Search e-Books

She was enchanted. It gave me the
idea of setting her to read "Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare." I
was turning this over in my mind while she chewed the cud of her
enjoyment, when she suddenly asked whether I would like to hear a
Turkish story. She knew lots of nice, funny stories. I bade her
proceed. She curled herself up in her favourite attitude on the
sofa and began.
I did not allow her to finish that tale. Had I done so, I should
have been a monster of depravity. Compared with it the worst of
Scheherazade's, in Burton's translation, were milk and water for
a nunnery. She seemed nonplussed when I told her to stop.
"Are oriental ladies in the habit of telling such stories?" I
asked.
"Why, yes," she replied with a candid air of astonishment. "It
is a funny story."
"There is nothing funny whatever in it," said I. "A girl like
you oughtn't to know of the existence of such things."
"Why not?" asked Carlotta.
I am always being caught up by her questions. I tried to
explain; but it was difficult.


Pages:
112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136