The Annotated Arabian Nights: Tales from 1001 Nights

by Paulo Lemos Horta

Every story in the global canon of fantastical literature is in some way a vessel shipwrecked on the rocks of its misinterpretation.

I went to seek my daily bread And found it dead And neither craft nor luck Will bring it back

A tenth-century source indicates that it was common for retired thieves to join the police force, since they were likely to know who committed the crimes and where they could be found.

Dalila was a master of ruses and rackets. She could lure a snake from its lair and the devil himself might have learned his tricks from her.