Queen of Arabia and Three Sheiks
Maura, who like to be thought of as the
most beautiful and powerful queen of Arabia, had many suitors. One by one she
discarded them, until her list was reduced to just three sheiks. The three
sheiks were all equally young and handsome. They were also rich and strong. It
was very hard to decide who would be the best of them.
One evening, Maura disguised herself and
went to the camp of the three sheiks. As they were about to have dinner, Maura
asked them for something to eat. The first gave her some left over food. The
second Sheik gave her some unappetizing camel’s tail. The third sheik, who was
called Hakim, offered her some of the most tender and tasty meat. After dinner,
the disguised queen left the sheik’s camp.
The following day, the queen invited the
three sheiks to dinner at her palace. She ordered her servant to give each one
exactly what they had given her the evening before. Hakim, who received a plate
of delicious meat, refused to eat it if the other two sheiks could not share it
with him.
This Sheik Hakim’s act finally convinced
Queen Maura that he was the man for her. “Without question, Hakim is the most
generous of you” she announced her choice to the sheiks. “So it is Hakim I will
marry”.