Having a look at Arabian Nights Stories
'Arabian Nights' (originally titled One Thousand and One Nights) is a collection of mainly Middle Eastern tales. The main story is of Shahryar, a King who kills his wife after finding she has been unfaithful and decides to marry a new wife everyday and kill her the following morning. Shahryar's Vizier, has two daughters, one of which devises a plan to stop Shahryar's endless killing. Shahrazad, the Vizier's daughter marries Shahryar and tells him a story each and every night, leaving them incomplete. The king finds the stories so entertaining that he does not kill Shahrazad in order to hear the continuation of the story the following day. This goes on for one thousand and one nights, when the king finally abandons his cruel plan [1].
After looking over some of the many stories in the 'Arabian Nights' collection, I have decided on four that I feel will be interesting to adapt into a modern narrative context.
The Tale of the Three Apples
Summary (from 1000into1night.wordpress.com) [2]:
A man wrongly kills his wife, cuts her into pieces and throws her into the river Tigris. He did so because a slave tricked the man in believing she was his mistress. The slave had a rare apple which the man had brought to his wife and the slave uses this as proof. The Wazir (Ja’afar) finds out it was one of his slaves but asks the Caliph’s pardon, because it is not as wondrous as one of his tales.
The Sleeper and the Waker
Summary (from 1000into1night.wordpress.com) [4]:
Abu al-Hasan divides his inheritance into two. He lives of the first half and gets a lot of friends. These friends leave him when he has run out of money. He then leaves of the second half, never to make friends again. He only invites people for one night and then never salutes them again. He meets the Caliph in this way, who is disguised. He says to the Caliph he tells the Caliph a story and says he wants to be Caliph for one day to take revenge on the shaykhs and Iman of a mosque because they don’t like him inviting various people into his home. The Caliph puts Abu to sleep by use of a drug. Abu wakes up in the Palace and everybody pretends he is the Caliph. He orders to punishes the shaykhs and the Imam and enjoys the luxuries of the Palace. Abu is put to sleep again and brought to his own home. When he wakes up he finds his mother next to him, who says he has been dreaming. He denies and beats his mother. But folk outside seize him and he is brought to prison. He repents and goes back to his home, taking up his old habit of inviting people. He again meets the Caliph, whom he thinks is the Devil. The Caliph denies and says he made his wish come true. The Caliph is again invited and again Abu is put to sleep and brought to the Palace. When he wakes up he thinks he has become mad, but eventually the Caliph comes out of his hiding place laughing and honours him. Abu is married to Nuzhat al-Fuad.
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
References:
1. http://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Thousand-and-One-Nights
2. https://1000into1night.wordpress.com/3-the-tale-of-the-three-apples/
3. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/25/revealed-qatars-world-cup-slaves
4. https://1000into1night.wordpress.com/26-the-sleeper-and-the-waker/
5. http://news.sky.com/story/1568417/saudi-deal-dropped-as-briton-faces-lashes
6. https://1000into1night.wordpress.com/ali-baba-and-the-forty-thieves/
After looking over some of the many stories in the 'Arabian Nights' collection, I have decided on four that I feel will be interesting to adapt into a modern narrative context.
The Tale of the Three Apples
Summary (from 1000into1night.wordpress.com) [2]:
A man wrongly kills his wife, cuts her into pieces and throws her into the river Tigris. He did so because a slave tricked the man in believing she was his mistress. The slave had a rare apple which the man had brought to his wife and the slave uses this as proof. The Wazir (Ja’afar) finds out it was one of his slaves but asks the Caliph’s pardon, because it is not as wondrous as one of his tales.
My analysis of 'the Tale of the Three Apples' (story source; link [2])
The Sleeper and the Waker
Abu al-Hasan divides his inheritance into two. He lives of the first half and gets a lot of friends. These friends leave him when he has run out of money. He then leaves of the second half, never to make friends again. He only invites people for one night and then never salutes them again. He meets the Caliph in this way, who is disguised. He says to the Caliph he tells the Caliph a story and says he wants to be Caliph for one day to take revenge on the shaykhs and Iman of a mosque because they don’t like him inviting various people into his home. The Caliph puts Abu to sleep by use of a drug. Abu wakes up in the Palace and everybody pretends he is the Caliph. He orders to punishes the shaykhs and the Imam and enjoys the luxuries of the Palace. Abu is put to sleep again and brought to his own home. When he wakes up he finds his mother next to him, who says he has been dreaming. He denies and beats his mother. But folk outside seize him and he is brought to prison. He repents and goes back to his home, taking up his old habit of inviting people. He again meets the Caliph, whom he thinks is the Devil. The Caliph denies and says he made his wish come true. The Caliph is again invited and again Abu is put to sleep and brought to the Palace. When he wakes up he thinks he has become mad, but eventually the Caliph comes out of his hiding place laughing and honours him. Abu is married to Nuzhat al-Fuad.
When Abu and Nuzhat run out of money they play a trick on the Caliph and his Lady. They pretend to be dead, Abu to Zubaydah, and Nuzhat to Caliph. They receive a hundred dinars and a piece of silk both. When Lady Zubaydah and the Caliph quarrel on who’s actually dead they send their servant to the home of Abu. But as Abu sees them coming both he and Nuzhat pretend to be dead in turns. To solve the matter the Caliph and Lady Zubaydah go to the home of Abu to see for themselves. When they see them both dead, the Caliph says he would give a thousand dinars to know who died first. Then Abu springs up and says he died first. The Caliph understand the trick Abu played and is enjoyed by it. He gives the thousand dinars and increases his solde. Abu and Nuzhat both live happily until they die.
My analysis of 'the Sleeper and the Walker' (story source; link [4])
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Summary (from 1000into1night.wordpress.com) [6]:
Kasim and Ali Baba are brothers. One day Ali Baba finds out about a cave which belongs to a band of robbers. When he tells his brother, Kasim, he goes to the cave as well. He is found out and killed by the robbers. Ali Baba finds his brother and takes him home with his asses full of gold. Kasim is buried in secret, a tailor is blindfolded and got to the house where he sews to body. The thieves find Kasim gone with a lot of gold so they are sure there is another person who knows about their secret. One thief finds the house through the tailor. He marks the house with white chalk. Morgiana, a slave-girl of Ali Baba, notices this and chalks every door. A second thief tries with red chalk, but Morgiana finds out and chalks every door with red chalk. The third thief remembers the way. The Captain will come with mules with jars of oil and thieves in others. He is invited in Ali Baba’s house. Morgiana finds out about the plot and kills the robbers by putting boiling oil in their jars. Only the Captain knows to escape. The Captain tries again by opening a shop and to get invited, in disguise, by Ali Baba’s nephew. However, again Morgiana finds out about him and stabs him to death. Morgiana is married to Ali Baba’s nephew and he and his family become rich.
My analysis of 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves' (story source; link [6])
References:
1. http://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Thousand-and-One-Nights
2. https://1000into1night.wordpress.com/3-the-tale-of-the-three-apples/
3. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/25/revealed-qatars-world-cup-slaves
4. https://1000into1night.wordpress.com/26-the-sleeper-and-the-waker/
5. http://news.sky.com/story/1568417/saudi-deal-dropped-as-briton-faces-lashes
6. https://1000into1night.wordpress.com/ali-baba-and-the-forty-thieves/
