Narrative Frame Narrative Framing One-Thousand

Narrative Frame

Narrative Framing

One-Thousand and One Arabian Nights, the centuries-old collection of short stories and fables that contains such well -- tales stories as those of Aladdin with his genie of the lamp, the journeys of Sinbad the Sailor, and Ali Baba and his Forty Thieves, has one feature that makes it of especial interest in an examination of narrative. The many stories within this larger work are all framed by another story, that of Scheherazade, the story teller, who must entertain her husband the Sultan with these tales in order to ensure her survival. This setting for the stories told and the overall context of the text provided by the prologue and the epilogue, in which Scheherazade's plight is described, has an especially interesting relationship to the take of the Ox and the Donkey, which but for this same unique relationship to the frame and the overall narrative of the story is much like the other tales in the volume. The "Tale of the Ox and the Donkey" makes it clear that the context of a storytelling, and more specifically the position and circumstance of the storyteller, has a huge impact on the meaning of the story.

"The Tale of the Ox and the Donkey" is essentially an animal fable, in which a donkey advises an ox to behave more obstinately in order for the ox to avoid work, with the result that the donkey must perform the ox's tasks and becomes obsessed with making the ox work again. What makes this story so important in terms of our understanding of the larger narrative frame and the volume as a whole is the fact that this story is not told by Scheherazade, but by her father in an attempt to keep his daughter form marrying the murderous Sultan. Not only does the father choose this tale specifically to make his point, he also tells the tale in a manner that emphasizes this point.

As the story progresses, the donkey develops methods to trick the ox again to send him back to work, but this portion of the story seems to be of lessened importance to the story to the father, who initially stops his tale at the point where the donkey becomes obsessed with ensuring that the ox gets back to work. Scheherazade's father is trying to impress upon her the dangers of letting the mind become obsessed with an idea, and though this is not the ultimate lesson of the story it is the part of the story that is important in context, and thus affects the telling of the story. No story exists simply on its own; each creation and retelling of the story has its own purpose, motives, and interpretations based on the personal experiences and beliefs of the teller and each of the people hearing the tale. There are many different lessons that could be learned form "The Tale of the Ox and the Donkey;" the dangers of laziness, the pitfalls of underestimating rivals and trying to use clever tricks to avoid responsibility, the corruptive nature of certain friendships -- the list goes on and on. For the father in this context, however, there is only one important lesson, and this is the one he focuses on and the lesson to which he tailors his telling of the story in this instance.