The Vengeful King
King Shahryar was sad because he had lost his dear brother Nizam.
The two brothers had married two sisters. For quite some time, life was peaceful for both of them. But the turn of events had something in store for them! The two sisters were evil sorceresses! They were the granddaughters of a magician. Their grandfather had taught black magic to them. Not knowing this truth, King Shahryar and Nizam married them.
Exactly a year after their marriage, one night Nizam died! It rocked Shahryar! He wondered how the healthy Nizam, suddenly died without any symptom. He became suspicious! He consulted some physicians and others who knew everything about black magic.
What he learned was horrifying! The physician said that it was no natural death! As if to confirm their theory, one of the aged magicians said, "Nizam was under a spell. Someone had cast a spell on him. But why anyone wanted to kill him? Nizam had no enemies!
The puzzled Shahryar sat and thought. It then struck him that his wife and Nizam’s wife at times behaved differently! He had seen them getting up at midnight and go to the garden where their grandfather had been buried! Sitting near the tomb, they would chat and then return to the bedroom! That was odd!
So, Shahryar investigated their background. He was shocked to learn that they were the granddaughters of a magician!
“That answers my question about the mysterious death of my brother, Nizam! Nizam’s wife must have cast a spell on him and that resulted in his untimely death!” he concluded.
Suddenly his eyes narrowed! “If Nizam’s’ wife had cast a spell on him and killed him, why not my wife would do the same thing? She may kill me too!” Shahryar thought.
No sooner than thought came to his mind, he made up his mind to butcher the two sisters!
The next day in the court, he ordered his guards to bring his wife and Nizam’s widowed wife. When they were ushered in, he snapped at them, “You two are the granddaughters of the magician?”
The two glanced at each other. But they did not speak. Then he was sure that it was Nizam’s wife who had killed his brother.
“Take them away. Behead them. I want to see these two evil sorceresses die!” he thundered.
Early next morning, the two were hanged! King Shahryar witnessed the execution. Since then, he began hating all women “All women are like that only. I will see to it that there is no woman left on the earth!” Thus he was nursing a grudge.
And that was the beginning of his journey of a killing spree. Every week, he married a woman and put her to death! This continued for several months. Since he was the ruler no one dared to question him.
Fearing his gruesome act, some of the parents who had daughters shifted elsewhere! Now the kingdom was lack of women! So, King Shahryar started looking for a match in other countries.
Finally, the daughter of a Wazar from the next kingdom agreed to marry him. When the Wazir told her about Shahryar, she said, “I can tackle him, father. I will remove his mental block. Let me do this service at least for the sake of other women!”
So, she married Shahryar. But, when the time came for Shahryar to put her to death, she said, “I will tell you a story. Listen to it. It will be interesting!” she went on to tell a story. She continued to tell him throughout the night. She did not finish it even the next morning.
“Let me continue the story tonight,” she said. The story, indeed, interested Shahryar. He wanted to hear the whole story. So he decided to postpone her death.
This went on for months. Meanwhile, her tender heart and the way she looked after him and cared for him slowly changed Shahryar’s mind. He began liking her. Meanwhile, she continued the story at night and did not complete it until the next morning! Thus, the clever woman managed.
Shahryar was engrossed in her story. He then found that he could not live without her! One day, he openly tendered an apology “I was under the impression that all women are alike. But now I have changed it. I thank God for having sent you to me!” he meant what he said.
They lived happily ever after!