The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 02 (of 10)
General
The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 02 (of 10)
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
The letter went on, "And after the usual salutations to thee and thine, I
command thee neglect no manner of seeking news of them for indeed this is a
shame to us." When Sharrkan read the letter he felt grief for his father and
joy for the loss of his brother and sister. Then he took the missive and went
in with it to Nuzhat al-Zaman who knew not that he was her brother, nor he that
she was his sister, albeit he often visited her both by night and by day till
the months were accomplished and she sat down on the stool of delivery. Allah
made the child-birth easy to her and she bare a daughter, whereupon she sent
for Sharrkan and seeing him she said to him, "This is thy daughter: name her as
thou wilt." Quoth he, "It is usual to name children on the seventh day after
birth.[FN#300]" Then he bent over the child to kiss it and he saw, hung about
its neck, a jewel, which he knew at once for one of those which Princess
Abrizah had brought from the land of the Greeks. Now when he saw the jewel
hanging from his babe's neck he recognised it right well, his senses fled and
wrath seized on him; his eyes rolled in rage and he looked at Nuzhat al- Zaman
and said to her, "Whence hadst thou this jewel, O slave girl?" When she heard
this from Sharrkan she replied, "I am thy lady, and the lady of all in thy
palace! Art thou not ashamed to say to me Slave girl? I am a Queen, daughter
of King Omar bin al-Nu'uman." Hearing this, he was seized with trembling and
hung his head earthwards,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
say her permitted say.
When it was the Sixty-ninth Night,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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