Calf-Eaters there is a little market-town on the shore after sailing about four thousand stadia from Berenice, called Ptolemais of Hunts, from which the hunters started for the interior under the dynasty of Ptolemies. This market town has true land to rtoise in small quantities; it is white and smaller in the shells. And here also is found a little ivory, like that of Adulis. But the place has no harbour, and is reached by small boats. 1. Calf-Eaters: Cattle rearing nomadic tribes. 2. Stadia is the plural of stadion. Ten  stadia= one mile. 3. Ptolemais of Hunts: Ptolemies Theron is the exact Greek term,  located at the Bay of Anfile or Amphila Bay on the coast of Eritrea. Facing the bay is Hando island. It is, in fact, a double bay, an inner bay within, between promontories M'edr and Lelisa. End of the Section 
Read more

Sailing Around Erythraean Sea: Seven

In Section six the unknown sailor was at Zula (ancient Adulis). He had been giving an account of imports and exports to Zula and other ports he covered earlier. From this place the Arabian Gulf trends toward the east and become narrow just before the Gulf of Avalites.  After about four thousand stadia [about four hundred miles or six hundred and forty kilometres] for those sailing eastward along the same coast there are other Berber market-towns, known as the "far-side ports; lying at intervals one after the other without harbours but having roadsteads where ships can anchor and lie in good weather. The first is called Avalites; to this place the voyage from Arabia to far-side coast is shortest. Here there is a small market-town called Avalites, which must be reached by boats and rafts. There are imported into this place, flint glass assorted, juice of sour grapes from Diospolis,  dressed cloth assorted, made for the Berbers; wheat, wine and a little tin. There are exported f...
Read more