Thousand & One Nights: 138th Night: The Mosul Youth & The Murdered girl.

Frame story was told by Shahrazad. The stories are also known as The Arabian Nights. These stories were told over centuries by the ancient story tellers, one of the main source of entertainment in the ancient and mediaeval times. No one country can boast of story telling traditions; it was more or less prevalent in almost all cultures. In the Middle East the story tellers were called Ashiks, In West African culture they were called Griots, In Europe bards, in Indian subcontinent they were called Sutas, Kathavachak, and Panans and Kakkalans according to diverse cultures.

The present story was originally told by the Mosul Youth to Jewish physician. Jewish physician told it to the king of China. The coming part of the story was told by the father of the murdered girl to the Mosul Youth 

The father of the murdered girl was a governor. He came in search of his daughter and met the Mosul Youth from whom her necklace was found out.

"The first lady who came to you was my eldest daughter. I brought her up in strict seclusion, then married her to her cousin in Cairo. When her husband died she came back to me, having learned bad habits there. She visited you three or four times and at last brought her sister, my middle daughter. They were sisters from the same mother, and they loved each other, and could not bear to be without each other for a single day. When her elder sister was having affair with you, she revealed the secret to her sister, who desired to visit you with her. So she asked for your permission and brought her to you. But she got jealous of her and 
murdered her, without letting me know anything.

"When we sat down to eat that day, and I looked for my daughter, but could not find her, I inquired after her to her elder sister, and I found her crying and grieving for her. She said to me, 'Father, at the time of call to prayer, she suddenly put on her clothes and jewellery including her necklace, wrapped herself in her cloak, and went out.' I kept waiting for her, day and night, without telling anyone, for fear of scandal, while her elder sister, who had murdered her, kept weeping for her, refusing to eat or drink, saying, 'I will never stop weeping for her until I die.' She worried us and made our lives miserable. Finally, when she could not bear it any longer, she killed herself. I continued to grieve more and more for her. This was what happened. If you look at what happened to you and me and to others like us, it is all sound and fury signifying nothing. Transient like bubbles.

"Now, my son, I would like you not to disobey me. Today, what had foreordained for you came to pass, and your hand was cut off unjustly. Now, I would like you to accept my offer and marry my youngest daughter. She is born of a different mother. I will provide you with the dowry, and will give you clothes and money, settle an allowance on you, and treat you like my son. What do you say?"

"My Lord," I replied, "how could I hope for such a good fortune? Yes, I accept." Then he took me at once to his house, sent for witnesses, and married me to his daughter, I went in to her. Moreover, he got me a large indemnity from the chief merchant and continued to hold me in high esteem. At the beginning of the year news reached me that my father had died. The governor obtained from the king in Egypt an edict, and sent it with a courier, who went to Mosul and brought me all the money my father had left me. Now I am living in prosperity. "This is the secret behind my right hand. I beg your pardon, doctor."
His story amazed the Jewish physician. Now, it is his turn to speak to the king of China.
"The Mosul Youth gave me enough money to provide for my journey. I bade him goodbye and reached Baghdad. Then I travelled to Persia and finally came to your city, where I have lived contentedly until my last night's adventure with the roguish hunchback. Isn't this story more amazing than the story of the Hunchback?

But morning overtook and Shahrazad lapsed into silence.






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