登陆注册
15316000000076

第76章 The Death Of Abu Nowas And Of His Wife(2)

She was only just in time, for the sheet was hardly drawn across her when the door opened and the porter came in.'Has anything happened?' asked he.

'My poor wife is dead,' replied Abu Nowas.'Look! she is laid out here.' And the porter approached the bed, which was in a corner of the room, and saw the stiff form lying underneath.

'We must all die,' said he, and went back to the Sultan.

'Well, have you found out which of them is dead?' asked the Sultan.

'Yes, noble Sultan; it is the wife,' replied the porter.

'He only says that to please you,' cried Subida in a rage; and calling to her chamberlain, she ordered him to go at once to the dwelling of Abu Nowas and see which of the two was dead.'And be sure you tell the truth about it,' added she, 'or it will be the worse for you.'

As her chamberlain drew near the house, Abu Nowas caught sight of him.'There is the Sultana's chamberlain,' he exclaimed in a fright.'Now it is my turn to die.Be quick and spread the sheet over me.' And he laid himself on the bed, and held his breath when the chamberlain came in.'What are you weeping for?' asked the man, finding the wife in tears.

'My husband is dead,' answered she, pointing to the bed; and the chamberlain drew back the sheet and beheld Abu Nowas lying stiff and motionless.Then he gently replaced the sheet and returned to the palace.

'Well, have you found out this time?' asked the Sultan.

'My lord, it is the husband who is dead.'

'But I tell you he was with me only a few hours ago,' cried the Sultan angrily.'I must get to the bottom of this before I sleep! Let my golden coach be brought round at once.'

The coach was before the door in another five minutes, and the Sultan and Sultana both got in.Abu Nowas had ceased being a dead man, and was looking into the street when he saw the coach coming.'Quick! quick!' he called to his wife.'The Sultan will be here directly, and we must both be dead to receive him.' So they laid themselves down, and spread the sheet over them, and held their breath.At that instant the Sultan entered, followed by the Sultana and the chamberlain, and he went up to the bed and found the corpses stiff and motionless.'I would give a thousand gold pieces to anyone who would tell me the truth about this,' cried he, and at the words Abu Nowas sat up.'Give them to me, then,' said he, holding out his hand.'You cannot give them to anyone who needs them more.'

'Oh, Abu Nowas, you impudent dog!' exclaimed the Sultan, bursting into a laugh, in which the Sultana joined.'I might have known it was one of your tricks!' But he sent Abu Nowas the gold he had promised, and let us hope that it did not fly so fast as the last had done.

[From Tunische Mahrchen.]

MotiratikaOnce upon a time, in a very hot country, a man lived with his wife in a little hut, which was surrounded by grass and flowers.They were perfectly happy together till, by-and-by, the woman fell ill and refused to take any food.The husband tried to persuade her to eat all sorts of delicious fruits that he had found in the forest, but she would have none of them, and grew so thin he feared she would die.'Is there nothing you would like?' he said at last in despair.

'Yes, I think I could eat some wild honey,' answered she.The husband was overjoyed, for he thought this sounded easy enough to get, and he went off at once in search of it.

He came back with a wooden pan quite full, and gave it to his wife.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 战神联盟之烈火学园

    战神联盟之烈火学园

    学校里的一切还记得吗?最好的玩伴,常常作死惹老师的熊同学,不多嘴会死的大嘴巴,常常和你斗嘴的人,不管优点缺点都是一点回忆……
  • 罪断正邪

    罪断正邪

    当白昼入夜,星空转晴。黑就是黑,白就是白吗?我欲守我心中物,心中人,无关正邪善恶,就算你是这苍天厚土,也休想夺取丝毫!
  • 恋爱法则:帆布青春不迷茫

    恋爱法则:帆布青春不迷茫

    韩木兮,长了一副红颜祸水的脸蛋,却是花痴一个,为追寻男神误入圣樱高中,准备开始一去不复返的爱情追击......咦?男神向我表白啦?等等,我不会五感出问题了吧!
  • 宠物小精灵之神的承诺

    宠物小精灵之神的承诺

    神奇宝贝,一个神奇而又未知的生物。一个人类少年突然被阿尔宙斯呼唤到神奇宝贝的世界,并把这整个神奇宝贝世界的命运,全部交给了人类少年,让人类少年带着未知精灵开始了一段修行之旅。
  • 黄昏之前

    黄昏之前

    一个末日来临前的帝国在做最后的挣扎。也许它富有野心,也许它不明白被遗弃的原因,不过为了实现野心它可以不择手段,直到走向毁灭......一个少年怀揣着渴望知道真相的愁绪加入了特种队,历经重重磨难之后终于知晓了一切,他是一把未知的钥匙,答案就在眼前,他会打开哪扇门,是毁灭?还是希望?
  • 洪荒之生命魔神

    洪荒之生命魔神

    萧云得到一块造化玉蝶碎片,死后返身混沌洪荒,成为生命魔神;然后,聚人道,斗天道,战鸿钧;最终成就大道,超脱天地。小说中有盘古开天,有巫妖大战,异界出游,虫族来袭,宇宙相撞,以及各种神话传说。主角擅长阵法,剑术,火焰,生死等各种绝技。境界有混元境,混沌境,创世境,大道境。
  • 灵异有道

    灵异有道

    天不悯人,魑魅魍魉入凡世英雄才俊,且看吾辈战纵横。宽广无垠,穷目难极是为大。万物根本,主人意志是为灵。为人处世,坚守己见可称道。出生入死百感累,粉身碎骨终不悔。这便是灵异有道,灵亦有道。
  • 洛克王国之小涵

    洛克王国之小涵

    一个人类,她叫小涵,一次在玩洛克王国中,竟然穿越了,遇到种种历险,最后竟有惊人秘密……
  • 相思谋:妃常难娶

    相思谋:妃常难娶

    某日某王府张灯结彩,婚礼进行时,突然不知从哪冒出来一个小孩,对着新郎道:“爹爹,今天您的大婚之喜,娘亲让我来还一样东西。”说完提着手中的玉佩在新郎面前晃悠。此话一出,一府宾客哗然,然当大家看清这小孩与新郎如一个模子刻出来的面容时,顿时石化。此时某屋顶,一个绝色女子不耐烦的声音响起:“儿子,事情办完了我们走,别在那磨矶,耽误时间。”新郎一看屋顶上的女子,当下怒火攻心,扔下新娘就往女子所在的方向扑去,吼道:“女人,你给本王站住。”一场爱与被爱的追逐正式开始、、、、、、、
  • 傲世皇尊

    傲世皇尊

    这是一个强者横行,实力为尊的世界,想要活下去,就得让自己变得更强!武者很牛吗?我一拳就能打爆!皇者很厉害吗?我的火焰足以将你们燃烧殆尽!至高强者很霸气吗?那就来试试我的威力!(新人新书,求收藏,求推荐!)