The Arabian Nights Entertainments - v. 1 Author:Unknown Author Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: nothing more surprising than the story of this fisherman, replied the sultaness ; and you will be convinced of it neKt night, if the sultan will be so gracious a... more »s to let me live. Schahriar, being curious to hear the success of such an extraordinary fishing, would not order Scheherazade to be put to death that day. THE NINTH NIGHT. My dear sister, cries Dinarzade next morning at the usual hour, if you be not asleep, I pray you go on with the story of the fisherman; I am ready to die till I hear it.—I am willing to give you that satisfaction, says the sultaness; but, at the same time, she demanded leave of the sultan, and having obtained it, began the story again as follows :— Sir, when the fisherman, vexed to have made such a sorry draught, had mended his nets, which the carcass of the ass had broken in several places, he threw them in a second time; and when he drew them, found a great deal of resistance, which made him think he had taken abundance of fish; but he found nothing except a basket full of gravel and slime, which grieved him extremely. " 0 Fortune! " cries he, with a lamentable tone, " be not angry with me, nor persecute a wretch who prays thee to spare him. I came hither from my house to seek for my livelihood, and thou pronouncest death against me. I have no other trade but this to subsist by; and, notwithstanding all the care I take, I can scarcely provide what is absolutely necessary for my family. But I am to blame to complain of thee ; thou takest pleasure to persecute honest people, and to leave great men in obscurity, while thou shewest favour to the wicked, and advancest those who have no virtue to recommend them." Having, finished this complaint, he threw away the basket in a fret, and washing his nets from the slime, cast them the third time; and...« less