Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 3 (of 6) Part 1 — John Shaqi
Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 3 (of 6) Part 1
General
Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 3 (of 6) Part 1
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 when Alaeddin
had come to his fifteenth year, it befel, one day of the days, that as
he was sitting about the quarter at play with the vagabond boys behold,
a Darwaysh from the Maghrib, the Land of the Setting Sun, came up and
stood gazing for solace upon the lads and he looked hard at Alaeddin and
carefully considered his semblance, scarcely noticing his companions the
while. Now this Darwaysh was a Moorman from Inner Marocco and he was a
magician who could upheap by his magic hill upon hill, and he was also
an adept in astrology. So after narrowly considering Alaeddin he said in
himself, “Verily, this is the lad I need and to find whom I have left my
natal land.” Presently he led one of the children apart and questioned
him anent the scapegrace saying, “Whose[69] son is he?” And he sought
all information concerning his condition and whatso related to him.
After this he walked up to Alaeddin and drawing him aside asked, “O my
son, haply thou art the child of Such-an-one the tailor?” and the lad
answered, “Yes, O my lord, but ’tis long since he died.” The
Maghrabi,[70] the Magician, hearing these words threw himself upon
Alaeddin and wound his arms around his neck and fell to bussing him,
weeping the while with tears trickling adown his cheeks. But when the
lad saw the Moorman’s case he was seized with surprise thereat and
questioned him, saying, “What causeth thee weep, O my lord; and how
camest thou to know my father?” “How canst thou, O my son,” replied the
Moorman, in a soft voice saddened by emotion, “question me with such
query after informing me that thy father and my brother is deceased; for
that he was my brother-german and now I come from my adopted country and
after long exile I rejoiced with exceeding joy in the hope of looking
upon him once more and condoling with him over the past; and now thou
hast announced to me his demise. But blood hideth not from blood[71] and
it hath revealed to me that thou art my nephew, son of my brother, and I
knew thee amongst all the lads, albeit thy father, when I parted from
him, was yet unmarried.”——And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day
and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Five Hundred and Sixteenth Night,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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