Thousand & One Nights: 90th Night

On the ninetieth night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, Ja'far said to the Caliph:

The vizier of Cairo city, the uncle of Badr al-Din Hasan journeyed with his daughter and her son for twenty days, and came to the city of Damascus. Damascus was a beautiful city. It was the city of Jasmine. It was on the eastern coast of Mediterranean sea.

The vizier dismounted and pitched his tent at a place called Plain of Pebbles. [1] "Let us rest here for a few days," said the vizier to his daughter and nephew. Then he sent his pages and servants to the city. Some of them went to sell, and some to buy, and some others to go to bath. Ajib also went into the city to see the sights followed by an eunuch carrying a red club of knotted almond wood to frighten the camels. When the people of Damascus saw Ajib, who in spite of his very young age was all beauty, charm and grace. The people followed him, while others ran ahead and waited for him to pass by, so that they might have glimpse of him. As he went by, as if it had been foreordained, eunuch stopped in front of the shop of Ajib's father, Badr al-Din Hasan al-Basri.

Badr al-Din Hasan had been living in Damascus for twelve years, during which time the reformed cook died, leaving his shop and all his property to his adopted son Badr al-Din Hasan. In the course of the year Badr al-Din Hasan's beard had grown and his perception of the world had matured. When his son and the servants stood before him   ..........

The morning overtook. Shahrazad stopped the story telling.





Notes:-
Plain of Pebbles is a narrow zone along the foothills of Himalayas. This is an example of literary licence available to story tellers, to blend and reimagine geographical locations. It is a kind of cultural fusion blending cultural or geographical elements.

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