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
parcel of fine pearls and some few emeralds and specimens of
coral and other precious minerals, and set them as for sale in a
tray. Then he approached the palace which was builded in the
garden and cried out saying, "The pearls! and the emeralds! and
the corals! and various kinds of fine jewels!" and he kept up
this cry.?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 Sixty-fifth Night,
Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Jew
fell to hawking about his minerals and crying them for sale
beside the garden-palace and the Sultan's daughter hearing him
exclaimed, "O Handmaid, bring me that which is for sale with this
Jew." So the girl went down and said to the man, "What hast thou
by thee?" and said the other, "Precious stones." Quoth she, "Wilt
thou sell them for gold?" and quoth he, "No, O my lady, I will
sell them for nothing save for rings which must be old."[FN#382]
Accordingly she returned and herewith acquainted her lady who
said, "By Allah, my Lord hath in his pencase[FN#383] an old
worn-out ring, so do thou go and bring it to me while he
sleepeth." But she knew not what was hidden for her in the Secret
Purpose, nor that which was fated to be her Fate. So presently
she brought out of the pencase the bezel-ring afore-mentioned and
gave it to the handmaid who took it and faring outside the house
handed it to the Jew, and he received it with extreme joy and in
turn presented to her the tray with all thereon. Then he went
forth the city and set out on a voyage to the Seven Islands which
are not far from the earth-surrounding Ocean;[FN#384] and when he
arrived thither he landed upon a sea-holm and travelled to the
middle-most thereof. Anon he took seat, and presently brought out
the signet-ring and rubbed it, when the slave appeared and cried,
"Here I stand and between thy hands, what is it thou needest of
me?" "I require of thee," quoth the Jew, "to transport hither the
bower of the Sultan's daughter and to restore the ash-heap to the
stead it was in whilome under the lattice of the King's Palace."
Now ere night had passed away both Princess and Palace were
transported to the middlemost of the island; and when the Jew
beheld her his heart flamed high for the excess of her beauty and
loveliness. So he entered her bower and fell to conversing with
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