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
bigness of a pea, of that poisoned food fell from the spoon on
the girl's hand, and it made the place where it fell black. As
for the merchant, he turned all black, and swelled till he became
like a blown-out skin, and he died. But the slave-girl medicined
herself and became well; and she kept what remained of the poison
and sold it to those who asked for it.
THE FORTIETH VEZIR'S STORY.
(Page 366 in Mr. Gibb's translation.)
There was of old time a tailor, and he had a fair wife. One day
this woman sent her slave-girl to the carder's to get some cotton
teased. The slave-girl went to the carder's shop and gave him
cotton for a gown to get teased. The carder while teasing the
cotton displayed his yard to the slave-girl. She blushed and
passed to his other side. As she thus turned round the carder
displayed his yard on that side also. Thus the slave-girl saw it
on that side too. And she went and said to her mistress, "Yon
carder, to whom I went, has two yards." The lady said to her, "Go
and say to yon carder, 'My mistress wishes thee; come at night.'"
So the slave-girl went and said this to the carder. As soon as it
was night the carder went to that place and waited. The woman
went out and met the carder and said, "Come and have to do with
me while I am lying by my husband." When it was midnight the
carder came and waked the woman. The woman lay conveniently and
the carder fell to work. She felt that the yard which entered her
was but one, and said, "Ah my soul, carder, at it with both of
them." While she was softly speaking her husband awaked and
asked, "What means thy saying, 'At it with both of them?'" He
stretched out his hand to his wife's kaze and the carder's yard
came into it. The carder drew himself back and his yard slipped
out of the fellow's hand, and he made shift to get away. The
fellow said, "Out on thee, wife, what meant that saying of thine,
'At it with both of them?'" The woman said, "O husband, I saw in
my dream that thou wast fallen into the sea and wast swimming
with one hand and crying out, 'Help! I am drowning!' I shouted to
thee from the shore, 'At it with both of them,' and thou
begannest to swim with both thy hands." Then the husband said,
"Wife, I too know that I was in the sea, from this that a wet
fish came into my hand and then slipped out and escaped; thou
speakest truly." And he loved his wife more than before.
THE LADY'S THIRTY-FOURTH STORY.
(From the India Office MS.)
(Page 399 in Mr. Gibb's translation.)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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