THE ARABIAN NIGHTS Or Tales Told by Sheherezade During a Thousand Nights and One Night RETOLD BY Brian Alderson ILLUSTRATED BY Michael Foreman BOOKS OF WONDER MORROW JUNIOR BOOKS New York For Sheherezade herself Asie, Asie, Asie, Vieux pays merveilleux des contes de nourrice . Text copyright © 1992 by Brian Alderson Illustrations copyright © 1992 by Michael Foreman First published in Great Britain in 1992 by Victor Gollancz Ltd. First published in the United States in 1995 by Morrow Junior Books. Brian Alderson and Michael Foreman have asserted their right to be identified as authors of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher. Inquiries should be addressed to William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019, or Books of Wonder, 132 Seventh Avenue at Eighteenth Street, New York, NY 10011. Printed in Hong Kong 123456789 10 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Alderson, Brian. The Arabian nights, or, Tales told by Sheherezade during a thousand nights and one night/retold by Brian Alderson; illustrated by Michael Foreman, p. cm.—(Books of wonder) Summary: An illustrated collection of stories from the "Arabian Nights," including those of Sindbad, Ali Baba, and Aladdin. ISBN 0-688-14219-2 [1. Fairy tales. 2. Folklore—Arab countries. 3. Arabs—Folklore.] I. Foreman, Michael, ill. II. Title. III. Title: Arabian nights. IV. Title: Tales told by Sheherezade during a thousand nights and one night. V. Series. PZ8.A36Ar 1995 398.22—dc20 94-40945 CIP AC Books of Wonder is a registered trademark of Ozma, Inc. CONTENTS Invocation 7 THE TWO KINGS, SHAH SHAHRYAR AND SHAH ZAMAN, AND THE WAZIR'S DAUGHTER SHEHEREZADE who told these tales during a thousand nights and one night 9 THE TALE OF THE FISHERMAN AND THE JINNI 17 The Tale Which the Fisherman Told of the Sage Duban, in which King Yunan tells: 21 The Tale of the Loyal Falcon and 24 The Tale of the Faithful Parrot 26 THE TALE OF THE PORTER OF BAGHDAD 31 THE TALE OF THE HUNCHBACK 34 His Lamentable Death 34 What Happened at the Sultan's Court 39 THE FABLE OF THE BIRDS AND THE BEASTS AND THE CARPENTER 43 THE FABLE OF THE WOLF AND THE FOX 48 THE FABLE OF THE MONGOOSE AND THE MOUSE 51 THE TALE OF THE EBONY HORSE 55 His Coming 55 What Happened to the Prince 58 The Homecoming of the Ebony Horse 64 What Happened to the Princess 66 And How it All Ended 70 THE TALE WHICH ALI THE PERSIAN TOLD TO AMUSE HARUN AL-RASHID 73 MA'AN BIN-ZAIDAH, THE DONKEY AND THE CUCUMBERS 76 THE STORY OF SINDBAD THE PORTER AND SINDBAD THE SAILOR, in which Sindbad the Sailor tells: 79 The Tale of the Vanishing Island, and his 80 Adventure of the Valley of Diamonds, and his 81 Adventure with The Old Man of the Sea 85 THE TALE OF THE CITY OF BRASS 91 Of the jars of Solomon 91 Of the Black Castle 92 Of the Ifrit Dahish 97 Of the City of Brass 101 and Of the Ending of the Journey 110 THE TALE OF THE MAN WHO STOLE THE DOG'S GOLDEN DISH 111 THE TALE OF THE RUINED MAN AND HIS DREAM 114 THE TALE OF THE SIMPLETON AND HIS DONKEY 116 THE TALE OF JA'AFAR THE BARMECIDE AND THE AILING BEDOUIN 117 THE STORY OF ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES 120 The Cave 120 The Kitchen Scales 125 Kasim's Come-uppance 126 Coping with the Corpse 127 Calcification 130 The Captain's Craft 133 The Kitchener's Craft 137 How it Ended 139 THE STORY OF ALADDIN AND THE SLAVE OF THE LAMP 142 The Uncle 142 The Cave 144 The Lamp 150 The Princess 154 Bridegroom Number One 158 Bridegroom Number Two 163 The Wizard 168 How It Ended 177 HOW IT ALL ENDED 182 Editor's Remarks 185.