James Baquet

My favorite story from the “Arabian Nights” is not “Aladdin” or “Ali Baba,” but this one, entitled “The Man Who Never Laughed Again.”

An irresponsible young man inherited and soon squandered all of his father’s wealth. While he was begging on the street, a passerby offered him a position taking care of himself and 10 other old men living in a house. He would be paid well, housed and fed, but on one condition: He was never to ask why the old men wept continuously.

The young man gladly accepted, and soon found himself living in a sumptuous house with fine furnishings and interior gardens. As time passed, the old men died one by one, and were buried in the garden, until only the one who had hired the young man remained. These two lived alone for years, until the old man fell ill. The young man then asked him: “May I now ask the cause of your unceasing mourning all this time?”

“No,” the old man replied. “However, if you wish to avoid our fate, do not open yonder door,” pointing to the entry to another part of the house. “But if you open it, you will learn what we have suffered — and suffer the same!”

At last, the old man died. The young man avoided the door until one day curiosity overtook him. When at last he went through, he discovered he was on the seashore of a paradise! From there a great eagle carried him away and left him on an island in the midst of the sea. A ship soon arrived carrying 10 beautiful women, who immediately hailed him as king!

They took him aboard and sailed to another land, where he mounted a fine horse and set out in a procession to a palace. There he was met by a king in armor. But no! The king was a beautiful queen, and became his wife. He was given all her lands and riches, and put in charge of her army. Only one thing he must not do: open a certain door in the palace.

But of course he did, after seven years. Behind the door was the eagle which had brought him there, and it carried him back to the seashore whence he had come. Two months he stayed, until at last he returned to the house of the weeping old men. And there he remained, weary and heartbroken, weeping until the day he, too, was buried in the garden next to the old men.

Vocabulary:

Which word above means:

1. wasted, spent badly

2. from where

3. caught up with, overwhelmed

4. received after someone died

5. elegant

6. over there

7. praised

8. one who walks past

9. with the name of

10. without stopping