The stories of the beautiful Scheherazade, known as “Tales of 1000 and One Nights,” have given birth to many independent works of art. But do you know how these tales appeared, why exactly a thousand and one tales, and not twenty or forty.
Fairy tale about fairy tales
Once upon a time there was a king, his name was Shahriyar. Once it happened that his wife was unfaithful to him … And it was with this that a sad story began, more than 1000 and one night long.
Shakhriyar was so angry that he began to take out all his anger on the other women. Every night they brought him a new wife. An innocent young girl. After spending the night with the beauty, the king executed her in the morning. The years passed. And, probably, the Persian kingdom would have remained without girls, but there was a brave maiden who decided to be the next wife of Shahriyar.
Scheherazade, according to legend, was not only beautiful and smart, but also very educated, because she came from the family of one of the viziers of Shahriyar.
The trick that gave birth to love
Scheherazade decided to outwit the bloodthirsty king. At night, instead of amorous pleasures, she began to tell the sovereign a fairy tale, and in the morning the fairy tale ended at the most interesting moment.
Shakhriyar was impatient to learn the continuation of the most curious story, so he did not execute Scheherazade, but left her life to hear the continuation. The next night, Scheherazade appeared even more beautiful, she slowly began to tell the tsar the continuation of the story, but by morning this one was cut short at the most interesting place.
The vizier's family, which at any moment could lose their beautiful daughter, was horrified, but the wise maiden assured that nothing would happen to her for 1000 and one night. Why exactly this amount? 1000 and one coin was worth the life of a slave woman in the slave market in those days, at the same number of nights the wise Scheherazade estimated her life.
Is there a lie in a fairy tale?
Scheherazade told the sovereign a variety of fairy tales, some of which were so believable that Shakhriyar easily recognized the heroes as his own courtiers, himself and the merchants from the medina, where he simply had to go, intrigued by the stories of the beauty.
Scheherazade's stories were so interesting and unusual, so fantastic and fascinating that the king listened to her for a thousand and one nights! Imagine, for almost two years my wife told Shahriyar fairy tales at night.
So how did it all end? Do you think she once told an uninteresting story, and the king executed her? Far from it! For many months of meetings with the beauty, the tsar sincerely fell in love with her, moreover, the instructive stories of Scheherazade made it clear to the sovereign that it is impossible to kill innocent girls just because his wife was unfaithful to him, because the others are not to blame for this.
Scheherazade's tales were stories where there was meaning, where it was said about good and evil, about what is true and what is false. Maybe Shahriyar's anger would have lived in him if it had not been for Scheherazade, who, with her wisdom, beauty and patience, gave the ruler a new love.
