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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (July 25, 1915)
8 THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, JULY 23, 1915. SYNOPSIS. Aoou Hassan find himself, at his father's death, with a large fortune. Abou decides to spend some of his money recklessly, so he divides it, investing half in real estate, for his support, and spending the rest in gorgeous entertainments. When his money is gone his friends re fuse to know him. Furious at their ingratitude, Abou Hassan decides to make no more, but to find companion ship from strangers, whom he entertains on condition that they will never see him again. To one such guest he tells his story, saying he would like to be king for a day, so as to punish his faithless friends. Soon after ward this guest drops a powder into Abou Hassan's wine, and when he is insensible orders his slave to carry A bou Hassan away on his back. The stranger proves to be the king of Bagdad in disguise. He has Abou car ried to his palace, put into the royal bed, and tells his courtiers to pretend Abou is king when he awakes. They do their part so well that Abou, to the delight of the watching king, is fooled after a bit and plays his part with great dignity, ordering the punishment of his false friends. At the end of the day he is given another sleeping powder and taken home. On awakening, he believes he is still king, and his mother, thinking he is -insane, puts him into an insane asylum. After a time he 'comes to believe that what he has passed through has been a dream and is allowed to return home. Soon he meets the stranger whom he entertained the night before his strange adventure, and who persuades him to ask him once more to his home. The stranger again gives Abou a sleeping powder and has him taken to the palace, placing him in the same room where he was Jiefore, amid the same people. FROO ARfl0(flO Cil&HTC i (Continued from last Sunday.) Tl -BOU HASSAN'S eyes almost popped jL out of his head when he opened them .- 'A and saw'where he was. He sat up in great bewilderment and stared - at the slaves, and . richly dressed officers whom he saw about. -- "This is exactly the place I was in when I stopped dreaming," thought Abou Hassan, as he recognized the people and the furnishings of the room. "God have mercy upon me!" he exclaimed. " I must be possessed of evil spirits!" The lords and ladies tried to convince him that he had been the victim of a bad dream. " Bad dream ? Not at all," cried Abou Has san. " You can't fool me twice. I can still feel the marks on my back where I was beaten lately for thinking that I was the king. I think I have been, and am now, the victim of a joke." . . " Right. Abou Hassan," cried a laughing voice. " You have been the victim of a joke," and the king walked out of his hiding place. Immediately all the lords and ladies bowed very low, and turning his head in the direc tion from which the voice came Abou Hassan saw his friend, the merchant. " O, I see," cried Abou, making a deep bow. For he saw that the merchant and the king were one and the same person. " I am sorrv, my friend," said the king, " if I have caused you trouble. I meant no harm towards you." The king then told Abou Hassan all that had happened. " I love to go disguised among my subjects," said the king, " and it was in this way I came to your house. When you wished to be king for a day in order to punish your ungrateful friends, I thought it would be fun to give you your wish, so I dropped a sleeping powder in your wine, and when you were sound asleep I brought ' you here. I never thought that I would cause you so much trou ble, and I am prepared to make amends. Ask anything you like of me and I will grant it." " Your majesty," replied Abou Hassan, " I have always enjoyed a good joke, whether it was played on myself pr some one else, and I fully forgive you any trouble that has come from this bit of fun.. As you asked me to make a request of you, I would ask to be al lowed to enjoy the pleasure of admirine. all my life, your great virtues." The . king was so pleased by this gallant speech that he ordered Abou Hassan should be admitted at all times to the royal palace. On account of his pleasant manners and his ready wit Abou Hassan became a great favor ite of the king and spent much of his time in that royal person's society. The queen be came very fond of Abou Hassan, and, in fact, he grew to be quite popular among the most of the fair ladies of the court. The chief maid in. waiting fell in love with him, and as she was sweet and pretty Abou Hassan soon made her his wife. The happy couple settled down in a fine house and soon began to entertain in a most lavish way. They spent their money so recklessly that in less than a year they found themselves penniless. "My dear," said Abou Hassan to his wife, " we must make some money and I have formed a little plan by which I think we can get some, providing you will help me. But in order to carry out this plan you' must die." the sad story, and when Abou Hassan's wife left the royal lady she carried : hundred pieces of gold and a piece of rich brocade to rover her husband's coffin. " Now it's your turn to play dead," cried Abou Hassan, when his wife returned with the queen's present. Abou Hassan put a" handkerchief into his pocket, and set out for the palace, where he soon was admitted into the presence of his royal friend. With tears running down his face, which he caused by sqeering an onion in his handkerchief and held before his eves. 