Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 3 (of 6) Part 2
General
Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 3 (of 6) Part 2
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
speaking my wife became assured that I was aware of her night adventure:
she suddenly waxed wroth with exceeding wrath, her face flushed red as
fire, her eyeballs started out from their sockets and she foamed at the
mouth with ungovernable fury. Seeing her in this mood I was terrified
and my sense and reason fled by reason of my affright; but presently in
the madness of her passion she took up a tasse of water which stood
beside her and dipping her fingers in the contents muttered some words
which I could not understand; then sprinkling some drops over me, cried,
“Accursed that thou art! for this thine insolence and betrayal do thou
be straightway turned into a dog.” At once I became transmewed and she,
picking up a staff began to ribroast me right mercilessly and well-nigh
killed me. I ran about from room to room but she pursued me with the
stick, and tunded and belaboured me with might and main, till she was
clean exhausted. She then threw the street-door half open and, as I made
for it to save my life, attempted violently to close it, so as to
squeeze my soul out of my body; but I saw her design and baffled it,
leaving behind me, however, the tip of my tail; and piteously yelping
hereat I escaped further basting and thought myself lucky to get away
from her without broken bones. When I stood in the street still whining
and ailing, the dogs of the quarter seeing a stranger, at once came
rushing at me barking and biting;[13] and I with tail between my legs
tore along the market-place and ran into the shop of one who sold
sheeps’ and goats’ heads and trotters; and there crouching low hid me in
a dark corner.——And as the morn began to dawn Shahrazad held her peace
till
The end of the Sixth Hundred and Thirteenth Night.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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