The Three Princes – Summary Of Tale From The Arabian Nights
THE THREE PRINCES – In this topic, we are going to read the summary of The Three Princes, a folk tale from the Arabian Nights.
As mentioned above, it is a Middle Eastern folk tale from the collection One Thousand and One Nights or known as Arabian Nights.
This summary is from the website GradeSaver. Here is the full summary:
The Indian Great Sultan has three prince sons: Hussein, Ali, and Ahmed. He also had a niece named princess Nouronnihar.
The sultan planned to wed Nouronnihar to a foreign noble, however, his sons all want to marry her. Knowing that Ahmed and Ali would not cede her to Hussein, the sultan advised Nouronnihar to choose her own husband, which they refused to comply. Hence, the sultan arranged a competition: each prince will travel to a faraway land to collect the greatest rarity he can find. Whoever brings back the most valuable item will be granted the princess’s hand. Eager, the princes set off immediately.
Hussein, the eldest, went to the Bisnagar kingdom where he bought a plain-looking carpet that could transport its user to wherever he pleases.
Ali, the middle child, heads to the Persian kingdom where he bought a strange ivory that, in which the merchant claims, can allow anyone to see anything in the world by peering into the tube.
Ahmed, the youngest, traveled to the Samarcand kingdom and bought a rare apple that could cure anything with one smell.
When the brothers reunite, they compared the gifts. Ali peers through the ivory and saw Nouronnihar in her deathbed in their kingdom far away. Hussein transports them to their home, and Ahmed uses the apple to cure her immediately.
Everyone at first Ahmed should marry the princess due to the apple. The sultan however, said that each item was instrumental to her survival, so he devises an archery contest to decide the question, which Ali won, thus, earning him the princess’ hand.
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