Thousand & One Nights: 133rd Night: Mosul Youth & The Murdered Girl -3

The Jewish physician told the story to the king of China. The story was originally told by the Mosul Youth to the Jewish physician.

The story as told by the Mosul Youth: My father went on to describe Cairo, and when he finished with the Nile and Ethiopian pond, he said, "What is this compared with the observatory and its charm, of which every approaching viewer says, 'This spot is full of wonders.'; and if you speak of the Night of Nile Flooding Feast wonders, open the floodgates of words and release the bow, and if you see al-Rauda park in the shade of late afternoon you will be thrilled with wonder and delight, and if you stand at the river bank, when the Sun is sinking and the Nile put its coat of mail and shield you will be refreshed by the deep and ample shade and gentle breeze."

When I heard this, my thoughts dwelt so much on Cairo, that I was unable to sleep that night.

Some time later my uncles prepared merchandise for a trade journey to Cairo. I approached my father and beseeched him for merchandise to join my uncles. He prepared merchandise for me and let me go with my uncles. But at the time of leaving he said to my uncles, "Let him stay at Damascus, and not take him to Cairo." We set out from Mosul and reached Aleppo, and stayed there for a few days. Then we proceeded to Damascus.

I found Damascus a pleasant, peaceful and prosperous city. Full of trees with fruits of all kinds, birds, and with rivers flowing, and gardens. We stayed in a caravanserai. My uncles sold out my merchandise at a profit of five dinars for each dinars. Then they left me, and went to Egypt. When they left, I shifted to a large house known as the house of Sudun 'Abd al-Rahman, which I rented for two dinars a month. It had a marble hall, a store room, an extra room with cupboards, and a fountain with water running day and night. I lived there,  spending my money on feasting, and drinking, until I had squandered most of it.

One day, as I sat at the door of my lodging, there came up a young lady, finely dressed, that I have seen not before. I invited her to come in, and to my surprise, she accepted it.

The break of dawn and Shahrazad stopped.

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