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And so on, delaying her execution for 1001 nights, hoping to soften the King’s heart and save her own life. So the King delays her execution one night so that he may hear the rest the next night but, once Shahrazad ends the first story, she simply begins a new one, again withholding the ending till the next night. The story intrigues the King but Shahrazad does not get to its ending. The King marries Shahrazad but after he has taken her virginity, he allows Shahrazad’s younger sister, Dunyazad, into his apartments to say goodbye and Shahrazad begins telling Dunyazad a story. The Wazir is very reluctant, he prizes his daughter greatly, but she succeeds in convincing him. The Wazir’s beautiful, intelligent and resourceful daughter, Shahrazad, asks her father to marry her to the king. She had perused the works of the poets and knew them by heart she had studied philosophy and the sciences, arts and accomplishments and she was pleasant and polite, wise and witty, well read and well bred. Now had two daughters, Shahrazad and Dunyazad hight, of which the elder had perused the books, annals and legends of preceding Kings, and the stories, examples and instances of by-gone men and things, indeed it was said that she had collected a thousand books of histories relating to antique races and departed rulers.
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His Wazir, who has the responsibility of finding virgin brides for his king (lest he be executed himself) is increasingly anxious as the country’s stock of eligible virgins is reaching exhaustion. Soon his capital grows depleted of suitable virgins and his citizens are increasingly enraged by his barbarism, yet he will not be appeased to change his demands. He also sware himself by a binding oath that whatever wife he married he would abate her maidenhead at night and slay her the next morning to make sure of his honour “For,” said he, “there never was nor is there one chaste woman upon the face of the earth.” Each morning after, he has her executed before she can bring shame to him.
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Shahryar begins the practice of demanding a new virgin bride each evening. Realising that their shame is not unique to them, that no woman can be trusted to remain faithful, the brothers return to their respective kingdoms with stronger peace of mind. But, as she explains, when the jinn is asleep, she takes other lovers. After witnessing the adultery for himself, Shahryar too has his wife killed and the two kings leave the capital in disguise and in shame.Īt an oasis, they come across a jinn who has taken a woman captive believing that he has her all to herself. Somewhat relieved that such a shame is not unique to him, he reluctantly tells his brother all. One day, after declining to join his brother hunting, Shah Zaman spots his brother’s wife engaged in an even more brazen act of adultery. No matter what, he does not seem to be able to bring joy to his brother. On their reunion the brothers are very happy, but Shahryar can see something is bothering Shah Zaman. However, on departing, Shah Zaman discovered his wife in bed with another man and he slew them both. When he passed, his eldest son, Shahryar, inherited his kingdom while his younger son, Shah Zaman was given a smaller kingdom of his own with a capital in Samarkand.Īs the years went by, the brothers missed each other terribly until Shahryar invited Shah Zaman to visit him in his capital. Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived a great king. This edition contains the most famous stories such as Alaeddin or, the Wonderful Lamp, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and Sinbad the Seaman. Usually known in the West as The Arabian Nights, the One Thousand and One Nights are a collection of medieval folk stories whose origin ranges from Arabia and Persia to Central and Southern Asia within a frame story featuring the famous Shahrazad who is attempting to delay her execution at the hands of the barbarous King Shahryar with her intriguing and unending chain of stories.