Excerpt from The Puppet Show

There flourished once in Aleppo a literary society consisting of seven old gentlemen whose custom it was to meet fortnightly to read and interpret the writings of the learned. And at one of such meetings the President stood up and read out the following story, called The Garden of Noureddin Ali.

'There lived once in the town of Moussoul a young gentleman called Noureddin Ali, the happy possessor of great beauty, great accomplishments and great wealth. And when he was come of age his tutors said to him, "Sir, you have now arrived at man's estate and you have learnt from us all there is to be learnt. Go forth, therefore, choose carefully a wife not less beautiful than yourself, and live happily ever afterwards."

'Hearing this, Noureddin Ali went forth and chose for himself a maiden called Fatima, lovely as the harvest moon, and he bought himself a house set in a little rose-garden in which to live happily ever afterwards. But when he had lived there three or four years he became discontented, for, as he said, the place was not worthy of the extreme beauty of his Fatima. Wherefore they packed up, and himself and Fatima, followed by twenty camels, twenty dromedaries and all their retinue, went forth to find a more suitable home. And, having wandered up and down the land for three months, they came to a garden of such beauty that, after careful and detailed consideration, Noureddin exclaimed, "It is not unworthy of my Fatima." And, having so exclaimed, he purchased it out of hand.

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