"Craig Shaw Gardner - Arabian 3 - The Last Arabian Night" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gardner Craig Shaw)

Not, of course, that my humble excuses for storytelling are in any way
exceptional. But I digress.

You have heard from the others now, concerning the glories of
Baghdad and the wonders of other lands. And both of these men,
clever Sinbad, who was once a porter, and bold Ali Baba, who once
cut wood to survive, have proven themselves to be noble adventurers
and grand storytellers. It would be almost impossible for an unassuming
tale spinner like myself to best their stories of magic and terror, and I
must admit that I have, by and large, led a somewhat less venturesome
life than these men, as is suited to my sex and station.

But this is not to say that my story is without drama, for, in a certain
way that you shall see, my very life depended upon my every word,
for, were my words to fail me, my head would quickly be separated
from my shoulders.

Ah, I can see our captor takes an interest now. Yes, even a great djinni
such as Ozzie might appreciate the effects of the spilled blood of
maidens. But I will talk of more than blood, and more than maidens.

For, while you shall see that my life has always hung near the blade of a
headsman's axe, I have also discovered certain more subtle dramas as
well, but no less strange for their relative calm.

My existence has been a life hidden, by and large, from the world of
men, within your world and yet totally separate from it.

So it is that I have discovered that there are stories within stories,
thoughts within thoughts, and lives within lives. And it is now my task to
unravel all these stories, thoughts, and lives for you and, I hope, reveal
those truths that hide within truths.

So I pray you to grant me the proper time and attention, so that I might
tell you the most unusual story of Scheherazade.
 Chapter the First,
in which certain unfortunate errors
are quickly cut away.

Know now, that while I tell my own story, it is the story of many others
as well. First and foremost is it the tale of two mighty kings, one named
Shahryar, who ruled over the great city of Baghdad, and his younger
brother, the great King Shahzaman, who ruled the neighboring kingdom
of Samarkand. And both these rulers reigned over their kingdoms for a
full score of years, bringing peace and prosperity to all their subjects,
and thus both were known throughout each of their kingdoms, and
indeed throughout the entire civilized world, as being among the fairest
and most beneficent of rulers.

But a man is more than a throne and a talent for judgment. So it was