Classics Retold

O the Commander of the Faithful, the murdered girl was my wife, and the mother of my children. She was my cousin, the daughter of this old man, my uncle, who gave her to me in marriage when she was still a young virgin. We lived together for eleven years, during which time God blessed her and she bore me three sons. She was well behaved, and served me exceedingly well. I in turn loved her very much. On the first day of this month she fell gravely ill and kept getting worse, but I took great care of her until by the end of the month she slowly began to recover. One day before going to the bath, she said to me, "Husband, I want you to satisfy a desire of mine."  "Even if it were a thousand desires, I am here to satisfy it." She said, "I have a craving for an apple. If I could do only smell it and take a bite, I wouldn't care if I die." "It shall be done," said I I went and looked for apples but could not find any anywhere. Had I found I would h...

Harun al Rashid on his roaming the country side, saw a fisherman who did not have any catch for the day and worried about his family's bread. The Caliph had brought him to the banks of Tigris and asked him to throw the net. When they pulled the net the catch was a locked heavy chest. The Caliph paid him one hundred dinars. The chest was taken to the palace. Now the story to continue: When the chest was opened there was a girl. She had been cut into nineteen pieces. The Caliph looked at her, felt very sad, and turned to Ja'far and said angrily, "You, dog of a vizier, people are being killed and thrown into river in my city while I take the responsibility of Doomsday. If you do not find her killer, I will hang you and forty of your kin with you." "O Commander of the Faithful, give me three days."Ja'far said. Ja'far went into the city, vexed, worried and sad. He had no idea what to do. He thought to himself, "Where shall I find the murderer?" ...

The Caliph heard these stories. He wanted to know the stories of the two bitches. He said, "Tell me what happened to the demon serpent who cast a spell on your sisters and turned them into bitches. Do you know her whereabouts, and did she set with you the date of her return to you?" The girl replied, "O the Commander of the Faithful, she gave me a tuft of hair, saying, 'Whenever you need me, burn two of the hairs, and I will be with you at once, even if I am beyond of Mount Qaf."' Caliph asked, "Where is the tuft of hair?" She brought it, and he took it and burned the entire tuft. Suddenly, the whole palace began to tremble, and the serpent arrived and said, "Peace be with you. O Commander of the Faithful! This woman has sown with me the seed of gratitude, and I cannot reward her amply enough. She killed my enemy and saved me from death. Knowing what her sisters had done to her, I felt bound to reward her by avenging her. At first, I decided t...

This is the second part of the storyof  Second Lady of Baghdad house. This is an inner story within the Frame story told by Shahrazad. The lady had inherited a great deal of money from her father. She had also inherited ninety thousand dinars from her deceased husband. She had been enjoying a pleasant and content life in Baghdad. She was married again by a handsome and wealthy man, who made her take a pledge that she would not look at any other man. One day she visited a fabric merchant to purchase some fabrics. She was accompanied by her maids and an old woman, who fostered many orphans. The young fabric merchant demanded that he be allowed to kiss on her cheek in exchange of his fabric. According to the advice of the old woman she turned her face to him. He put his mouth on her face and bit off a piece of her flesh. She fainted. When she came to herself the shop was locked and the merchant disappeared. The story to continue: The old woman who advised her to turn her face cursed h...

When my father died he left me a great deal of money. Shortly thereafter I married the wealthiest man in Baghdad, and for a year I lived with him the happiest of lives. Then he too died and left me my legal share of the inheritance, which was ninety thousand dinars. I lived a prosperous life, buying so much gold Jewellery, clothes and embroidery that I had a ten complete changes of clothes, each costing one thousand dinars, and my reputation spread in the city. One day. I was sitting in my home. An old woman came to me. She was too old with pallid scabby skin; a bent body, matted grey hair; a grey freckled face; broken teeth; plucked out eyebrows; hollow bleary eyes; and a runny nose.  She greeted me, kissed the ground before me. "My lady," said she, "I have an orphan daughter, and tonight is her unveiling and wedding night. But we are broken hearted, for we are strangers in this city, and we do not know anyone. If you come to her wedding, you will earn a reward in Heave...

When the wind began to blow, we set sail, and we sat chatting, my sisters asked me, "Sister, what will you do with this young man?" I replied, "I will make him my husband." Then I turned to him and said, "O My lord, when we reach Baghdad, I offer myself to you, and we will be husband and wife." The young man replied, "Yes, indeed, for you are my lady, and my mistress." I turned to my sisters and said, "Whatever goods we have are yours, my only reward is this young man. He is mine and I am his." We sailed under fair wind until we entered Sea of Safety and began to approach Basra. Night came. The young man and I fell asleep. My two sisters turned green with envy over him and harboured ill will towards me. They had been waiting patiently to get an opportunity. They carried me in my sleep, with my bed and threw me into the sea. They did the same to the young man. He was drowned. I wish I had drowned with him. But I was escaped. I was cast o...

