The Arabian Nights: Thousand Nights and a Night - Vol. VII

The Arabian Nights: Thousand Nights and a Night is a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories and folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. The stories are primarily told by Scheherazade a legendary queen and storyteller who saves her own life by telling her husband King Shahryar a new tale every night for one thousand and one nights. Volume VII of Richard F. Burtons translation of The Arabian Nights contains several popular tales including Nur al-Din Ali and Anis al-Jalis The Ebony Horse and The Three Calendars. In Nur al-Din Ali and Anis al-Jalis a young man named Nur al-Din Ali falls in love with a beautiful slave girl named Anis al-Jalis. After her owner forbids their relationship the two lovers flee together and embark on a series of adventures across the world. The Ebony Horse tells the story of a young prince who discovers a magical horse made of ebony and ivory. The horse can fly and takes the prince on a journey to a distant kingdom where he meets a beautiful princess. The prince must solve a riddle to win the princesss hand in marriage and ultimately defeat an evil sorcerer who seeks to destroy their love.