Devils Lake inter-ocean and Devils Lake free press. (Devils Lake, Ramsey County, N.D.) 1905-1909, 1907-07-05
WORD TO Chill DREN
An Interesting Review of Children'S
Stories

41lllS wy anu gu 10 VI NV iAN'
Lake have read the wonderful
stories of the "Arabian Nights
These stories are about 400
years old. Think Of it Older
by 200 years than "Pilgrim's
Progress and more than 300
years older than Anderson's
Fairy Tales. How many mil
lions of little boys and girls must
have read them since they were
first translated into English!
I suppose you all know how
these stories happened to be
written. Once upon time there
was a sultan in Persia named
Schahriar. He was a very wise
ruler and much beloved by his
people. Only those who lived in
the same house with him knew
what a bad temper he had and
how angry he could get over
even little things. One day his
wife, who was very beautiful
woman, as all heroineS in OLD
stories were, did something that
the sultan did not like. He was
feeling cross that day anyway.
| suppose the grand Vizier had
been tardy for council--meeting
that morning. and perhaps the
cook had Scorchcd the almonds
which the sultaness ordered for
breakfast. Well, the sultan, be-
ing in a bad temper anyway, lost
control of himself entirely, when
he saw what the SultantSS had
done and ordered the grand Vi
zeir to cut off her head. And then
the Sultan became 50 ashamed
of himself that he got angrier
still, first at himself and then at
the whole world, especially at
all beautiful young women who
reminded him of the murdered
Sultaness. And so he determined
to take revenge, though he really
had no business taking revenge
for the world had done him nc
wrong.
You remember the story OF
Blue Beard, don't you? Well
Schariar followed a plan some
what like Bluebeard's. In those
days the Sultan had complete
power over his subjects. Schah
riar would summon some beauti
3uI cir; to the palace and demand
OF her father the right to mar
~ her. The marriage would be
celebrated with great pomp anC
ceremony and the new Sultan
ess would sit on the throne fol
perhaps one day. Then he woulc
order her head cut off. The mex
day he would marry another
beautiful girl and the day fol
lowing the grand vizier Woul(
receive orders to cut her hea(
off. SO it went on for week.
and the people began to thinl
their Sultan had gone crazy an<
indeed he had gone crazy Will
SeliShneSS and anger. You Cal
imagine how fearful all the faith
els and mothers were that thei:
dauE liter would be the next vic
tim.
Now the Grand Vizier had
very beautiful daughter namet
ScheleraZade. She was a
good As she was beautiful AM
she determined to do all sh
could to induce the Sultan t
end his wicked custom. So sh
told her father that she vishe,
to marry the Sultan. You Sc
she was willing 10 put her ow
life in danger for the sake of a
the other girls in the Persia
empire. Her father was dumb
founded and did all in hi
power to make her change he
mind. But she would not Civ
T. in. She told her father that sh
was sure the Sultan would no
Z Kill her.
So finally Schariar and Sche
4. herazade were married and tina
1:z night the new Sultaness san
4 and played for her husband an
Nj entertained him so charmingl
that The forgot his bad hume
and became quite jovial. BU
the Sultaness grew somewha
Sz5 sad when she remembered tina
$=* on the morrow she would prof.
ably be beheaded so she aske
Sehahriar if her sister Dina1
zade might spend the rest of tn
vening with her. She looked s
sweet and lovable when sh
made the request that the Su!
tan could not refuse. Dinarzad
was admitted and in a fey