Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 4 (of 6)
General
Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 4 (of 6)
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
It is related that there was a Sultan in the land of Al-Yaman who
had three male children, two of them by one mother and a third by
another. Now that King used to dislike this second wife and her
son, so he sent her from him and made her, together with her
child, consort with the handmaids of the kitchen, never asking
after them for a while of time. One day the two brothers-german
went in to their sire and said to him, "'Tis the desire of us to
go forth a-hunting and a-chasing," whereto their father replied,
"And have ye force enough for such sport?" They said, "Yea,
verily, we have!" when he gave to each of them a horse with its
furniture of saddle and bridle, and the twain rode off together.
But as soon as the third son (who together with his mother had
been banished to the kitchen) heard that the other two had gone
forth to hunt, he went to his mother and cried, "I also would
fain mount and away to the chase like my brethren." His mother
responded, saying, "O my son, indeed I am unable to buy thee a
horse or aught of the kind;" so he wept before her and she
brought him a silvern article, which he took and fared forth with
it to the bazar, and there, having sold it for a gold piece, he
repaired to a neighbouring mill and bought him a lame garron.
After this he took a bittock of bread; and, backing the beast
without saddle or bridle, he followed upon the footsteps of his
brothers through the first day and the second, but on the third
he took the opposite route. Presently he reached a Wady, when
behold, he came across a string[FN#305] of pearls and emeralds
which glittered in the sunlight, so he picked it up and set it
upon his head and he fared onwards singing for very joy. But when
he drew near the town he was met by his two brothers who seized
him and beat him and, having taken away his necklace, drove him
afar from them. Now he was much stronger and more beautiful than
they were, but as he and his mother had been cast off by the
King, he durst not offer aught of resistance.[FN#306] Now the two
brothers having taken the necklace from him went away joyful, and
repairing to their father, showed him the ornament and he
rejoiced in them and hending it in his hand marvelled thereat.
But the youngest son went to his mother with his heart well nigh
broken. Then the Sultan said to his two sons, "Ye have shown no
cleverness herein until ye bring me the wearer of this necklace."
They answered, "Hearkening and obedience, and we will set out to
find her."?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and
fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her
sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she "And where is this compared
with that I should relate to you on the coming night an the King
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that
was
The Four Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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