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The Story Of The Sham Prince |
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Page 1 of 13 (Also known as The Ambitious Tailor)
Once upon a time there lived a respectable young tailor called
Labakan, who worked for a clever master in Alexandria. No one
could call Labakan either stupid or lazy, for he could work
extremely well and quickly--when he chose; but there was
something not altogether right about him. Sometimes he would
stitch away as fast as if he had a red-hot needle and a burning
thread, and at other times he would sit lost in thought, and with
such a queer look about him that his fellow-workmen used to say,
'Labakan has got on his aristocratic face today.'
On Fridays he would put on his fine robe which he had bought with
the money he had managed to save up, and go to the mosque. As
he came back, after prayers, if he met any friend who said
'Good-day,' or 'How are you, friend Labakan?' he would wave his
hand graciously or nod in a condescending way; and if his master
happened to say to him, as he sometimes did, 'Really, Labakan, you
look like a prince,' he was delighted, and would answer, 'Have you
noticed it too?' or 'Well, so I have long thought.'
Things went on like this for some time, and the master put up with
Labakan's absurdities because he was, on the whole, a good fellow
and a clever workman.
One day, the sultan's brother happened to be passing through
Alexandria, and wanted to have one of his state robes altered, so he
sent for the master tailor, who handed the robe over to Labakan as
his best workman.
In the evening, when every one had left the workshop and gone
home, a great longing drove Labakan back to the place where the
royal robe hung. He stood a long time gazing at it, admiring the
rich material and the splendid embroidery in it. At last he could
hold out no longer. He felt he must try it on, and lo! and behold, it
fitted as though it had been made for him.
'Am not I as good a prince as any other?' he asked himself, as he
proudly paced up and down the room. 'Has not the master often
said that I seemed born to be a prince?'
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Fairytales 