The young man seated me by his side. His face was as beautiful as full moon. From head to feet he was blessed with beauty. In normal time he should have captivated me, but the dead silence of the city frightened my heart. I eagerly waited for his story. "This city is the capital of my father," said he, after a long silence, "the king you must have seen, turned into black stone inside this palace. The queen you must have seen inside the net. They and all the people of the city were Magians.[1] They worshipped fire. My father was blessed with my birth in his late years. I was born and brought up in affluence. There was an old woman who resided with us. She was very learned, and taught me Quran. "You should worship none, but God the Almighty." She used to say. This, I never told my father or anyone else of my family. One day we heard a mighty voice, "O people of the city, leave your fire worship, and worship only the Merciful God." But they refused to ob...

The frame story is by Shahrazad, the queen of India. The stories help to  procrastinate her death at the hands of Shahriar the Indian king who went mad at the sight of his previous queen in compromising posture with a black slave. Consequent to this sight he became a misogynist and followed a one night marriage, where the partner was killed by the king, after their union. Ultimately the daughter of the vizier came forward, agreed to be married to the mad king, and challenged him with her stories. The present story is an inner layer sandwiched between the frames. The story teller is the youngest daughter of a wealthy man. She is a merchant by profession and is on her business journey. She arrives in a land where she does not see any sign of life. The story to continue: I saw a palace, and it was deserted. But the queen was there. The queen wore a crown studded with many kinds of gems. The apartment was spread with silk tapestries embroidered with gold. In the middle of the hall I sa...

My case is so strange, so amazing that were it engraved with the needle at the corner of the eye, it would be a lesson for all. The two black bitches are my sisters by the same mother and father. These two girls, the one who bears the mark of the rod and other who are shopper are sisters by another mother. When our father died and the inheritance was divided, and the three of us lived with our mother. After a while our mother also died, leaving us three thousand dinars, which we divided equally among ourselves. Since I was the youngest of the three, my two sisters prepared their dowries and got married before me.  The husband of the eldest sister bought merchandise with his money and hers and the two of them set out on their travels. They were absent for five years, during which he threw away and wasted all her money. Then he deserted her, leaving her to wander alone in foreign countries,  trying to find her way back home. After five years she returned to me, dressed like a be...

Florence was a city state of Italy. It was here Margherita Datini was born in 1360. In the year 1370, Bandini family, to which Margherita belonged was exiled from Florence for political reasons, and were settled in Avignon. Scholars have turned their attention to the correspondence discovered in 1870, behind the staircase of an Italian merchant and his wife. There were about hundred and fifty thousand letters and five hundred account books. These records shed light on trade and life of fourteenth century Italy. Among these letters, 250 letters belonged to Margherita's personal collection. At the age of sixteen, she was married to Francesco Datini, a wealthy merchant from Prato, who was twenty five years senior to her. This age difference was not uncommon in those days. He had fiancees, and even fathered a son in 1374. But the compulsion of a stratified society and the question of inheritance must have influenced him to take Margherita as his wife. His neighbour Niccolozzo Binduchi ...

This is the tenth part of 3rd Dervish's narrative. He had been trapped among forty beautiful girls of the palace. At the end of one year the girls were preparing to leave the palace to take a forty days' break and leave alone him and by the beginning of New year they left for their fathers' home.  During the absence of girls the dervish had got opportunity to examine ninety nine rooms of the palace, leaving the hundredth room unexamined. The girls had forbidden the entry to it because it may separate him from them. Tale of 3rd Dervish as told by him: But my curiosity, like Satan, had been enticing me to open the room and examine it. The thought of the  coming of the forty girls and their demand on me every day was becoming more than I could endure. It had created in me an aversion  to life. I know very many Indian kings had embraced the death because of their boredom in the life of eating, drinking and hooking. I wanted an escape from this boredom. I opened the door plate...

This is one of the inner stories of the frame stories told by Shahrazad to her sister Dinarzad in the presence of the Indian king who had gone wild with the memory of his queen in compromising posture with a black slave. The stories shed light on the intricacies of life and myths and strive to inculcate detachment. This is the Nineth part of narrative by 3rd Dervish in the presence of  beautiful and independent girls of Baghdad house, and their guests. Narrative by the 3rd Dervish continues: My lady, the forty girls said, "Our lord, the cause of our separation is in your hand. Enjoy looking into all ninety nine rooms, and avoid the 100th room. Be patient for forty days, and we shall come back to you." The girls left for their fathers' homes. One of the girls recited the following verses: Our hearts burning with love and longing. Our tears: wet pearls and Carnelians. I bid them farewell. I was left alone in the palace. I went and opened the first chamber. I entered not int...

