The Elusive Writer

• There are many theories about who the writer may have written Arabian Nights, but no one is actually certain.

• It was originally called One Thousand and One Nights, but in English it was shortened to Arabian Nights.

• It was written in Arabic and there have been many different translators

Sir Richard F. Burton

• He translated the version of Arabian Nights I am using.

• He lived from 1821 to 1890• He wrote books and shorter works in journals

and newspapers.

My Favorite Stories• Sinbad the Sailor• Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp• Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

The Tale of ScheherazadeThis is the most important story in the entire collection. It sets up the reason for all of these unrelated stories to be in one book.

King Shah Zaman finds his wife cheating on him with a kitchen servant and he kills them before starting a journey to his brother King Shahryar’s kingdom. Once he is there he witnesses his brother’s wife cheating with the servants as well.

King Shah Zaman leaves his brother with the knowledge of her cheating and then returns home.

King Shahryar orders the execution of his wife and then marries a new woman every night and has his new bride killed the morning after.

This is where Schederazade comes in. She is married to the King in order to save the girls from the town. She keeps herself alive by telling him stories. She never finishes them the same night and she has her sister request stories with the King listening so that he is interested in her stories.

Sinbad the SailorThere are Seven Voyages of Sinbad

The Seven Voyages

• First Voyage: Sinbad and his crew end up sailing to an island, after starting a fire they learn that the island is really a sleeping whale that has been asleep so long that trees began growing on it.

• Second Voyage: Sinbad grew restless and sails away. He gets to an island where there are Roc eggs (the picture in the background is a Roc) and he has to strap a piece of meat to his back to get the Roc to carry him away.

• Third Voyage: Once again Sinbad sails out with his crew and they find an island.

“Presently, the earth trembled under our feet and the black ogre came up to us and turning us over; felt one after other; till he found a man to his liking…”

Of course they escape the ogre and return home.

• Fourth Voyage: Sinbad is shipwrecked on an island and has to survive angry natives.

• Fifth Voyage: Sinbad gets enslaved by the Old Man of the Sea and has to escape.

• Sixth Voyage: Sinbad and the crew get shipwrecked again, his crew dies and he must escape the island on his own.

• Seventh and final Voyage: Sinbad is once again shipwrecked. He finds bird-people on the island he was stranded on and has one of them take him home to his wife. He and his wife settle down in the life of luxury and Sinbad has no more adventures.

Aladdin and the Wonderful LampIt’s not the same tale as Disney portrayed. There are distinct differences.

Aladdin is a poor boy who is tricked into finding a magical lamp by a sorcerer who is disguised as Aladdin’s brother. He finds the lamp and is trapped in a cave. He meets the genie and gets out. His mother is cleaning the lamp one day and a far more powerful genie comes out as well. Aladdin is granted a palace and wealth and gets to marry the Emporor’s daughter Badrounlbadour (not Jasmine). She is tricked, by the sorcerer, into giving up the lamp. However, Aladdin has a ring to summon the lesser genie and eventually everyone lives happily ever after and Aladdin takes the throne.

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Ali Baba is a poor boy who follows some thieves to their hideout. He sneaks in once they leave and takes home a single pouch of coins for his family. Next, his brother Cassim goes to the cave prepared to take everything he can carry; however he forgets how to get out of the cave and is caught and killed. Ali Baba returns to the cave later to find his brother quartered (because just killing the trespasser wasn’t enough for the thieves). The thieves plot to kill the family of Cassim, but their plans are foiled every time.

Each time one of the thieves fails to kill the family, the thief dies until there is only one left.

Later, the leader of the thieves gets Ali Baba’s son to invite him to dinner. At dinner Moriagana, who was responsible for foiling the thieves plans before, recognizes the thief and kills him. Ali Baba rewards Moriagana by promising her to his son.

Ali Baba is the only one who knows where the stash of treasure is.

The Tale of Scheherazade ConcludedThrough her witty storytelling, Scheherazade survives! The King has the tales written down.

The most common themes throughout the collection are:

Adventure

Fate

Destiny

And in Sinbad’s case: getting shipwrecked