Original subtitles

Long ago, in the ancient kingdom of Asia minor,

there lived a sultan whose name was chaka Khan

and who claimed to be a direct descendant

of the great genghis Khan.

It was only a claim, but then being sultan

gave him the right to lay claim to whatever he wished.

His word was law.

It was good to be the sultan.

Among the sultan's greatest treasures

was the most charming and beautiful harem

in all of Asia minor and among them was a Jewel.

Her name was sheherrazod

and she lived by her wits as well as her beauty.

As our story begins,

the sultan was already married and at war.

I am ready, my lord sultan, ask.

What I must know from the stars is this,

should I lead my men out in search of the enemy

or wait for him to attack?

The sultan loved his wife

and trusted her completely.

Unfortunately, the sultana did not return the favor.

Don't tease, give it back

tell me!

The sultan is ugly, you're handsome

what else?

The sultan is like a pin

and mine?

A monster! Please!

Just put the head in

do that and I promise

you will soon be sultan

please

and where is the sultan now?

With his advisors

please don't tease

make love to me

does my lady the sultana command it?

Yes

then I obey

I see that the sun enters gemini 12 days hence.

Is that good?

That is good, my lord.

A full moon occurs in mid heavens two days later.

Is that also good?

No my lord, that is bad,

but Mars is close to saturn in capricorn

and that, my lord, is...

- Yes? - Good.

The time is right for battle.

I did not ask if the time is ripe,

I asked if I should march out against the enemy

or wait for him to attack.

The stars give signs of victory.

However there is something that worries me.

Yes?

The planets, especially Jupiter and Venus.

What does that mean?

Because of the position of Jupiter to Venus,

the planet Mars is in decline.

That is bad.

No my lord sultan, that is good,

but then, Jupiter moves into libra.

Which is bad?

No.

Which is good?

No.

Then what?

Well I don't really know, my lord,

I cannot read the stars further than that.

Thank you, chief astrologer, you've been a big help.

Where is general sargon?

I must speak with someone who is sane.

The general is at camp with his troops, your majesty.

I'll leave at once.

No, no, I'll go myself.

I need some fresh air.

Tell the sultana I'm gone.

As soon as she returns, your majesty.

The sultana Rose early and is out for a ride.

Meanwhile, the sultan was galloping

towards sargon's camp.

Do you like surprises?

Yes, tell me.

You are sure?

Yes, what is it?

I'll show you.

He's a gift.

Is he bigger than you?

Bigger?

Look, see for yourself.

As the sultan approached general sargon's tent,

he stopped and for a moment,

he thought he heard the voice of the sultana.

It was impossible.

Then, he heard it again,

and in a timber that was particular to her,

only on certain occasions.

The sultan's heart sank.

Stealthfully he crept up and with his dagger,

he made a slit in the tent.

Gathering his courage, he looked inside.

It was worse than he imagined.

His most trusted ally and his beloved sultana

were uniting against him and plotting his overthrow.

The sultan watched and listened.

In this way, he learned their plans

and being ready, defeated them.

The sultan celebrated his victory with lust and full joy.

So long did he brood over the betrayal by his wife

that he eventually became persuaded

that no woman was to be trusted.

He resolved that each night,

he would choose a girl from his harem

and after passing one night with her,

she would be strangled in the morning.

This, he believed, would be a sure cure

against any future disloyalty.

Every night before supper,

the harem keeper would approach

with a basket filled with tiles.

A girl's name was inscribed on each tile

and once picked, her fate was sealed.

Tonight would be her last night on earth.

Who is your choice

for tonight, my lord sultan?

Sheherrazod, you have been chosen.

Sheherrazod knew what was to come

and promised herself that with her, it would be different.

As she was being prepared, she devised her plan

and resolved not to be dead in the morning.

Her plan depended on arousing the sultan's curiosity.

Sheherrazod.

How old are you, my child?

19, my lord.

It's a pity.

How did you come to my harem?

I was a gift, great sultan.

An assyrian gave me to you in order to insure safe passage

for his caravans.

The assyrian was a fool.

You're worth much more than that.

Thank you, my lord master.

It's custom that you entertain.

