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The Arabian Nights
"Is
it possible, that by telling these tales,
one might indeed save one's self?"
The
character, Scheherezade thought so. In fact, she tells each
of the Arabian Nights tales in order to survive
a little longer at the mercy of her listener, the Sultan.
The
Arabian Nights stories
are some of the world's great treasures. They have existed
for thousands of years, consisting of tales told in Persia,
Arabia, India and Asia. The Arabian Nights (also
known as The 1001 Arabian Nights) have inspired
writers the world over with the ancient power of story.
There
are versions of these stories in many languages and they
all convey the great sense of adventure, truth, fantastic
imagination, justice, and faith embodied by the great civilizations
that contributed stories and ideas to the collection.
The
Arabian Nights include fairy tales, fables, romances,
farces, legends, and parables. The tales use a sweeping
variety of settings, including Baghdad, Basrah, Cairo and
Damascus, as well as China, Greece, India, North Africa
and Turkey.
These
fanciful, sometimes brutal tales, revel in the art of storytelling.
The underlying suggestion of the Arabian Nights
is that a fantastically precious jewel exists which, when
it comes into contact with people, actually changes them.
The jewel is the maginicently powerful art of story. There
may not be any better examples in the world of how art,
trickery, magic and craft can swirl together and form a
world that every reader and listener wants to enter. Regardless
of the situation presented in any particular Arabian
Nights story, the assumption contained in the story
is that life is always worth living and that human endeavor,
along with human weakness, is a wonderful and fascinating
thing to behold. These stories form
a powerful mental connection between the ancient civilizations
of the East and those of the West. Moreso than any other
piece of writing in history, these stories illustrate that
the minds of the East and of the West consider carefully
the same subject matter.
We
offer here a selection of the Arabian Nights tales.
There are hundreds in existence. These are versions translated
by Andrew Lang in 1898 and Edward Lane in 1909. They are
in the public domain and may be freely copied and shared.
We
will be adding interesting things to our Arabian Nights
pages over the next few months. You will find audio versions
of some stories, illustrations, animations, additional stories
by different translators, and information about the history
of the stories.
PARENTAL
NOTICE:
The Arabian Nights
are not necessarily intended for young children. They contain
violence and mature situations. Please exercise care when
reading them to young children. Try reading the story you
are interested in first, then decide if it is appropriate
material for your young listener.
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