THE TALES 1 INTRODUCTION 9 THE BEGINNING SHAH RAYAR SHAH ZAMAN 11A A FATHER S PLEAS THE DONKEY THE OX THE MERCHANTS 15 NIGHT 1 THE MERCHANT THE JINNI 17 NIGHT 2 THE FIRST SHEIKH 21 NIGHT 3 THE SECOND SHEIKH 23 NIGHT 4 NIGHT 5 THE THIRD SHEIKH S STORY THE TALE OF THE FISHERMAN THE JINNI 29 NIGHT 6 NIGHT 8 KING YUNAN SAGE DUBAN 33 NIGHT 7 THE HUSBAND THE PARROT THE OGRESS 39 NIGHT 20 THE THREE APPLES 41 NIGHT 21 NIGHT 24 THE VIZIER S TWO SONS 57 NIGHT 51 NIGHT 56 QAMAR AL ZAMAN 75 NIGHT 365 ALI BABA THE FORTY THIEVES 87 NIGHT 366 NIGHT 370 THE EBONY HORSE
105 NIGHT 537 SINDBAD THE SAILOR 107 NIGHT 538 SINDBAD THE SAILOR VOYAGE 1 11 NIGHT 539 SINDBAD THE SAILOR VOYAGE 2 113 NIGHT 540 SINDBAD THE SAILOR VOYAGE 3 117 NIGHT 541 SINDBAD THE SAILOR VOYAGE 4 123 NIGHT 542 SINDBAD THE SAILOR VOYAGE 5 125 NIGHT 543 SINDBAD THE SAILOR VOYAGE 6 129 NIGHT 544 SINDBAD THE SAILOR THE FINAL VOYAGE 135 NIGHT 667 NIGHT 668 PRINCE HUSSAIN THE MAGIC CARPET 147 NIGHT 730 ALADDIN 169 NIGHT 992 NIGHT 1 001 MAARUF THE COBBLER 195 NIGHT1 001 MAARUF THE COBBLER CONCLUDES 198POSTSCRIPT 199 LITERARY LICENSE 200 MAP OF THE MIDDLE EAST 202 SOURCES BIBLIOGRAPHY 204INDEX
IN T ROD UCTION ome of the stories presented in this book go back to ancient times others may have arisen in medieval times Most appeared in collections during the Middle Ages others were first written down only at the beginning of the 18th century by a European translator of the earlier collections Probably all however were part of folklore of the area extending from North Africa to South Asia including Mesopotamian Persian and Indian cultures as well a later medieval Muslim cultures of Egypt and Syria As such these stories offer an entrance to the sensibilities of that wide area in those varying times The society we find in these stories consists of many poor undereducated people scrambling to stay within the good graces of a wealthy upper class that holds the power Wealth however does not seem to be strictly random Instead those who work hard and are clever enough to seize opportunities can rise from poverty to luxury as merchants or even become viziers princes and kings Self reliance and resourcefulness are prized aualities The supernatural beings that inhabit these stories are also a mixed bag of beneficent and maleficent Woe to the human who just happens to offend a jinni by accident mercy is a rare find Please note that the Arabic word jinni is used in this book with the plural form jinn and the feminine form jinniya Often in English it is spelled genie which is the more common transliteration of the Arabic spelling But a rapid assessment of a situation particularly of the psychological needs of the one in power and careful appropriate action can lead to the mere human prevailing over the magical creature so that disaster is avoided And generally those who are loyal and faithful fare better than those who are not s an abiding interest in exploration and invention Adventurers go from country to country risking their lives in order to see the world New machines are treasured There is nothing complacent or provincial in these stories Rather there is a hunger for the unknown and a desire to be part of something larger In these ways the values and beliefs reflected in the stories feel optimistic to my way of thinking more so than those found in ancient or medieval Greek Norse Celtic or ancient Egyptian mythology There is a strong sense that good behavior will lead to good results and that the world is basically a lot more delightful than it is frightful
A remarkable aspect of these particular tales is the structure of how they are told There is an overall framework in which a wife Scheherazade is telling stories to her husband each night But in the stories she tells there is often a character who tells a story And sometimes we find another story within that embedded story stories within stories within stories within the overarching story Now certainly the current form of the framework of Scheherazade was not there in the original oral folktales But even having three layers of storytelling within the individual oral tales is a lot to keep track of it is as complex to the ear as Persian miniature paintings for example are to the eye This storytelling tradition puts an emphasis on careful listening and mental jockeying The listener is rewarded frequently by gifts to the ear Songs and poems as well as gifts to the spirit characters who make us laugh love stories that hold us entranced fantastical creatures and devices that amaze us For the people of the times when the stories were first told historical details shed light on events they might have heard about Each night s tale stands on its own merit But I have worked to present them within the framework of a growing relationship between wife and husband The tales themselves are often cliffhangers that leave us wondering what will happen next But the most important cliffhanger is whether or not Scheherazade succeeds in getting her husband to grant her another day of life for in the beginning he has vowed to have her put to death after their first night together This innocent girl is subject to the whims of a man so deeply wounded his ego wobbles with every step Scheherazade uses all her story telling skills ingenuity and artistic creativity to craft stories that make her husband s heart beat faster But she also selects stories with an eye toward developing a sense of trust and eventually mercy built on that trust This helps her husband to move beyond his injury to the strength and hope that allow him to experience profound love Scheherazade wins not through trickery but through understanding human nature and through faith in her own abilities and in the transformative power of storytelling She dares to fathom the meaning of life with every bit of intelligence she has As a result she embodies the spirit of the times and places of the tales she spins Welcome to that
