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| Scheherazade and Shahryar by Ferdinand Keller, 1880 (Wikipedia) |
Note: This amazing collection is like a library unto itself; some tales are familiar, but there are lots of hidden gems waiting to be discovered!
Get Ready: Do you like stories with lots of magic--genies and other spirits and so on? Why or why not?
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| The Shahmaran (Wikimedia) |
Note: I am always delighted to find a story well-known in another culture but almost unknown in mine. Shahmaran, buried deep in the 1001 Nights, is just such a story.
Get Ready: Is it okay for a good person to lie if she or he knows it will lead to a good result?
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| The thieves kill Kasim (Wikipedia) |
Note: Once again the kind man prospers and the selfish one dies, in this famous tale from the 1001 Nights.
Get Ready: What would you do if you found a cave full of riches (or won the lottery)?
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| Sinbad escapes down a stream on a raft (Wikipedia) |
Note: We continue with the ever more incredible adventures of the doughty Sinbad.
Get Ready: Why do you think people used to tell stories like theoens about Sinbad? What could their value be to the listeners?
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| The man-eating giant (Wikipedia) |
Note: The adventures of Sinbad were probably drawn from many sources, including Homer's Odyssey. In any case, they're great fun to read!
Get Ready: In the pre-modern age, people could tell fantastic tales of far-off lands and many would believe them. Have we lost something by "conquering" the world? That is, is the world a less exciting place now that it has been thoroughly explored, mapped, and described?
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| Mullah Nasruddin (Wikipedia) |
Note: From Turkey to Western China, he is called by many names: Nasreddin (with many spellings, including Nasr Eddin), Hodja, Khwaje, Djoha, Abunawas, and Afanti. But by whatever name, he is an example of what is found in many religions: the "wise fool," the embodiment of "crazy wisdom."
Get Ready: Is it possible to teach something "wise" by telling a funny story? Why or why not? Can you think of an example?
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| Scheherazade tells Shahryār one of her tales in The 1001 Nights (Wikipedia) |
Note: My favorite story from the 1001 Nights (also called The Book of One Thousand and One Nights) is not "Aladdin" or "Ali Baba," but this one, entitled "The Man Who Never Laughed Again."
Get Ready: If someone forbids you to do something ("Don't open that door!"), do you ever feel compelled to do it? Why or why not?
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| "New lamps for old!" (Wikipedia) |
Note: Most of us have enjoyed watching Disney's Aladdin, whether the animated or live-action version. Some may believe that this was part of the original Book of One Thousand and One Nights (also known as The Arabian Nights). However, like the also-famous "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," it is one of the "orphan tales"; that is, long after the collection's original publication, the story was added by a Frenchman. It has no original Arabic source.
Get Ready: Have you seen the film Aladdin? What can you tell of the story?
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