New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-03-23
ARABIAN ia LES.
SOME LINKS BETWEEN ORIENT AND OC-
CIDENT

FAIRY TALES FROM THE ARABIAN NIGHTS
Edited ana Arranged by f.. Dixon Gr'qn 900, to,-
loge Cambridge. illustrated by D. H. ba''e"'
Pr 267 q. Z. Putnams Sons.
This volume is apparently only the beginning OF Il
series Of selections from the Arabian tales. IL II
beautifully printed and the pictures are aS CIV"
as one could wish The style Of the Ensiish version
from Galaud. with ITS Renaissance OF the pe"'sSe"
dignity of the eighteenth century. Is sun attractive
Hut observation of a bright youngstor or TWO pas"
slvelv listening TO a bit OF this Oriental fctoh' mas
shown TO the writer OF this article that those par
lcular little folks willingly endured cohslue'do'o
infusion OF comparative folklore one heeu no'
hesitate in relating the Arabian version Vi .'e
Polyphemus story TO suggest VARIATIONS from ''o
odyssey" from the curious narrative of the mas
ter thief in "Dolopa thos. from the more ancient
Asatic forms of the tale. The character OF 'he
wicked Queen Labe suggests an almost un''i"i'eu
number of parallels. Tor this royal sorceresS - '
very embodiment of that bugbear OF the orient
a woman with a viii too powerful TO be mas'er'u'
She Is the legendary Semrams and the DUBIOUS
Hebrew Queen Alfalfa. the Egyptian Hatasu anu
the Italian slave girl who became a Parthian en-
press under the name OF Musa, all In one Inc
crimes Of historic personages are repiaced III "o'
case by magical wonders. But she retains the one
characteristic attributed to female rulers III .he
East She is the bane OF mankind. In recitins
,ba strange tale OF Ciulnare one may wei add n
,ouch here and there from the whole range OF that
mysterious lore which populates the sea WIN sons
and goddesses. with mcrmads ana rcriheh. IL u
easy to show by such additions how composite 'he
Arabian tale IS II reflects often on the same P'Se
the traditions or the literature OF widely separated
races The familiar episode OF the three royal
brothers who fell in love with their cousin, the
Princess Nourounhar and were all sent OH 10 N''u
a magical gift for the King. their father' hius-
trates the way in which stories are gathered INTO
eroup and suggests also the manner IN Wilich 'd'eS
yare transmitted Where merchants met for trade
NJ he EaS
teller was a favored person. His hearers carried
his wares away as well more tangible goods.
The adventures Of the brothers. barring the magic
are such as might happen any day IN an Asdtc
commercial city. The magical portions OF the taie
are wholly Oriental But when one comes 70 the
supplement about Prince Ahmed ana the fairy
rar,hanou one s struck by the aspect OF It,.
so completely foreign to the East II is Just the
legend of Thomas the Rhymer ana the queen Oh inc
| Fairies over again. The realm of Par1banou mes
| within the living rock. She Is sister TO a dwarf
| who Is as thoroughly Western as that wee, wee
| man in the ballad. OF whom ii was said That
HIS leg was scarse shaftmont long.
Retween his eyes there was a span,
Betw1xt his. shoulders were els three'
IF Prince Ahmed found a magnificent palace I'M
| derground, SO did the wee. wee mans guest VINO
observed that the very rafters were OF goa. Tnere
is a fairy queen. in the ballad but Whether she
| Is wife or sister let him discover who can. IL may
! be added that the English ballad in one form Is
| of record from the fourteenth century. while the
Arabian tale must be later. In its present setting.
| nv going outside of the volume in hand the exact
method of collecting tales can be discovered; Tor,
| when a certain prince wanted 10 hear the best
| story that had ever been told, his faithful mes
sengcr frequente the cities where strangers came
| n trade All the voyages OF Snbad included
in this volume and each O! them provokes inVes-
| tigatlon For example. Sinb1d was By no means the
first to tell Of a whale that looked Ike an island.
Gibbon gives us a hint of this fiction out OF a Greek
writer of the ninth century. As the word fairy
Is misleading when applied to Arabian tales, or to
! the mysterious creatures Of Arabian fancy, an ex-
| p.anation would make such story as that OF
prince CaInalalzaman and the Princess of China
! much clearer Western Europe has always had a
| monopoly Of fairies while the genil Oinn) hold
| sway with the Moscms. 1t Is curious that the
Latin words "fata" and genius should have been
so suggestive to different races as TO furnish The
basis for bewildcrns mytho!oSies. 1t would surely
not be difficult TO put little unexpected lore into
the wel.-wO7n Arabian tales. and this would furnish
a reason for a edition added TO So many al
ready in existence