Classics Retold

The Fisherman said to the demon: Had the king spared the sage, God would have spared him. Had you, demon, agreed to spare me, I would have spared you. But you insisted on killing me. So, I shall punish you by keeping you in this jar and throwing you into the sea." Demon: Fisherman, don't do it. Spare me, and save me and don't blame me. If I did ill, you should do good. As the saying goes, "Be kind to him who who wrongs you. Don't do what Imma did to Atika."  Fisherman: What Imma did to Atika? Demon: This is no time and this narrow jar is not the place to tell stories, but I shall tell it to you after you release me. The Fisherman: I must throw you into the sea. There is no way I would let you out to the sea or set you free. Instead of my pleas to release me you were bent on killing me. There was no offence on my part. Simply you came into my net, while I had been eking out the means of my bread. And I set you free. But you insisted on killing me. You are uncl...

Sage Duban saw that the drug had spread through the King's body, and that the king was heaving and swaying, he began to recite the following verses: For long they ruled us willy-nilly,  But they lost their power swiftly. Had they been just, happily would Have been they lived. But, they Oppressed, and punishing fate Afflicted them to fall in pieces. A tit for tat, and blame not destiny. As the sage's head finished reciting the verses the king fell dead, and at that very moment, the king too succumbed. The Break of Dawn Notes:- 1. The king was only a tribal chief, and all the paraphernalia like vizier and chamberlains were mere embellishments. The story originated when might was right. 2. Kohl jar: A jar with lid used to store kohl, a dark eye make up (eyeliner) used for centuries in various cultures. In ancient Egypt, both men and women used this. In India it was called Kajal.

What the vizier said to the King Yunan: The Prince said to the She-Ghoul that he had been unfairly treated. She-Ghoul replied that he should pray to God. When the prince raising his eyes to Heaven prayed, "O Lord, help me to prevail upon my enemy. Everything is within your power." On hearing this invocation she gave up and departed, and he safely returned to his father and told him about the vizier and how he urged him to pursue the beast and drove him to encounter with the She-Ghoul. The king summoned the vizier and put him to death. "You too, your Majesty, if you trust and befriend, and bestow favours on this sage, he will plot to destroy you and cause your death. Your Majesty should realise that I know for certain that he is a foreign agent who has  come to destroy you. Haven't you seen that he cured you externally, simply with something you held in your hand?" King Yunan, who was beginning to feel angry, replied, "You are right, vizier. The sage may wel...

Using the technique of nested tales, the story of Fisherman and Demon unfold the story of King Yunan and Sage Duban and the king takes us to the story of Husband & wife. This is the fifteenth night. King Yunan continues the story: "After the husband killed the parrot and heard from his neighbours that the parrot had told him the truth, he was filled with remorse. You too, my vizier, being envious of this wise man would like me to kill him, and regret it afterwards, as did the husband who killed the parrot. When the vizier heard what King Yunan said he replied,  "O, great King, what harm has this sage done to me? Why, he has not harmed me in any way. I am telling you all this out of love and fear for you. If you don't discover my veracity, let me perish like the vizier who deceived the son of the king." King Yunan asked his vizier, "How so?" The vizier replied, "There was a king who had a son fond of hunting and trapping. The prince had with him a v...

There was a jealous man. He had a splendidly beautiful wife. She never let her husband travel and leave her behind, until he found it necessary to go on a journey. He went to the bird market, bought a parrot, and brought it home. The parrot was intelligent, smart, and had an excellent memory. Then he went away on his journey. After his task, he returned home. He asked the parrot about his wife during his absence. The parrot gave a day-by-day account of how his wife and her paramour carried on their love making. When the husband heard the account, he felt very angry, went to his wife, and gave her a sound beating. She thought that one of her maids must have informed her husband that she and her lover had their feast of lust during her husband's absence, and interrogated all her maids one by one, and they all swore that the parrot had informed her husband. The wife wanted to take a revenge on the parrot. She ordered one of her maids to take the grinding stone and grind under the cage...

The Night. The story tellers and their audience were present. Dinarzad in the middle of the group. Shahriar and Shahrazad were seated.  The story teller in the robe of Fisherman: Let us pick up  the thread of our story. At the end of the day King Yunan gave sage Duban thousand dinars and sent him home. The King was amazed at the skill of the sage said to himself, "This man has treated me externally, without giving me any draught to drink or ointment to apply. He is indeed a great wisdom, and is deserved to be honoured and rewarded. He shall be my companion, confident, and a close friend." The king spent his night happy at his recovery from illness. He was sound and healthy now. Next morning. King went to the royal reception hall and sat on the throne attended by chief officers. The princes, viziers, and lords of the realm sat to his right and left. The king called for the sage. The sage entered and kissed the ground before him. The stood up and saluted him, seated him beside ...

At the nightfall the story tellers were present along with Dinarzad who explained where the story stopped the previous day, and the circumstance that led to the narration of the story of King Yunan and Sage Duban. The story that the fisherman said to the demon: Sage Duban came to King Yunan, and asked him to ride to the playground to play ball and mallet. The king rode out, accompanied by his Chamberlains, princes, viziers, and lords, and eminent men of the realm. The king was seated, sage Duban entered, offered the king the mallet, and said, "O Happy king, take this mallet, hold it in your hand, and as you race on the playground, hold the grip tightly in your fist, and hit the ball. Race until you perspire, and the medicine will ooze from the grip into your perspiring hand, spread to your wrist, and circulate through your entire body. After you perspire, and the medicinr spreds in your entire body, return to your royal palace, take a bath and go to sleep.  You will wake up cured,...