Stories of Arabian Nights

A man of the pilgrims once slept a long sleep and awaking, found no trace of the caravan. So he rose up and walked on, but lost his way and came to a tent, where he saw an old woman standing at the entrance and by her side a dog asleep. He went up to […]

A simpleton was walking with his ass tied to a leash in the market. A pair of sharpers saw the man pulling the ass behind him. One said to the other that he would somehow take the ass from the man without his knowledge. Slowly, the sharper went behind the man, removed the ass from

Once there was a miller with an ass to turn his mill. He loved his wicked wife, but she was keener on their neighbour who always tried to stay away from her. One night, the miller dreamt of a man asking him to dig around the ass’ spot in the mill and he would find

They say when Musab bin Al-Zubair met Al-Medinah Izzah, the shrewdest of women; he told her about his willingness to marry the daughter of Talhah, Ayishah and wanted her to spy on Ayishah, to know her better. Doing so, Al-Medinah returned and informed him that Ayishah was fairer than health, with big eyes, a smooth

One night, Caliph Haroon Al-Rashid became restless and turned many sides for a sound sleep, but to no avail. He then started walking down the aisle of his palace, and came across a barmaid overcome with wine. Her singular beauty attracted the Caliph who then asked her if they could spend the night together, to

Caliph Haroon Al-Rashid was deeply in love with Lady Zubaidah and got her a pleasance built with a series of trees. On the either side of it, there was huge water flow that made trees grew denser over time that one could even bathe in it. One day, the queen entered the garden and while

They say Al-Mutalammis escaped from Al-Nouman bin Munzir, nowhere to be seen for a long time and was presumed dead. He had married a beautiful lady, Umaymah, who was frequently forced by her family to marry again, despite her true love for her husband. After much harassment, she consented reluctantly and they got her married

There were a boy and a slave-girl studying together in school. The boy became an ardent admirer of the girl. One day when the other boys were neglectful, he took her tablet and wrote his feelings in verses on it. When she read those, she wept for his feelings for her, and below wrote her

Badr Al-Din, the Wazir of Al-Yaman, kept a strict watch over his younger brother of remarkable beauty. He employed a Sheikh tutor for him and lodged him in their neighbouring house. After a few days, the old man accumulated love for the youth and shared his feelings with him. The two decided to meet at

King Kisra Anushirwan once chased a deer and in his pursuit, got separated from his suite. He noticed a hamlet nearby and stopped by a door for water. A damsel opened the door and went back inside to get a sugarcane juice for the King, with some scented dust sprinkled on it. The King felt

Banu Ozrah was a handsome, accomplished man, who never lacked love interest amongst ladies. Once he got mesmerized by the beauty of his own tribe but who refused to reciprocate similar feelings for him. Ozrah continued to adore her until one day when he severely fell ill and made for a fatal sleep. Then both

Once in Basrah, a man had a slave-girl whom he loved very much. He looked after her very well and educated her as well. He spent all his time in merry making that all his wealth depleted and he became penniless one day. The slave-girl who also loved the man very much could not see

Wardan, a butcher who lived in Cairo, was intrigued by a woman who bought a lamb every day. When he asked her servant about this, he said that she took it along with fresh and dried fruits to some place near the Wazir’s garden every day with the servant blindfolded. Wardan decided to follow her.

Of 4,000 concubines, 2,000 Greeks and 2,000 slave-born Arabians and Abyssinians were in the palace of Caliph Al-Mutawakkil, whereby Obaid bin Tahir had given him 200 whites and 200 Abyssinian and native-girls. Amongst the slave-borns, Mahbubah was extremely beautiful and played upon the flute well with an art of making verses. The Caliph fell for

Once a rich man became destitute and approached his friend for assistance. His friend lent him five hundred dinars to start a trading business. With a prior experience as a jeweller, the man bought gold with the money to sell them off at the jewel-market. While he was sitting, three men came and asked him