'He was grieving in a most pitiful wag, " Indeed, I shall not die," quickly answered his wife. " O, I don't mean really die," said Abou Has san, ." but just pretend to die." As his wife agreed to enter into his plan, he continued: " As the king has played a joke on me it is now my turn to play one on him, and as he really enjoys a joke I do not think he will be angry with me. This is my plan. You must go to the queen and pretend that I am dead. She will feel sorry for you and give you money to pay for my funeral expenses. When you return you can then be the dead one and I will go to the king and pretend you are dead and get more money. Abou Hassan's wife thought the scheme i good one and at once set out for the palace. . where she appeared before the queen in great' grief. The queen's eyes filled with tears at Abou told the king that his dear wife was dead. The t king was deeply grieved at his friend's sad plight and he ordered that Abou Hassan should be given a purse ot gold. Abou thanked the king for his kindness and hurried back to his house, much pleased with the suc cess of his scheme. Soon after Abou. had left the palace the king visited the queen and told her of the sad death of his friend's wife. " Your majesty," cried the queen, " you are mistaken. It is Abou Hassan who is dead. His wife came weeping to me onlv a short time ago and told me of her husband's death." "My dear lady,", replied the king, "Abou Hassan is not dead, but lie is very sad. He came crying to me not over half an hour ago and told Jne that his eood wife had passed awav. "This is very strange," said the queen. " One or the other is surely mistaken. Sen4 the grand vizier to Abou Hassan's house and we shall soon see which of us is right." Abou Hassan happened to be looking out of the window when the grand vizier approached the house, and. knowing that the king had sent him to find out who really was dead, he told his wife to lie down and pretend that she was the one. The grand vizier peered into the house through a small window and saw Abou Hassan sitting by the lody of his wife. He was grictng in a most pitiful way. Hur rying back to the palace the grand vizier re ported that Abou Hassan's wife was the ore who had died. " There, didn't I tell you so!" cried the king. " There is something very strange about this a.Tair." said the queen. " and if you will ac company me we will go to Abou Hassan's house and see what the mystery is." Abou Hassan's wife saw the king and queen approaching and quickly ran to her husband with the news. "Well, there's nothing for us to do but to die." laughed Abou Hassan. So. pretending they were both dead, the couple lay down on a couch, and. pulling a cloth over their bodies, they waited for the king and queen. " Why. they are both dead." cried the queen when the royal couple stood above the bodies. "Grief at the loss of his dear wife has killed poor Alou Hassan." sadly remarked the king. " How could that be so when she told me of her husband's death? " asked the queen. "There is something very peculiar about this affair," said the king. " You say that Abou died first and I maintain that his wife died first. This certainly is a mystery and I'd give a thousand pieces of irold to find out who really did die first." " I did," cried Abou Hassan, throwing off the cloth and sitting up. The queen screamed and caught the arm of the startled king at this sudden coming to life of Alou Hassan, and his wife, who rose too. but a moment later every one joined in the hearty laugh at the joke which had . been played on the royal couple. " The joke is so good." laughed the king, "and I am so glad you are not dead that I will gladly give you the thousand pieces of gold, and also the same amount to your wife." Abou Hassan and his wife lived many years and were always welcome at the king's palace on account of their happy natures and smiling faces. ( A not her Arabian ightt story will appear nerf Sunday. ) UUCICe, GT5 5T(JCtt (CI A PL Are of TArry y HERE'S the Dunce?" asked the General, as he carved a slice from a big red raspberry, and dropped it onto the Cowboy s waiting plate. " I haven't seen him for a couple of hours." answered the Policeman. "Last me see him," grunted the Indian, "him go down garden path to big house." " Well, I think something must have happened to him, for he is always the first to the dinner table," said the General, anxiously. "I think so, too," put in the Lady of Fashion, "for he knew we had a red raspberry for din ner, and that would bring him, if nothing else, did." "Just as soon as we have finished dinner I think some of us had better go out and look for him," said the General. So, as soon as the meal was over, the Teenie Weenies started out to search for the Dunce. The Indian pointed out the house, near which he had last seen the Dunce, and crawling under the door the Teenie Weenies began to look all about the place. " Listen," cried the Cook, as he stepped over a safety pin, " I thought I heard him call." " Help h-e-l-p 1" came a voice faintly from the next room. " That's him-r-that's the Dunce's voice," cried the Sailor, and running through the door way, they saw the tip of the Dunce's cap bobbing up and down over the top of a sideboard. Copyright: 1915: Climbing up, the Teenie" Weenies found the Dunce standing, up to his knees in a plate of sticky taffy ! ' , " I I I'm stuck," sobbed the Dunce. " Yes, we can see you are," said the General, with a smile, as he walked up the blade of a knife which was leaning against the side of the plate. After a great deal of work the Cowboy and the Turk pulled the Dunce out. "What were you doing in that taffy?" asked the General, as he walked the Dunce up the garden walk towards the Teenie Weenie house. " I saw the plate," answered the Dunce, "and I I I just went up to get a taste, and and " " You got stuck fast," said the General. " Yes I did," and the Dunce looked sad and sorry. " Look here," said the General, "you've got to stop this running away, or I'll send you off to the little girl who wrote us a letter and said that if the Dunce would come and live with her, she would reform him, and make a good boy out of him. I think you need reforming." " Y-yes," said the Dunce, uncertainly. " What do you think would have happened to you if we hadn't found you and pulled you out of that taffy?" demanded the General. The Dunce looked frightened. " Why why " he answered, " I spec I would have been ct !r By Wm. Donhejr.
