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Library / Literature & Fiction

The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 04 (of 10)

by Richard Francis, Sir, 1821-1890 [Translator] Burton

Pages
about 454
Category
Literature & Fiction
Language
English
Reading time
8.3 h at 250 wpm
Start readingThe whole book, as cards or one word at a time. 4.6 h at 450 wpm in Read mode.

From the opening

The Prince of True Believers was delighted and filling another cup, gave it to Naomi and bade her sing again; so after draining the cup and sweeping the strings, she sang as follows:—

"O most noble of men in this time and stound, * Of whom none may

O matchless in greatness of soul and gifts, * O thou Chief, O

Lord, who dealest large boons to the Lords of Earth, * Whom thou

The Lord preserve thee, and spoil thy foes, * And ne'er cease thy

Now when the Caliph heard these couplets, he exclaimed, "By Allah, good! By Allah, excellent! Verily the Lord hath been copious[FN#19] to thee, O Naomi! How clever is thy tongue and how dear is thy speech!" And they ceased not their mirth and good cheer till midnight, when the Caliph's sister said to him, "Give ear, O Commander of the Faithful to a tale I have read in books of a certain man of rank." "And what is this tale?" quoth he. Quoth she "Know, O Prince of the Faithful that there lived once in the city of Cufa a youth called Ni'amah, son of Al-Rabi'a, and he had a slave-girl whom he loved and who loved him. They had been reared in one bed; but when they grew up and mutual-love get hold of them, Fortune smote them with her calamities and Time, the tyrant, brought upon them his adversity and decreed separation unto them. Thereupon designing and slanderous folk enticed her by sleight forth of his house and, stealing her away from his home, sold her to one of the Kings for ten thousand dinars. Now the girl loved her lord even as he loved her, so he left kith and kin and house and home and the gifts of fortune, and set out to search for her and when she was found he devised means to gain access to her".—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

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