In Baghdad, there lived a very poor man. He struggled to make both ends meet by working as a porter or a labourer whenever he could, returning to his house completely exhausted. One night he fell asleep as usual, but was troubled by dreams. In the dream, an old man appeared and said, “What are […]
A humble porter lived in Baghdad. He sat every morning in the market with his large basket, ready to be hired for work. One day, a veiled lady asked him to follow her to the shops. She bought many things: a jar of wine, meats, breads, fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices and perfumes. Carrying the heavy
Sindbad built his own ship and invited merchants from other countries on his next voyage. Then they set sail, trading along the way for many weeks till they arrived at an island that seemed deserted. They came upon a roc’s egg about to hatch. The merchants would not listen to Sindbad who told them to
A traveller on a camel, passing through a thorny forest, saw that an old camp-fire had caused a forest fire. A large snake was caught in the fire and was crying out for help. The compassionate traveller took a saddle-bag from the camel’s back and opening its mouth he fixed a spear into it and
In Baghdad, Shahbaz inherited as much wealth as his brothers, but he did not use it wisely. He was very polite and well-behaved and knew how to please people, but he wasted the money and had to beg for food and money. He thought it would serve his purpose, if he made friends with servants
In a small town, a long time ago, there lived two neighbours. One of them envied the other very deeply. The man who was envied decided to shift to a different town to avoid the envious man. So, outside the capital of the kingdom, he found a small house with a well in the courtyard
It was not long before Sindbad sailed away again, this time from a Persian port. Their ship was, however, wrecked by a violent hurricane wherein most of the people died. Sindbad was one of the fortunate survivors who reached the shore of an island. After sleeping, the men awoke to search the island for help.
Ahmed, the cobbler, lived in Isfahan with his greedy wife, Sitara. She was a very discontented woman. One day, Sitara went to the Hammam where people came to bathe and relax. There, she saw the wife of the royal astrologer in gorgeous clothes and jewellery, being waited upon by several maids. Sitara returned home in
A farmer had three daughters and they took turns to watch the calves when they went out to graze. One day, the eldest daughter fell asleep and lost one calf. Searching for the calf, she reached a big house with a red door. She went in and opened a golden, a silver and a brass
There was a young man in Persia who inherited a large amount of wealth from his father. But he wasted everything and became so poor that he had to get himself hired. A Sheikh came to the market and hired the young man. Sheikh said he would live a comfortable life in his house and
Once upon a time, there lived a chief named Ali Ben Ahmed and his tribe in the desert of Arabia. They encamped on the trackless sand. For months, they did not see any stranger. One evening, however, little Zuleika, the chief’s daughter, saw someone riding her way from the south. She ran to tell her
Sindbad set off on a ship with merchants from Balsora. They traded at many towns and ports till their ship was driven off its course by a violent storm. The Captain was worried because he knew that the island on which they had arrived was the home of a tribe of dreadful, hairy dwarfs who
Once, a Prince visited his uncle, the King, and his cousin. He met his cousin, but his uncle was away. His cousin had a beautiful lady as his guest. After a lavish meal, his cousin, carrying a pickaxe and a little plaster, took his guests to a place where he opened a door with a
The King loved his son dearly and, when the son wished to go hunting, the King sent his Vazir with him to watch over him. Once, the Prince galloped through the forest, leaving the Vazir and the attendants behind. The Prince suddenly found himself alone and there was no sign of the Vazir! He saw
There was a poor man who loved his beautiful wife very much. Since he went to work every morning, he bought a talking parrot to keep her company. He also told the parrot to tell him all that happened during the day. One day, the parrot told him his wife had been lazy and dishonest