Best of The Arabian Nights

Once upon a time, there was a king whose son was very fond of hunting. The King allowed him to go hunting, but he was very worried whenever he went into the forest.Therefore, he ordered his grand Vazir to go with him and never lose sight of him. So, the grand Vazir was always with the […]

Once upon a time, a Sultan came to a beautiful lake that looked like polished black marble among hills. On its bank was a magnificent palace but when he entered it there was no one to be seen.He heard someone moaning about his fate and wishing to die. So, he followed the voice till he

Long ago in Greece, there lived a King who was very ill. No one could cure his disease though many physicians tried to heal him.One day, a physician named Douban came to the court. He was a very learned man and spoke several languages. He was a philosopher and had knowledge of herbs too. He

Once upon a time, there was a very poor fisherman who had barely enough to support himself and his wife and three children. Every morning, he cast his net four times to catch fish.One day, he threw his net and caught a dead ass in it. He repaired his net and threw it again. But

Prince Ahmed went to search for his arrow following the direction in which he had shot. He found it on a steep craggy rock. He picked the arrow up and looked around.There appeared to be a hollow in the rock. So, he stepped in and found that it opened onto a path with stairs. He

Once upon a time, there was a great Sultan in India with three very worthy sons: Hussain, Ali and Ahmed. He also had a beautiful and accomplished niece, Nur-un-nihar, who had become an orphan when she was a child. He brought her up with great care and love.All the princes were in love with Nur-un-nihar

The King of Persia ruled over a large and prosperous kingdom. He was a well-loved and happy king. But he longed for an heir.One day, as he sat in the court, a merchant wished to speak to him privately. After the day’s work was over in the court, the King called the merchant. He brought

“My story is equally strange,” said the second old man, “These two dogs are my elder brothers. Our father died and left each of us a thousand gold sequins. We all became merchants.”The eldest brother wanted to become a trader. So, he sold off his shop and used all the money he had to buy

“This hind that you see,” said the first old man, telling his story to the Genie, the merchant and the others, “is my wife.” His story ran as follows:The man and his wife were happy but had no children. So, he adopted the son of a favourite slave. But his wife was extremely jealous of

Long ago, there lived a merchant who was very rich. He had a lot of merchandise, property and money too. He went to many lands trading his merchandise.One day, he had to set off on a journey to a distant land. On the way, he had to pass through a desert where no food was

Once upon a time in Kashgar, there lived a tailor and his wife who loved each other dearly. One day, a little hunchback came and sat outside the tailor’s shop and sang, playing upon a tambourine.The tailor enjoyed his songs so much that he took him home to let him meet his wife. She had

Long ago in the capital of China, Mustafa the poor tailor died, leaving his wife and an idle son, Aladdin. Aladdin spent the whole day playing in the streets with other boys who were as lazy as he.One day, a stranger came up to Aladdin and asked him if he was Mustafa’s son.Aladdin nodded, saying,

Two brothers, Kasim and Ali Baba, lived in Persia. They had not inherited much from their father when he died. Kasim married a rich widow and became prosperous.Ali Baba was a woodcutter who lived with his wife, chopped wood in the forest every day and sold it in the market. They were very poor.One day

“I was tired of travelling and facing untold dangers,” confessed Sindbad, “But one day, an officer of the Caliph’s court came to inform me that I was required to serve the Caliph. I had to bear a letter and gifts from him for the King of the Indies in return for the courtesy and friendship

“My family and friends pleaded with me not to travel into danger again,” said Sindbad, “But after one year I was very eager to travel again! This time I took an overland route all the way to a port in India from where I began my voyage by ship.” The story of his sixth voyage