Arabian Nights II

Some nights you wish would never end . . .

This modern edition adapted from Sir Richard F. Burton's lavish unexpurgated (unpurified) translation—and the companion volume to the highly popular Signet Classic edition of Arabian Nights, also edited and adapted by Jack Zipes—once again illuminates the sensual mystery and lushness of the original Arabic tales. This volume includes a wide variety of tales representing distinctive genres—not just magic fairy tales, but also erotic tales, all revealing a great deal about the customs and societies in the Middle East during the Medieval era. Here are tales such as "The Porter and the Three Ladies," "The Caliph's Night Adventure," "The Sleeper and the Waker," "The Woman Who Made Her Husband Sift Dirt," "The Rake's Trick Against the Chaste Wife," and "The Man Who Never Laughed During the Rest of His Days." In Jack Zipes's hands, these stories-within-stories, told over the course of a thousand and one nights, come to vivid life in new and often surprising ways.

Contents:

Introduction: The Morning After

A Note on the Text

1. The Caliph's Night Adventure
   The Story of the Blind Man, Baba Abdullah 
   The Story of Sidi Nu'uman 
   The Story of Khwajah Hasan al-Habbal
2. The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad 
   The First Calendar's Tale 
   The Second Calendar's Tale 
   The Tale of the Envier and the Envied 
   The Third Calendar's Tale 
   The Eldest Sister's Tale 
   The Doorkeeper's Tale
3. The Sleeper and the Walker 
   The Story of the Scoundrel and the Cook
4. The Craft and Malice of Women, or the Tale of the King, His Son, His Concubine, and the Seven Viziers 
   The King and the Vizier's Wife 
   The Confectioner, His Wife, and the Parrot 
   The Fuller and His Son 
   The Rake's Trick Against the Chaste Wife 
   The Miser and the Loaves of Bread 
   The Lady and Her Two Lovers 
   The King's Son and the Ogress 
   The Drop of Honey 
   The Woman Who Made Her Husband Sift Dirt 
   The Enchanted Spring 
   The Vizier's Son and the Hammam-Keeper's Wife 
   The Wife's Plan to Cheat Her Husband 
   The Goldsmith and the Cashmere Singing Girl 
   The Man Who Never Laughed During the Rest of His Days 
   The King's Son and the Merchant's Wife 
   The Page Who Pretended to Know the Speech of Birds 
   The Lady and Her Five Suitors 
   The Three Wishes, or the Man Who Longed to See the Night of Power 
   The Stolen Necklace 
   The Two Pigeons 
   The House with the Belvedere 
   The Prince and the Ifrit's Mistress 
   The Sandalwood Merchant and the Thieves 
   The Womanizer and the Three-Year-Old Child 
   The Stolen Purse 
   The Fox and the Folk
5. Abdulla the Fisherman and Abdullah the Merman
6. The Tale of Zayn al-Asnam
7. The Ten Viziers. or the Story of King Azadbakht and His Son 
   The Story of the Merchant Who Lost His Luck 
   The Tale of the Merchant and His Sons 
   The Story of Abu Sabir 
   The Story of PrinceBihzad 
   The Story of King Dadbin and His Vizers 
   The Story of King Bakhtzaman 
   The Story of King Bihzard 
   The Story of Aylan Shah and Abu Tammam 
   The Story of King Ibrahim and His Son 
   The Story of King Sulayman Shah and His Niece 
   The Story of the Prisoner and How Allah Granted Him Relief
8. The Tale of Al-Malik al-Nasir and the Three Chiefs of Police 
   The Story of the Chief of Police of Cairo 
   The Tale of the Chief of the Bulak Police 
   The Story of the Chief of the Forstat Police 
   The Thief and the Money-Changer 
   The Chief of the Kus Police and the Highwayman
9. Fables 
   The Mouse and the Cat 
   The Fish and the Crab 
   The Crow and the Serpent 
   The Wild Ass and the Jackal 
   The Crows and the Hawk 
   The Spider and the Wind 
   The Jackals and the Wolf 
   The Partridge and the Tortoises

Afterword

Glossary

Selected Bibliography