Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 3 (of 6)
Science
Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 3 (of 6)
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
Quoth Dunyazad, "O sister mine, an thou be other than sleepy, do
tell us some of thy pleasant tales," whereupon Shahrazad replied,
"With love and good will."--It hath reached me, O King of the
Age, that the Maghrabi, the Magician, said to the tailor's
orphan, "O my son Alaeddin and I have now failed in the mourning
ceremonies and have lost the delight I expected from meeting thy
father, my brother, whom after my long banishment I had hoped to
see once more ere I die; but far distance wrought me this trouble
nor hath the creature aught of asylum from the Creator or
artifice against the commandments of Allah Al-mighty." Then he
again clasped Alaeddin to his bosom crying, "O my son, I have
none to condole with now save thyself; and thou standest in stead
of thy sire, thou being his issue and representative and whoso
leaveth issue dieth not,'[FN#70] O my child!" So saying, the
Magician put hand to purse and pulling out ten gold pieces gave
them to the lad asking, "O my son, where is your house and where
dwelleth she, thy mother, and my brother's widow?" Presently
Alaeddin arose with him and showed him the way to their home and
meanwhile Quoth the Wizard, "O my son, take these moneys and give
them to thy mother, greeting her from me, and let her know that
thine uncle, thy father's brother, hath reappeared from his exile
and that Inshallah—God willing—on the morrow I will visit her
to salute her with the salam and see the house wherein my brother
was homed and look upon the place where he lieth buried."
Thereupon Alaeddin kissed the Maghrabi's hand, and, after running
in his joy at fullest speed to his mother's dwelling, entered to
her clean contrariwise to his custom, inasmuch as he never came
near her save at meal-times only. And when he found her, the lad
exclaimed in his delight, "O my mother, I give thee glad tidings
of mine uncle who hath returned from his exile and who now
sendeth me to salute thee." "O my son," she replied, "meseemeth
thou mockest me! Who is this uncle and how canst thou have an
uncle in the bonds of life?" He rejoined, "How sayest thou, O my
mother, that I have nor living uncles nor kinsmen, when this man
is my father's own brother? Indeed he embraced me and bussed me,
shedding tears the while, and bade me acquaint thee herewith."
She retorted, "O my son, well I wot thou haddest an uncle, but he
is now dead nor am I ware that thou hast other eme."--And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Seventeenth Night,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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