Probably one of the original "story within a story" books, "Arabian Nights" is a selection of stories told by a young girl on her wedding night to a prince who has sworn to kill any girl who marries him. Her clever stories serve as "cliff-hangers" and keep him from murdering her night after night. This collection is where classic fairy tales such as "Aladdin" and "Ali Baba and The Forty Theives" come from as well as well-known moral tales and metaphors. The use of djiins, magic and an evocation of Oriental splendor makes "Arabian Nights" dazzle. This is a "must read" book and the perfect counter point to western fairy tales such as "Hans Christian Anderson" and "The Brothers Grimm".