12. Night 21

大臣终于找到害死那箱内女子的凶手。但是，他却发现是自己亲近的人。

那么，他能救对方一命吗？

另外，Scherazade找母亲，居然是要取避孕药？！

Scheherazade sipped a special tincture. It smelled like fennel. Her mother had given it to her that afternoon. Women who sipped it didn't bear children. This thought bored a hole in Scheherazade's heart. But what else could she do? If she should be killed while a child grew within her, the child would die, too.

tincture，药剂

That thought bored a hole through her whole self. "Awaken, Scheherazade," called Dinarzad. "Amaze us with a story."

Scheherazade dabbed at the corners of her mouth.

The vizier Ja'far made his household members weep for his coming doom. As he hugged his daughter, he felt a bulge in her pouch. It was an apple that their servant, Rayhan, had made her pay two dinars for. Ja'far called for Rayhan. "Where did you get this apple?" "From a child whose father had brought them from Basra for his sick mother."

doom，厄运

Ja'far couldn't believe his luck in finding the culprit. But it was bitter that the culprit was someone he cared for. Still, he took Rayhan to the caliph and explained all.

culprit，罪犯

"What a marvelous coincidence. Your servant caused the death of the woman in the chest." The caliph laughed.

coincidence，巧合

His laughter gave Ja'far an idea. "Let me tell you the tale of the vizier's two sons. If you find it more marvelous, please pardon my servant."

LONG AGO THE KING OF CAIRO'S VIZIER HAD TWO SONS, SHAMS AL-DIN Muhammad and Nur al-Din Ali. When the vizier died, the king appointed his sons as vizier together. Shams al-Din Muhammad was vizier one week; Nur al-Din Ali, the next.

One day, Shams al-Din Muhammad had to leave on a journey. The night before he left he suggested to his brother that they find sisters to marry in a joint wedding. "If our wives conceive on our wedding night, and yours bears a son and mine bears a daughter, let these cousins be married."

conceive，受孕

"What dowry will you require?" asked Nur al-Din Ali.

"Three thousand dinars, three orchards, three farms."

"You should offer your daughter for nothing!" said Nur al-Din Ali. "Besides, a son is worth more than a daughter."

"A curse upon you!" shouted Shams al-Din Muhammad. "Your frog faced runt of a son is not worth the clipped-off ends of my daughter's nails after grooming. Not even her toenail clippings!"

clipped-off ends，指甲碎

In the morning, Nur al-Din Ali filled his saddlebags with gold coins, slung it over his she-mule, added a seat of silk carpet, and crossed the desert. After weeks, he arrived in the port city of Basra.

He happened upon the King of Basra's vizier. The vizier took to him and offered his daughter in marriage. "My brother is a vizier in Egypt," the vizier announced to his friends. "We promised one another our children would marry. This is my brother's son, who has come to marry my daughter."

Basra的宰相的遭遇，居然跟Nur al-Din Ali一样，也是许了自己的女儿给兄弟的儿子。只是，他认错人了。

Nur al-Din Ali gaped. He had not told the old vizier that he was from Egypt nor that he was a son of a vizier. This lie felt remarkably apt to him. 

That night the old vizier held a banquet of roasted geese and ox served in silver vessels. The witnesses signed the marriage contract. Spirals of incense rose as the guests left.

incense，香薰

Now the old vizier asked Nur al-Din Ali to tell him honestly why he had come to Basra. So the man told his story. The vizier laughed that the brothers had fought over children who didn't exist yet.

Meanwhile, back in Cairo, Shams al-Din Muhammad was having his own adventures.

Morning light dappled the net over the bed. Scheherazade hushed. Shah Rayar gazed around the room. "I enjoy early hours. When I was small, I went exploring at dawn, whilst the birds were still in their nests. Do you enjoy the dawn?"

dapple，使有斑点

"The hand in water isn't like the hand in fire," said Scheherazade.

The hand in water isn't like the hand in fire，指两人情况处境截然不同

"What does that mean?"

"I enjoy the dawn only once you've said there will be another."

Shah Rayar blinked. Were her words a reproach?

reproach，责备

But her face was placid, her tone gentle. "I look forward to the coming night's tale," he said.

To be continued...

这两个因玩笑话而分开的兄弟，会有什么际遇呢？他们会有各自的孩子吗？