Do you have talent?

Some say I do.

Do you dance?

No, my lord master.

Do you sing?

No my lord, I can neither sing nor dance.

Then what?

I tell stories.

It is my only talent.

I've collected them in my travels.

With your permission,

it would give me great pleasure to tell you one.

I would be consoled on this final night.

Uh,

then tell.

In her effort to stay alive,

sheherrazod began her first story.

The tale concerned a poor and hapless fisherman

who lived in the province of thrace, near the aegean sea.

It was also the Fisherman's misfortune

to have a wife who was a hag

and as fat as an elephant and as ugly as a vulture.

Not only that, but she was vicious and jealous

and the only peace she would allow him

was when he went fishing.

Each day, on the way to the sea,

he would pass the house of a noble woman

and without being seen,

he found that he could look into her window.

This was the only joy in the Fisherman's life

and it seemed enough just to catch a glimpse of her.

Then, there was one day when fate took a hand.

As the fisherman watched, he became as excited as the woman

and all day, while he fished,

he thought about what he had seen.

He believed it was a good omen,

but when he drew in his nets,

he found that he had caught nothing

except a small jar made of yellow copper.

Curiously, he examined the jar on all sides,

shook it and then to satisfy his curiosity, pried it open.

To his amazement, a thick smoke began to billow forth

from the vessel and in fear,

he dropped the jar to the ground,

but the smoke continued to rise,

became a mist and the mist became a solid mass

in the shape of a great genie.

The genie regarded the fisherman with a fierce look

and said, "il will Grant thee two wishes as a reward

"for having set me free,

"but then, because it is my nature,

"I will surely kill thee."

Now the fisherman knew that it was impossible

to argue with a genie so instead,

he began to consider his first wish.

He said it and in the wink of an eye,

he was transported to the noble woman's bed chamber

and the woman seemed to be expecting him.

Did you know I was coming?

I saw you this morning.

You saw me?

Why did you think I did it?

Just now, I had the feeling you'd be back.

Did you do it while I did it?

Yes.

Do you want me to do it again?

The fisherman continued with strength

he never knew he had.

The woman, whose name was triboli,

inspired him and she taught him how and where to kiss her.

Faster

faster

harder

faster

Harder

harder

harder

She even taught him the use of silk ropes

and had him tie her to a chair so he could see what she looked like

And she let him enter her wherever he liked

Afterwards they made love first one way, then another

Suddenly the fisherman heard a noise coming from the next room

my daughters here, would you like to meet them?

Yes I would

Put this on and wait here.

I'll bring them to you.

Girls, this is the doctor.

Now I want you to be good and do everything he tells you.

The fisherman couldn't believe

how well things were working out.

Well which one of you is older?

I am.

What's your name?

I'm Helena.

Lana.

Who would like to be examined first?

- She would. - She does.

Oh, we must decide.

I have an idea.

One hand has a pill, the other is empty.

Pick.

This one.

You win, undress.

We will begin the examination now.

If you want to be my assistant

you must learn to examine properly

take your finger

and rub here until it becomes hard

it's the only way to examine

Take them if you like

they are over eighteen

The fisherman enjoyed himself to the fullest

until at last, exhausted, he closed his eyes

and let himself drift into sleep.

When he opened them again, he was back on the beach

with the genie standing over him.

Tomorrow, the genie said, and he struck

his foot upon the ground which opened

and swallowed him up and closed behind him.

The fisherman was once again alone on the beach

and now he had to think of his second and final wish.

Tell me what it was.

With your majesty's permission,

I don't know.

If you would allow me the afternoon to remember,

I could tell you tomorrow night.

Each night,

sheherrazod told the sultan a new story

and each story she told led to the beginning of another.

Her storytelling always ended at dawn

and curious to hear the next tale,

the sultan put off her execution from day to day.

Her imagination was endless and her creations

included the everlasting characters of Aladdin,

Sinbad and Ali baba and the 40 thieves.

And so Ali baba came to the rock that hid the cave

and he said the magic words, "open, open salame."

No...

In the quiet of the afternoon,

she invented her tales of faraway places and magic events.

Sesame.

I like that, open sesame.

