The Arabian Night's Entertainments (Volume 2); Consisting of One Thousand and One Stories (Paperback)

Book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1844. Excerpt: ... ARABIAN NIGHTS' ENTERTAINMENTS. THE STORY OF THE LITTLE HUNCHBACK. There was in former times at Casgar, upon the utmost skirts of Tartary, a tailor that had a prettywife, whom he sincerely loved, and was reciprocally loved by her. One day as he sat at work, a little hunchback my lord came and sat down at the shopdoor, and fell a-singing, and at the same time played upon the tabor. The tailor took pleasure to hear him, and had a great mind to take him into his house to make his wife merry: This little fellow, says he to his wife, will divert us both very agreeably. In fine, he invited my lord in, and he readily accepted the invitation; so the tailor shut up his shop, and carried him home. The little gentleman being carried in, the tailor's wife covered the table; they sat down to supper, and had a good large dish of fish set before them; but as they ate heartily, unluckily the crooked gentleman swallowed a large bone, of which he died in a few minutes, notwithstanding all that the tailor and his wife could do to prevent it. Both the one and the other were mightily frightened at the accident, especially since it happened in their house, and there was ground to vOL. II. A fear that, if the justiciary magistrates came to hear it, they would be punished as assassins. However, the husband found an expedient to get rid of the corpse: he considered there was a Jewish doctor that lived just by, and so formed a project, in the execution of which his wife and he took the corpse, the one by the feet, and the other by the head, and carried it to the physician's house. They knocked at the door, from which ascended a steep pair of stairs to his chamber. As soon as they had knocked, the servant-maid came down without any light, and, opening the door, asked what they wanted. Prithee go up again, say...