Thousand & One Nights: 88th Night

Eighty eighth night Shahrazad said:
I heard, O king, Ja'far said to the Caliph:

Days and months went by, and when her time came, the daughter of the vizier of Cairo, gave birth to a boy, who had a face as round as the full moon, or the rising sun, a radiant brow and rosy cheeks. They cut his navel cord, applied kohl to eyelids, and his grandfather named him Ajib and committed him to the care of the nurses, stewardesses, and servants.
When Ajib was seven he was sent to a teacher to teach him good manners. Ajib remained with the teacher for four years. He began to bully, beat and abuse other children. At last they got together and complained to the monitor. The monitor said, "I will tell you what you should do tomorrow so that he will stop coming here and you will never see him again. When he comes tomorrow, gather around him to play a game and say to each other, "No one can join us in this game, unless he tells us the name of his mother and father, for he who does not know the names of his parents is a bastard and shall not play with us." The children were pleased, and the next day when Ajib arrived, they gathered around him and one of them said, "We will play a game, but no one can join in unless he tells us the name of his mother and father." Every one said, "Very well." Then one said, "My name is Majid, my mother's name is Sittita and my father's name is Iz al-Din." And others said the like, until it was Ajib's turn. He said, "My name is Ajib, my mother's name is Sit al-Husn and my father's name is Shams al-Din, the vizier." They said, "How can that be? By God, he is not your father!" He said, "Damn you, the vizier Shams al-Din is indeed my father." But they laughed at him and clapped their hands and said, "May God help him! He does not know his father! By God he cannot play or sit with us." Then the monitor came to him and said, "Ajib, don't you know that the vizier Shams al-Din is your grandfather, and not your father? As for your father neither you or we know who he is. The king married your mother to hunchbacked, but the demons came and slept with her. Your father is unknown. Unless you find out who he is, you will not be able to face the children. They will treat you as a bastard. Don't you see that even though your grandfather is the vizier of Cairo, the merchant's son knows his own father, and the grocer's son knows his, but you don't know your father. Ajib, this is a strange business."

Morning overtook, and Shahrazad stopped the story telling.
 



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 Erythraean Sea: Five

Updated 30/11/2024 In the last Section, last point was Debealuwa/Dhalak (Alalaei )island in the Red Sea, The island is northeast of Gulf of Zula, and the mountain island is in Northern Red Sea Region. And about eight hundred stadia beyond there is another very deep bay, with a great mound of sand piled up at the right of the entrance; at the bottom of which the opsian stone is found, and this is the only place where it is produced. These places, from the Calf-Eaters to the other Berber country, are governed by Zoscales , who is miserly in his ways and always striving for more, but otherwise upright, and acquainted.    My Search:- 1. Opsian stones: Also known as obsidian stones. They are volcanic glass artefacts used for various purposes like making of tools, in jewellery, mirrors and ritual objects. They were widely used in Asian, African and Mediterranean cultures  2. Berber countries: Berbers are the indigenous peoples of Africa, like that of Morocco, Algeria, Libya e...
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