A selection of thirteen tales told by Scheherazade in the Arabian Nights, which enchanted the cruel sultan so much that, he gave up executing his daily wives. Full of mischief and valour, ribaldry and romance, The Arabian Nights is a work that has enthralled readers for centuries. The origins of The Arabian Nights are obscure. About a thousand years ago a vast number of stories in Arabic from various countries began to be brought together; only much later was the collection called The Arabian Nights or the Thousand and One Nights. This selection includes many of the stories that are universally known though seldom read in this authentic form: "Aladdin; or, the Wonderful Lamp," "Sindbad the Sailor" and "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.