The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 01 (of 10)
General
The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 01 (of 10)
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
the house of some intimate friends of his; so, when he is gone, do thou
come to us and spend the night with my lady in delightsomest joyance
till the morning." Now her husband had asked her, "How shall we manage
to turn him away from thee?"; and she answered, "Leave me to play him
another trick and make him a laughing stock for all the town." But my
brother knew naught of the malice of women. As soon as it was dusk, the
slave girl came to him and carried him to the house, and when the lady
saw him she said to him, "By Allah, O my lord, I have been longing
exceedingly for thee." "By Allah," cried he, "kiss me quick before thou
give me aught else."[FN#642] Hardly had he spoken, when the lady's
husband came in from the next room[FN#643] and seized him, saying, "By
Allah, I will not let thee go, till I deliver thee to the chief of the
town watch." My brother humbled himself to him; but he would not listen
to him and carried him before the Prefect who gave him an hundred
lashes with a whip and, mounting him on a camel, promenaded him round
about the city, whilst the guards proclaimed aloud, "This is his reward
who violateth the Harims of honourable men!" Moreover, he fell off the
camel and broke his leg and so became lame. Then the Prefect banished
him from the city; and he went forth unknowing whither he should wend;
but I heard of him and fearing for him went out after him and brought
him back secretly to the city and restored him to health and took him
into my house where he still liveth. The Caliph laughed at my story and
said, "Thou hast done well, O Samit, O Silent Man, O spare of speech!";
and he bade me take a present and go away. But I said, "I will accept
naught of thee except I tell thee what befell all my other brothers;
and do not think me a man of many words." So the Caliph gave ear to
The Barber’s Tale of his Second Brother.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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