Next morning. The girls bathed me, dressed me. Served me food and wine. Night came. One of the girls asked me, "Whom do you choose for this day? You cannot choose the last day's girl. You will get her only in the next round." "Why?" "It is our rule not to foster attachment between male and female, and we see lust only a part of life. We are a community of women." I chose a girl with lovely face and soft body. I saw two jewel boxes on her bosom  Shielded with musk seal to escape  Lover's embrace. Her dart glances Guarded against the assault of stare. I spent with her a sweet night. In this way I spent a full year with them, eating, drinking and hooking. But one day at the beginning of the new year they began to show the symptoms of parting. Parting is always painful. I asked them what happened. One of them told, "We have lived with many men, but you are special to us." I thought, "'They would have told  same to other men also....

O my lady, the girls sat around me, and when the night came, five of them rose and set up a banquet with plenty of nuts and fragrant herbs. Then they brought wine and we sat to drink. Girls sitting around me, some talking, some laughing, some playing the flute, the psalter, the lute, and other musical instruments. The splash of wine into the bowls, the clattering of cups, and laughing of girls made me happy and I forgot my worries and sorrows. Then, one of the girls said to me, " O Lord, choose from among us whomever you wish to sleep with you." I chose a girl who had lovely face and dark eyes, black hair and joining brows, and a mouth with slightly parted teeth. Seeing her I remembered the poet's verses: She swayed like a ripe willow bough Lovely, sweet, and delicious sight Her glittering mouth revealed  Flashing stars answered with light When she loosened her black tress The dawn became dusky black And when her radiant face shone  The gloomy earth turned bright. Her hon...

When the young men finished their expectations, they let me into the the skin sack, sewed me up, and returned to the palace. Soon I felt the white bird approach, and snatching me up with his talons, he flew away with me for while, and set me down on the mountain. I ripped the skin open, and came out, and when the bird saw me, he flew away. I proceeded immediately to walk until I reached the palace, and found it to be exactly as they had described it. The door opened and I entered into a spacious open hall as large as a playground. Around the hall were forty chambers, and their doors were made of sandal wood and aloewood. Their handles were made of gold and silver. At the far end of the hall stood forty girls, sumptuously dressed, and lavishly adorned. They were forty little moons. The little moons waived at me, and greeted me in one voice, "O lord, welcome! Good cheer to you! We have been expecting you for months. Praise be God who has sent us one who is worthy of us. Then they ra...

This is the story told by the third dervish at Baghdad house in the presence of three beautiful and independent girls. This is an inner story sandwiched in the frame story of Shahrazad, the beautiful and learned daughter of vizier of King Shahriar. Her stories are directed to expose some myths created by kings of city states, a universal phenomenon in the path of civilization. City states were prominent in ancient Greece, Mesopotamia and India. This is the fifth part of the story by third dervish. The structure of the stories accommodates the manoeuvres of the ancient story tellers. Fifth part of the story: My lady, for a month after the death of the young man, I lived on the island. My days, I spent in the open and the night in the underground house. The sea on the west was receding slowly. Later dry land appeared. I waded through the shallow water, and reached the dry land. In the distance I saw smoke rising into the sky. As I advanced, I saw the fire, a sign of life and village. Whe...

These stories reflects the events of different times and different cultures, and some stories are a fusion of different time, space and cultures. Most of the stories were popularised by ancient story tellers. Later they evolved into the art of Drama, integrating some features of tribal, cultural and political rituals. Whatever the form of art, it is for entertainment. Though it is entertainment it reflects history. The story is told by the third dervish in the presence of the beautiful girls of Baghdad house. My lady, when I was sure that I had killed the young man, as the God above had preordained, I rose, and ascending the stairs, replaced the trapdoor, and covered it with earth. I looked towards the sea and saw the ship that had brought him, cleaving with waters towards the island to take him. I said to myself, " The moment they come and see their boy slain, and find that I am his slayer, they will surely kill me." I headed towards a nearby tree, and climbing it I hid amon...

The frame story was told by Shahrazad to her sister Dinarzad. But the stories attracted the attention of the Indian king Shahriar who went berserk after he happened to see his queen in compromising posture with a black slave. Earlier his brother Shahzaman witnessed a same situation involving his queen with the kitchen boy. Many of the stories are veiled attacks on the concept of virginity and chastity. This is an inner story within the frame story, presented by the third dervish before the three independent girls of Baghdad house.  The story told by the man who lives secretly in lonely Island, to the third dervish: My lady, when I asked the young man to tell his story, he was happy and regained his composure, he asked me to come near him. "O, my brother," he began, "My tale is strange and amazing. My father is a very wealthy jeweller who deals with kings. He has a number of slaves, both white and black. He has many traders who travel in his ship and trade for him. But he...

