Arabs -- Folklore; Fairy tales; Folklore -- Arab countries
Accordingly he set out again for his kingdom; and as soon as he arrived
there, the queen asked him, whether he returned well pleased. He told her
all that had happened; and he was so much concerned for having been so
credulous, that the queen, instead of adding to his vexation by reproving
or laughing at him, comforted him. Forbear afflicting yourself, my son,
said she; if God has appointed you riches, you will have them without any
trouble. Be easy: all that I recommend to you is, to be virtuous.
Renounce the delight of dancing, music, and high-coloured wine: shun all
pleasures; they have already almost ruined you: apply yourself to the
making of your subjects happy; and, securing their happiness, you will
fix your own.
Prince Zeyn swore he would for the future follow his mother’s advice, and
be directed by the wise viziers she had made choice of to assist him in
supporting the weight of the government. But the very first night after
he returned to his palace, he the third time saw in a dream the old man,
who said to him, Brave Zeyn, the time of your prosperity is come.
To-morrow morning, as soon as you are up, take a little pick-axe, and go
dig in your father’s closet; you will there find a mighty treasure.
As soon as the prince awaked, he got up, ran to the queen’s apartment,
and with much earnestness told her the new dream of that night. Really,
my son, said his mother, that is a very positive man: he is not satisfied
with having deceived you twice; have you a mind to believe him again? No,
madam, answered Zeyn, I give no credit to what he has said; but I will,
for my own satisfaction, search my father’s closet. I really fancied so,
cried the queen, laughing very heartily: go, my son, please yourself; my
comfort is, that work is not so toilsome as the journey to Egypt.
Well, madam, answered the king, I must own that this third dream has
restored my belief, for it agrees with the two others; and, in short, let
us examine the old man’s words. He first directed me to go into Egypt;
there he told me, he had put me upon taking that journey only to try me.
Return to Balsora, said he; that is the place where you are to find
treasures: this night he has exactly pointed out the place where they
are. These three dreams, in my opinion, are connected. After all, they
may be chimerical; but I would rather search in vain, than blame myself
as long as I live for having perhaps missed of great riches, by being
unseasonably too hard of belief.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account