ABSTRACT
But do not suppose, O auspicious King, continued Shahrazad, that this story of the Princess Zulaikah is to be compared with those contained in the Sweet Tales of Careless Youth.
Then, without giving King Shahryar time to express an opinion concerning the conduct of Zulaikah, she said:
IT is related-but Allah knows all!—that there were once in a cer-tain village a man and wife who believed in God and had two children, a boy and a girl. The boy was born with a hard head and a wilful temperament, the girl with a tender soul and delicious little feet. When the man was about to die, he called his wife to him, saying: 'I recommend you with my last breath to look after our son, the light of our eye. Whatever he does, do not scold him; whatever he says, do not contradict him; and, above all, let him have his own way in a life which I trust will be long and prosperous.' His weeping wife promised obedience, and the good man died happy.
