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"Well, Ali Baba had them forty thieves,
And Scheherazade had a thousand tales,
But master you're in luck, 'coz up your sleeves
You got a brand of magic never fails!"
I've heard that song a million times and today was the first time I decided to find out who Scheherazade was.
And Scheherazade had a thousand tales,
But master you're in luck, 'coz up your sleeves
You got a brand of magic never fails!"
I've heard that song a million times and today was the first time I decided to find out who Scheherazade was.
SHE WAS A BADASS.
STRAIGHT UP.
STRAIGHT UP.
There is a collection of stories from the Middle East called One Thousand and One Nights (or Arabian Nights, which is also the name of the first song in Aladdin!).
The framing device for these stories, the thing that strings them all together, is Scheherazade.
The framing device for these stories, the thing that strings them all together, is Scheherazade.
As the story goes, there is a king, Shahryar, who is betrayed by his wife. He decides that, instead of ever being in danger of being betrayed again, he'll take a new wife every night and behead her in the morning. This goes on for three years.
Now, his vizier's daughter, Scheherazade, is super smart. She's very learned, and in particular has collected stories and fables and books from far and wide.
She *volunteers* to be his wife.
She *volunteers* to be his wife.
So, they get married. That night, she tells him a story. She's a good story teller. The king is enthralled and asks for another. She starts a second story, but, oh dear! She doesn't finish it before the end of the night. Dawn comes, and she's halfway through a thrilling tale.
She's like, welp, you're gonna behead me now, guess you'll never know the end of the story!
So he lets her live.
That night she finishes the story. And starts another one.
Same thing happens.
So he lets her live.
That night she finishes the story. And starts another one.
Same thing happens.
For a thousand and one nights she tells him every story she knows, dangling cliffhangers every dawn, somehow buying herself another day, every day.
On the last night, she finally runs out of stories. In the meantime, of course, she's saved *a thousand woman* from their fate.
Cliffhanger! Does she die?!
No! Over the preceding 1001 nights, Shahryar has fallen in love with her, staggeringly brave and incredibly intelligent badass that she clearly is, and they presumably live happily ever after.
I'M SO GLAD I KNOW THIS STORY NOW.
