From the Thousand and One Nights Translated by N.J. Dawood

The Thousand and One Nights Princess Scheherazade’s story King Shahriyar’s wife’s betrayal filled him with hatred for all women. Every night, motivated by vengeance and fear, he marries a different woman only to put her to death by morning. Finally, a young woman, Scheherazade, devises a scheme to stop the bloodshed. She weds the King, and on the first night of their marriage, she tells him a spellbinding story. At daybreak, she still has not finished.

Princess Scheherazade’s Story Cont’d. As the executioners await their orders, Scheherazade promises King Shahriyar that she will finish the story that evening. Captivated by the story, the King stays (stops) the order of execution. That night Scheherazade finishes the first story but immediately starts another that is just as exciting as the first. In this way, she enthralls the King and prolongs her life for one thousand and one nights. By the time she has finished her final story, almost three years have passed, and the King is in love with her and decides not to kill her.

The Fisherman and the Jinnee “The Fisherman and the Jinnee” discusses the importance of appreciating people for their kindness. This message is shown in three interlocking stories. In the main story, a fisherman frees a jinnee who is trapped in a bottle. In return, the Jinnee plans to kill him. The Jinnee is angry that he has been trapped in the bottle for two hundred years.

The Jinnee’s Story The Jinnee was one of several who rebelled against King Solomon, but was defeated by Solomon’s Vizier. When the Jinnee refused to pledge Solomon’s obedience, Solomon had him imprisoned in a bottle that was tossed into the sea. At first, the Jinnee vowed to bestow riches on whoever released him, but he was imprisoned so long that he grew angry and vowed to kill whoever released him.

The Fisherman and the Jinnee. King Yunan and Duban the Doctor The Fisherman and the Jinnee King Yunan and Duban the Doctor King Sinbad and the Falcon King Yunan tells his advisers the story of King Sinbad. King Sinbad kills his pet falcon. He regrets the act because the falcon prevented him form drinking poison. After the fisherman tells these stories, he throws the bottle back into the sea.

The Fisherman and the Jinnee King Duban and the Doctor The fisherman cleverly tricks the Jinnee and returns him to the bottle. He tells two stories to the Jinnee. In the first story, a king kills a doctor who cured him of leprosy. The King’s advisers convince him that the doctor will destroy him. However, the King is punished for killing the doctor. This King tells his advisers the story of Sinbad.

The Tale of Sinbad and the Falcon King Yunan tells this story to his Vizier who is jealous of Doctor Duban and attempts to have him killed. So he tells the Vizier the story of Sinbad who repented after he had killed his falcon. One day, Sinbad went hunting with his men and took along his pet falcon. A gazelle came along and the King threatens to kill the man who allows her to escape. Ironically, it is King Sinbad himself who allows the gazelle to escape.

Sinbad and the Falcon The King pursues the falcon, strikes her down and kills her. Because it was a hot day, the King filled the tiny bowl that the falcon wore around it neck with water. The falcon kept knocking the bowl over; the King then set the bowl in front of his horse, but the falcon knocked it over again with its wings. In anger, Sinbad struck the falcon with his sword, cutting off both its wings, and cursed the falcon. The now wingless bird gestured to the King to look into the tree.

Sinbad and the Falcon The King looked up and saw an enormous serpent in the tree spitting its venom down the trunk. By alerting the King to the snake, the falcon saved his life. The King then was sorry for what he had done to his falcon. When he took the bird back to the palace, the bird died. The King was stricken with sorrow for having rashly killed the bird which had saved his life.

Back to King Yunan and the Vizier The still jealous Vizier suggests that the King execute the doctor who has saved his life, hinting that the doctor plans on poisoning the king. The good doctor who cured the King of Leprosy points out that such an execution would be an evil act and that goodness should be repaid with goodness. The King, however listens to his Vizier and is convinced that the doctor is a spy. The doctor begs for one more day so he can take care of his affairs and say goodbye to his family.

King Yunan and the Vizier The doctor offers the King one of his special medicine books (which holds secrets )as a parting gift. He tells the King that once he has cut off the doctor’s head, he is to turn over three leaves (pages) of the book and read the fist three lines upon the left-hand page. Then the severed head of the doctor will speak and answer any questions that the King asks. The doctor gives instructions to the King, and then the King cuts off his head.

The End of the Story After cutting off the doctor’s head, the King opens the book. Finding the pages stuck together, he puts his finger to his mouth and turns over the first page. He repeats this with the second and third pages. He can find no writing in the book. The severed head directs him to continue turning pages. The King continues unaware that the leaves (pages) of the book had been treated with venom (poison). He drops to the ground, poisoned by the book and by the doctor.

Back to the Fisherman and the Jinnee. The Moral of the Story: The fisherman tells the treacherous jinnee that had the King spared the physician, he in turn would have been spared by Allah (God). But he refused, and Allah brought about the King’s destruction. The fisherman tells the Jinnee that had he been willing to spare the life of the fisherman, then Allah would have been merciful to him, and the fisherman would have spared his life. Since the Jinnee sought to kill the fisherman, the fisherman throws him back into the sea where he is waiting for some Pope John Paul Sophomore to find him and let him out…