The Three Apples (Arabic: التفاحات الثلاثة), or The Tale of the Murdered Woman (Arabic: حكاية الصبية المقتولة, romanized: Hikayat as-Sabiyya al-Maqtula), is a story contained in the One Thousand and One Nights collection (also known as the "Arabian Nights"). It is a first-level story, being told by Scheherazade herself, and contains one second-level story, the Tale of Núr al-Dín Alí and his Son. It occurs early in the Arabian Nights narrative, being started during night 19, after the Tale of the Portress. The Tale of Núr al-Dín Alí and his Son starts during night 20, and the cycle ends during night 25, when Scheherazade starts the Tale of the Hunchback.
A fisherman discovers a heavy locked chest along the Tigris river. He sells it to the Abbasid Caliph, Harun al-Rashid, who then has the chest broken open only to find inside it the dead body of a young woman who was cut into pieces. Harun orders his vizier, Ja'far ibn Yahya, to solve the crime and find the murderer within three days or else he will have him executed. Ja'far, however, despairs of his inability to find the culprit and remains in his home for all three days.[1][2] On the fourth day, Harun is about to have Ja'far executed for his failure when two men appear, one a handsome young man and the other an old man, both claiming to be the murderer. They argue and call each other liars as each attempts to claim responsibility for the crime. This continues until the young man proves that he is the murderer by accurately describing the chest in which the woman was found.[3]
The young man reveals that he was her husband and the old man her father, who was attempting to save his son-in-law by taking the blame. Harun then demands to know his motives for murdering his wife, and the young man answers. He eulogizes her as a faultless wife and mother of his three children, and describes how one day, she requested a rare apple while being ill. This prompted him on a two-week-long journey to Basra, where he found three such apples at the Caliph's orchard. On his return to Baghdad, he found out that she was too ill to eat them. When he returned to work at his shop, he discovered a slave passing by with a similar apple. He asked him about it and the slave replied that he received it from his girlfriend, who had three such apples, which her husband found for her after a half-month journey.[3] The young man then suspected his wife of unfaithfulness, rushed home, and demanded to know how many apples she still had. After finding one of them missing, he drew a knife and killed her. He then attempted to get rid of the evidence by cutting her body to pieces, wrapping it in multiple layers of shawls and carpets, hiding her body in a locked chest, and abandoning it in the Tigris river. After he returned home, his son confessed to him that he had stolen one of the apples, and a slave had taken it and run off with it. The boy has told the slave about his father's quest for the three apples. Out of guilt, the young man concludes his story by requesting Harun to execute him for his unjust murder. Harun, however, refuses to punish the young man out of sympathy, and instead sets Ja'far on a new assignment: to find the tricky slave who caused the tragedy within three days, or be executed for his failure.[3][2]
Ja'far yet again remains home for all three days and fails to find the culprit before the deadline has passed. He is summoned to be executed for his failure. As he bids farewell to all his family members, he hugs his beloved youngest daughter last. It is then, by complete accident, that he discovers a round object in her pocket which she reveals to be an apple with the name of the Caliph written on it. In the story's twist ending, the girl reveals that she brought it from their slave, Rayhan. Ja'far thus realizes that his own slave was the culprit all along. He then finds Rayhan and solves the case as a result.[2][3] Ja'far, however, pleads to Harun to forgive his slave and, in exchange, narrates to him the Tale of Núr al-Dín Alí and His Son Badr al-Dín Hasan.[2] The Caliph, amazed by the story, pardons the slave. To console the young man who mistakenly killed the wife he loved, the Caliph offers one of his own slaves for a wife, showers him with gifts and cherishes him until his death.[4]
Analysis
The story has been described as a "quintessential murder mystery" by Ulrich Marzolph [de].[2]Suspense is generated through multiple revelations that occur as the story progresses.[5]
The main difference between Ja'far and later fictional detectives, such as Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, is that Ja'far has no actual desire to solve the case. The whodunit mystery is not solved via detective work; rather via the murderer himself confessing his crime.[6] This in turn leads to another assignment in which Ja'far has to find the culprit who instigated the murder within three days or else be executed. He fails again, but owing to chance, he discovers a key item. In the end, he manages to solve the case through reasoning in order to prevent his own execution.[7]
According to Marzolph, the tale is present in "the oldest surviving manuscript" of the Arabian Nights compilation, and is considered to be part of "the core corpus" of the book.[8]
Galland, Antoine, Contes des mille et une nuits (Intégrale Volumes 1 à 9) (French Edition), Kindle
May 08, 2023
