The Three Apples
The Three Apples (
Plot summary
A fisherman discovers a heavy locked chest along the Tigris river. He sells it to the Abbasid Caliph, Harun al-Rashid, who then has the chest broken open only to find inside it the dead body of a young woman who was cut into pieces. Harun orders his vizier, Ja'far ibn Yahya, to solve the crime and find the murderer within three days or else he will have him executed. Ja'far, however, despairs of his inability to find the culprit and remains in his home for all three days.[1][2] On the fourth day, Harun is about to have Ja'far executed for his failure when two men appear, one a handsome young man and the other an old man, both claiming to be the murderer. They argue and call each other liars as each attempts to claim responsibility for the crime. This continues until the young man proves that he is the murderer by accurately describing the chest in which the woman was found.[3]
The young man reveals that he was the woman's husband and the old man her father (and also the husband's uncle, making the couple cousins), who was attempting to save his son-in-law by taking the blame. Harun then demands to know his motives for murdering his wife, and the young man answers. He
Ja'far yet again remains home for all three days and fails to find the culprit before the deadline has passed. He is summoned to be executed for his failure. As he bids farewell to all his family members, he hugs his beloved youngest daughter last. It is then, by complete accident, that he discovers a round object in her pocket, which she reveals to be an apple with the name of the Caliph written on it. In the story's
Analysis
The story has been described as a "quintessential murder mystery" by Ulrich Marzolph .[2] Suspense is generated through multiple revelations that occur as the story progresses.[5]
The main difference between Ja'far and later fictional detectives, such as Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, is that Ja'far has no actual desire to solve the case. The whodunit mystery is not solved via detective work; rather via the murderer himself confessing his crime.[6] This in turn leads to another assignment in which Ja'far has to find the culprit who instigated the murder within three days or else be executed. He fails again, but owing to chance, he discovers a key item. In the end, he manages to solve the case through reasoning in order to prevent his own execution.[7]
According to Marzolph, the tale is present in "the oldest surviving manuscript" of the Arabian Nights compilation, and is considered to be part of "the core corpus" of the book.[8]
Notes
- ^ Pinault 1992, pp. 86–91
- ^ a b c d e Marzolph 2006, pp. 240–243
- ^ a b c d Pinault 1992, pp. 92–96
- ^ Galland
- ^ Pinault 1992, pp. 93, 95, 97
- ^ Pinault 1992, pp. 91–92
- ^ Pinault 1992, pp. 92, 96
- ISBN 1-85109-640-X(e-book)
Sources
- Pinault, David (1992), Story-Telling Techniques in the Arabian Nights, ISBN 90-04-09530-6
- Marzolph, Ulrich (2006), The Arabian Nights Reader, ISBN 0-8143-3259-5
- Wikisource:The Tale of the Three Apples
- "The Three Apples", Burton's translation
- Galland, Antoine, Contes des mille et une nuits (Intégrale Volumes 1 à 9) (French Edition), Kindle