Chapter 1

Inscribed to the Memory of My Lamented Friend John Frederick Steinhaeuser, (Civil Surgeon, Aden) who A Quarter of a Century Ago Assisted Me in this Translation.

“TO THE PURE ALL THINGS ARE PURE” (Puris omnia pura)

—_Arab Proverb._

“Niuna corrotta mente intese mai sanamente parole.”

—“_Decameron_”—_conclusion_.

“Erubuit, posuitque meum Lucretia librum Sed coram Bruto. Brute! recede, leget.”

—MARTIAL.

“Mieulx est de ris que de larmes escripre, Pour ce que rire est le propre des hommes.”

—RABELAIS.

“The pleasure we derive from perusing the Thousand-and-One Stories makes us regret that we possess only a comparatively small part of these truly enchanting fictions.”

—CRICHTON’S “_History of Arabia_.”

Contents of the First Volume

Introduction Story Of King Shahryar and His Brother a. Tale of the Bull and the Ass 1. Tale of the Trader and the Jinni a. The First Shaykh’s Story b. The Second Shaykh’s Story c. The Third Shaykh’s Story 2. The Fisherman and the Jinni a. Tale of the Wazir and the Sage Duban ab. Story of King Sindibad and His Falcon ac. Tale of the Husband and the Parrot ad. Tale of the Prince and the Ogress b. Tale of the Ensorcelled Prince 3. The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad a. The First Kalandar’s Tale b. The Second Kalandar’s Tale ba. Tale of the Envier and the Envied c. The Third Kalandar’s Tale d. The Eldest Lady’s Tale e. Tale of the Portress Conclusion of the Story of the Porter and the Three Ladies 4. Tale of the Three Apples 5. Tale of Nur Al-din Ali and his Son 6. The Hunchback’s Tale a. The Nazarene Broker’s Story b. The Reeve’s Tale