Frame story is told by Shahrazad. This is the second part of the inner story by 3rd Dervish. I saw the path on the side of the mountain. I hung against the rock and began to climb little by little. The atmosphere was still, and helped me with the ascent. I reached the summit and entered the dome. I prayed. Then I went that part of the dome overlooking the sea. I sat by the curve and fell asleep. "O Ajib, when you are awake dig under your feet. You will find a brass bow, three lead arrows inscribed with talismans. Take the bow and arrow and shoot at horseman to throw him off the horse and rid mankind of this great calamity. When you shoot at him, he will fall into sea, and the horse will drop at your feet. Take the horse and bury it in the place of the bow. When you do this, the sea will swell until it reaches the level of the dome, and there will come to you a skiff carrying a man of brass (a man other than you will have thrown), holding in his hands a pair of paddles. Ride with h...

The frame story is told by Shahrazad, the daughter of vizier who had been entrusted with the job of securing a girl to the king of India (not the modern day India, but an India conceived first by Greek merchants and followed later  by Roman, Egyptian, and Middle East and West Asian merchants)  The king was an ardent believer in virginity and chastity (always applicable to females only) and once happened to see Queen's compromising posture with a black slave. Though the virginity and chastity were applicable to females, they always haunted men. So king Shahriar went berserk and was determined to have a girl for each night and end her after he finished the job. Shahrazad a learned girl wanted to put an end to his insanity. The Tale of Third dervish is one of the inner layers of the main frame. It is a first person narrative. My story is stranger than their's. Misfortune took them by surprise; I myself brought my misfortune. My father was a great and powerful king. When he died I...

The king's daughter implored, "The Fire! The Fire!  The king said, "I am afraid, I would too perish. Look at the servant, she is no more. And this young man lost an eye." He wept. I also wept. The girl implored again, "The Fire! The Fire!" A spark shot at her legs  and burned them, and flew to her thighs, then to her bosom, while she crept crying out, "The Fire! The Fire!" until all of her body burned to a heap of ashes. I grieved very much at her plight. Her father, the grieved very much. The statesmen and the servent came in. The statesmen and the servants mourned for seven days over the death of their princess. A vaulted tomb was built over her ashes.  The king lay ill for a full month. After his recovery, he summoned me. He said, "Young man, listen to me. We were very happy until you came. You are the cause of my misfortune. I lost my daughter only because of you. You must leave this city." I was dumbfounded. Deaf and dumb to everyth...

Baghdad house of three beautiful and independent girls. Besides these girls the following persons are present. The porter Three dervishes  Harun Al Rashid and his vizier and executioner.  Narrator: Second Dervish. Both the porter and first dervish were absolved of their guilt. But they linger to hear the stories of the remaining five members.  The scene of the story is the palace of a king. King's daughter, second dervish, the king and demon are present. Both the demon and king's daughter were in serious battles. All these stories are layered within the frame story of Shahrazad, the vizier's daughter who through her stories challenged the myth of virginity and chastity. The rooster, glad to see the seed, rushed to pick it, when it rolled into fountain, became a fish, and dove into water. The rooster turned immediately into a bigger fish and plunged after it, and the two disappeared into the bottom of the fountain for a very long time. We heard loud shouts, shrieks, and ho...

The Baghdad house of three beautiful and independent young girls. The porter, three dervishes, Harun Al Rashid, his vizier and executioner were present. The narrative is by the second dervish.  The scene of his narrative was the Chamber of another king. The king, his young daughter and the second dervish in the form of an ape were present. The king's daughter took a knife engraved with names in Hebrew characters. Next she drew a perfect circle in the middle of palace hall. Inscribed on it named in Kufic letters as well as other talismanic words. Then she muttered charms and uttered spells; in a short time it was dark   until we could no longer see anything around, and thought that the sky was falling on our heads. Suddenly the demon appeared in the garb of a lion as big as a bull and we were terrified. The girl cried, "Get away, you dog!" The demon replied,  "You traitor, you had betrayed me and broken the oath. Have we not taken an oath that neither would cross the ...

The second dervish was turned to an ape under the spell of a Demon, who kidnapped Aftimarus's daughter. The scene is the Baghdad house of three beautiful girls. The story is a part of his attempt to avoid the punishment of Baghdad house for breaking their rule. The demon put him on the top of a mountain on the seashore. Now he is in the custody of the captain and the merchants. After fifty days travel, the ship was anchored off the sea of a port city. The king of the port city approached the merchants, and he was in search of of Vizier who is proficient in calligraphy. Along with the merchants, the ape also took the test to vizier's post.  The king was very much pleased with the calligraphy of the ape. Calligraphy in different scripts. The king wanted to see the owner of these scripts immediately. But, his men smiled at his selection. The king was angry at their smile. They said that the owner of the script was an ape. Hearing this the king's curiosity was doubled. He said ...