Thousand & One Nights: 139th Night The Lame Young Man and Baghdad Barber -1

The king of China heard the Jewish physician's story. He did not see it more amazing than the story of the hunchback, and he expressed his disappointment. He said to the tailor, "You are the chief offender in this case. Tell me a story that is more amazing and wonderful and more entertaining than the story of the hunchback."
The tailor agreed to tell the story.

Also known as The Arabian Nights, these stories were compiled and published after the invention and popularity of the knowledge of printing.

The expressions "Thousand & One Nights" and "Thousand Tales" were intended to mean a large number and were taken literally only later, when stories were added to make up the number. By 20th century, scholars have agreed that The Arabian Nights is a composite work originally transmitted orally by ancient and mediaeval story telling communities. Its variety and geographical range of origin --- India, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, China, Turkey and Greece --- make single authorship unlikely. Its crude and unstudied style and colloquialism reflect this fact.

Here is The One Hundred & Thirtyninth Story:

The Lame Young Man From Baghdad and The Barber.
The story was a first person account by the tailor, involved in the murder of the hunchback.

Yesterday early morning, I was invited to a banquet, along with twenty other companions. As soon as the Sun rose we were all present in the hall. Food and drinks were set before us. The host entered with a handsome stranger, a perfectly beautiful young man except that he was lame. We stood in salute, in deference to the host, and the young man was about to sit, but seeing among us, a man who was a barber by profession, he refused to sit and started to leave. The host stopped him, and adjured him, and asked, "Why do you enter my house and leave at once?"
The young man replied, "For God's sake, my lord, don't hinder me. The cause is that ill-omened, ill-behaved, bungling, shameful and pernicious old barber." When we and the host heard the description of the barber, we took a look at him, and began to feel an aversion for him.

But the morning overtook, and Shahrazad lapsed into silence. Dinarzad said to her sister, "What a strange and entertaining story!"
Shahrazad replied, "What is this compared with what I am going to tell you tomorrow night if I stay alive!"

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