three, apples, arabic, التفاحات, الثلاثة, tale, murdered, woman, arabic, حكاية, الصبية, المقتولة, romanized, hikayat, sabiyya, maqtula, story, contained, thousand, nights, collection, also, known, arabian, nights, first, level, story, being, told, scheherazade. The Three Apples Arabic التفاحات الثلاثة or The Tale of the Murdered Woman Arabic حكاية الصبية المقتولة romanized Hikayat as Sabiyya al Maqtula is a story contained in the One Thousand and One Nights collection also known as the Arabian Nights It is a first level story being told by Scheherazade herself and contains one second level story the Tale of Nur al Din Ali and his Son It occurs early in the Arabian Nights narrative being started during night 19 after the Tale of the Portress The Tale of Nur al Din Ali and his Son starts during night 20 and the cycle ends during night 25 when Scheherazade starts the Tale of the Hunchback Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Analysis 3 Notes 4 SourcesPlot summary EditA fisherman discovers a heavy locked chest along the Tigris river He sells it to the Abbasid Caliph Harun al Rashid who then has the chest broken open only to find inside it the dead body of a young woman who was cut into pieces Harun orders his vizier Ja far ibn Yahya to solve the crime and find the murderer within three days or else he will have him executed Ja far however despairs of his inability to find the culprit and remains in his home for all three days 1 2 On the fourth day Harun is about to have Ja far executed for his failure when two men appear one a handsome young man and the other an old man both claiming to be the murderer They argue and call each other liars as each attempts to claim responsibility for the crime This continues until the young man proves that he is the murderer by accurately describing the chest in which the woman was found 3 The young man reveals that he was her husband and the old man her father who was attempting to save his son in law by taking the blame Harun then demands to know his motives for murdering his wife and the young man answers He eulogizes her as a faultless wife and mother of his three children and describes how one day she requested a rare apple while being ill This prompted him on a two week long journey to Basra where he found three such apples at the Caliph s orchard On his return to Baghdad he found out that she was too ill to eat them When he returned to work at his shop he discovered a slave passing by with a similar apple He asked him about it and the slave replied that he received it from his girlfriend who had three such apples which her husband found for her after a half month journey 3 The young man then suspected his wife of unfaithfulness rushed home and demanded to know how many apples she still had After finding one of them missing he drew a knife and killed her He then attempted to get rid of the evidence by cutting her body to pieces wrapping it in multiple layers of shawls and carpets hiding her body in a locked chest and abandoning it in the Tigris river After he returned home his son confessed to him that he had stolen one of the apples and a slave had taken it and run off with it The boy has told the slave about his father s quest for the three apples Out of guilt the young man concludes his story by requesting Harun to execute him for his unjust murder Harun however refuses to punish the young man out of sympathy and instead sets Ja far on a new assignment to find the tricky slave who caused the tragedy within three days or be executed for his failure 3 2 Ja far yet again remains home for all three days and fails to find the culprit before the deadline has passed He is summoned to be executed for his failure As he bids farewell to all his family members he hugs his beloved youngest daughter last It is then by complete accident that he discovers a round object in her pocket which she reveals to be an apple with the name of the Caliph written on it In the story s twist ending the girl reveals that she brought it from their slave Rayhan Ja far thus realizes that his own slave was the culprit all along He then finds Rayhan and solves the case as a result 2 3 Ja far however pleads to Harun to forgive his slave and in exchange narrates to him the Tale of Nur al Din Ali and His Son Badr al Din Hasan 2 The Caliph amazed by the story pardons the slave To console the young man who mistakenly killed the wife he loved the Caliph offers one of his own slaves for a wife showers him with gifts and cherishes him until his death 4 Analysis EditThe story has been described as a quintessential murder mystery by Ulrich Marzolph de 2 Suspense is generated through multiple revelations that occur as the story progresses 5 The main difference between Ja far and later fictional detectives such as Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot is that Ja far has no actual desire to solve the case The whodunit mystery is not solved via detective work rather via the murderer himself confessing his crime 6 This in turn leads to another assignment in which Ja far has to find the culprit who instigated the murder within three days or else be executed He fails again but owing to chance he discovers a key item In the end he manages to solve the case through reasoning in order to prevent his own execution 7 According to Marzolph the tale is present in the oldest surviving manuscript of the Arabian Nights compilation and is considered to be part of the core corpus of the book 8 Notes Edit Pinault 1992 pp 86 91 a b c d e Marzolph 2006 pp 240 243 a b c d Pinault 1992 pp 92 96 Galland Pinault 1992 pp 93 95 97 Pinault 1992 pp 91 92 Pinault 1992 pp 92 96 Marzolph Ulrich van Leewen Richard The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia Vol I California ABC Clio 2004 p 414 ISBN 1 85109 640 X e book Sources EditPinault David 1992 Story Telling Techniques in the Arabian Nights Brill Publishers pp 86 97 ISBN 90 04 09530 6 Marzolph Ulrich 2006 The Arabian Nights Reader Wayne State University Press pp 239 246 ISBN 0 8143 3259 5 Wikisource The Tale of the Three Apples The Three Apples Burton s translation Galland Antoine Contes des mille et une nuits Integrale Volumes 1 a 9 French Edition Kindle Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Three Apples amp oldid 1143796995, 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