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

in the garden beyond, he found that his grief had passed, and he was
once again able to eat and drink and sleep with the grace of a king.

When, upon the following day, his brother returned from the hunt, King
Shahryar discovered that the younger king seemed much improved in
health and demeanor. So it was that the tall king asked his brother
again for the cause of his malaise, and this time, Shahzaman answered,
repeating how he had returned to his palace to discover his wife in the
arms of a slave and how, as his brother most readily agreed, he had
both of them immediately beheaded.

"Still, though," the younger brother continued, "did I suffer for my
misfortune, both pining for my lost love and much angered by her gross
treachery, until-" But with this word the younger king took on the
countenance of most profound regret and ceased to speak entirely.

But his elder brother was astonished by what his sibling related, and
bade him to continue. So it was that the tall king prompted, "Until?"

But the younger of the two was extremely reticent to continue, since, in
his relief at finally finding himself able to relate his misfortune, he had
neglected to consider that the latter portions of his story might
contribute to the misfortune of another.

"Until?" his elder brother, who no doubt was not fully cognizant of the
other's dilemma, replied a bit more forcefully as he pulled distractedly
upon his beard.

But instead of a more direct reply, the younger king said, "Perhaps it is
better that I end my story here, for to continue would no doubt cause
you great consternation and grief."

Howsoever, his brother, the great King Shahryar, thought otherwise.

"Until?" he demanded as he pulled even more distractedly upon his
brother's beard.

King Shahzaman only shook his head, a difficult feat when your beard
is being wrenched.

But still did the tall king bid the younger to continue, or he might have to
consider a beheading of his own. And further did Shahryar remind him
that Shahzaman was in Shahryar's kingdom, with Shahryar's army, and
Shahryar's headsman, and Shahryar's extensive network of prisons and
torture chambers.

"Then again," Shahzaman replied with a wisdom common only in kings,
"perhaps I am compelled by brotherly duty to speak." So did he tell his
brother what indeed happened after "Until," especially concerning the
night that he had witnessed his brother's wife with the forty slaves.