One of her stories told of a prince

who was given as gift, a horse made of pure gold.

On command, the horse would rise and carry the prince

anywhere and at the speed of lightening.

It was nearly dawn when the horse, at last,

descended on solid ground.

The prince found himself thousands of miles from home

and on the terrace of a magnificent palace,

on the island of nippon.

In the dim light,

he found a staircase which led down into an apartment.

He listened at the door

and then advanced cautiously into the room.

There, he saw a beauty so extraordinary

that he fell in love at first sight.

The woman was still asleep

and not able to restrain himself,

he slipped off his clothes

and slipped into bed with her.

The young prince moved the covers aside ever so carefully.

And when he saw her naked,

he was so overwhelmed he could not stop himself

from caressing her.

The woman half woke and pretended the love making

to be coming from her husband whose name was ishido.

Oh ishido

ishido

ishido

Ishido

oh shit!

Did he escape?

Tomorrow.

Before coming into the sultan's possession,

sheherrazod had been owned by a merchant prince.

With him, she had crossed the world twice,

from China to the mediterranean

and had learned languages and mathematics.

She lived for a while in China where she studied sciences

and then in Tibet where she was taught

the secret techniques of kama,

the hindu god of love and pleasure.

Her memory was perfect and her stories were

flights of fantasy mixed with details of her experiences.

Sometimes, when her tales were especially wicked,

she would use girls from the sultan's court

to illustrate a point.

Three of the girls were friends

and had felt certain feelings for one another.

One afternoon, when they were alone,

they inhaled a substance that was allowed to be used

by the priests alone.

What happened is difficult to explain

and went through many stages.

During one of these stages,

the girls felt very warm towards each other

and wanted to touch.

The first to move was Tamara

who slid her hand inside kala's blouse

and touched her breasts.

They all felt dream-like

and seemed to move in a slowed motion.

Tamara and kala began to kiss and caress

and for an instant, the third felt jealous,

but then kala turned and kissed her

and all three fell back onto the soft cushions.

They ceased to be three bodies and became

all mouths and senses and tongues and fingers.

They held each others heads in their hands like cups

and took long drinks from each other's lips.

They kissed until kissing became a torture

Their fingers always found an opening

and the owner would move to accept it

willingly

No parts of their bodies were ignored or escaped kissing

Tongues replaced fingers

and two of them attacked one

kissing each other and taking turns at arousing their victims

The pleasure that they gave her was so exquisite

that it was almost impossible to bear

and she cried out for it to end

and for it never to end

One of the girls found an instrument

used in certain ceremonies

and put it to another good use

The three girls were so lost in each other

and in the drug they had inhaled,

that they did not hear the temple guards return.

Each girls was punished.

Afterwards, the three were banished.

The first girl went north,

the second south and the third, who was the youngest,

traveled west along the caravan routes.

With my monarch's permission,

the adventures of the third girl

form the body of another story.

Sheherrazod saved the story

of the third and youngest girl for last.

Instead, she told the sultan more about the horse

that was made of gold and able to carry its rider anywhere

and at the speed of light.

At that speed,

the prince was not only carried backwards in time,

but forwards as well and he found himself

in a very strange place.

What are you dressed up for?

Well I always dress this way.

Are you a pervert?

No, I don't think so.

That's too bad.

It'll be 10 Franks then.

What's a frank?

Undress and I'll show you.

Nannettel

Robert!

Oh shit

not again

One night, scheherazade demonstrated her story herself

the sultan liked this story the best

Finish.

Tomorrow.

Somewhere around the tales of the fisherman,

the sultan had lost all thought

of ending sheherrazod's life.

He had, in fact, fallen in love with her.

Now, on this thousandth and first night,

sheherrazod told the sultan her last story.

It was about the third girl, the one who had traveled west

along the caravan routes.

This girl, of course, was sheherrazod herself

and now she told the sultan how she had managed

to save her own life by continuing to tell him stories.

When she finished,

the sultan looked at sheherrazod for a long time,

smiled and then asked...

Tell me, exactly what were these stories

that sheherrazod told the sultan?

I want to hear them all.

Should I begin?

Begin. Tomorrow.