A. How many stories are there in One Thousand and One Nights

There are 134 big stories in the book, and each big story includes a number of small stories. A huge story group with a total of 264 stories.

According to legend, in ancient times, on the islands of ancient Arabia, there was a kingdom of Sasan, whose king was named Shannuya. One day, Shannuya and his brother Saman came to a grassland next to the sea. When they were resting under a tree, suddenly a black water column appeared in the middle of the sea. A girl came to them and told them All women in the world are untrustworthy and untrustworthy.

After King Shannuya and his brother Saman returned to the Sasan Kingdom, they found that the queen had misbehaved, so they killed the queen. From then on, Shannuya deeply hated women and killed the palace maid again. He deliberately took revenge and began to marry a woman for one night every day, and then killed and married again the next day, completely turning into a tyrant. This continued year after year for three years, killing more than a thousand women.

Scheherazade, the eldest daughter of the prime minister, told her father that she would marry the king and that she would try to save thousands of women. Scheherazade told the king a story every night after entering the palace, but she told it every night, and only told the beginning and middle, not the end. In order to hear the end of the story, the king delayed the date of killing Scheherazade day after day.

In this way, Scheherazade told a story every day. Her stories were endless, each one more exciting than the last, until the thousand and first nights, she was finally moved. king. Shannuya said: "I swear by the name of Allah, I am determined not to kill you. Your stories moved me. I will record these stories and keep them forever." Thus, "One Thousand and One Nights" 》This book.

(1) Extended reading of the complete story of One Thousand and One Nights:

"One Thousand and One Nights" The Story of Alibaba

There is a man named Alibaba He turned out to be a woodcutter who came from a poor background and was impoverished. He is loyal, honest and kind-hearted. Once on his way to cut firewood, he accidentally discovered the treasure house of a bandit group and had to bring a lot of treasure with him, but he had no selfish motives. However, after the robbers found out, they planned to eliminate this trouble. Thanks to the help of the maid Megana, Alibaba saved the day and defeated the robbers.

Megana cleverly destroyed the criminal plans of the gangsters three times, causing two gangsters to die under the knife of their companions, and the other thirty-seven gangsters were burned to death by her with boiling oil. Finally, she alertly discovered the sinister plot of the bandit leader, and she bravely took advantage of the dance opportunity to stab him to death with a dagger. Alibaba gave her half of his treasure house and asked his nephew to marry her.

B. The Story of One Thousand and One Nights

Shows the primitive beauty.------Just one sentence

Legend has it that in ancient times , there is an island country between China and India. The king there

was named Shanruyar. Once, he accidentally discovered that his queen and maids were having fun behind his back. He suspected that the queen was unfaithful and killed her. From then on, he hated women and wanted to take revenge on all women. He decided to marry a woman every day and kill her immediately after spending the night. The common people were frightened by this threat and fled with their daughters. But the king still orders the prime minister to do it every day

?

Send a woman into the palace. The prime minister searched the whole city, but did not see the woman. He was worried about being questioned by the king, so he stayed at home worriedly. His daughter Scheherazade learned the truth of the matter and voluntarily married the king in order to save all the women. On the night she entered the palace, she told a story with twists and turns that aroused the king's interest, so she was killed the next day. After that, she told stories every night, one after the other, stories within stories, each one very strange, until the Thousand and One Nights. In the end, the king finally repented, stopped killing women, and grew old together with Shanlu and Zod.

The following is one of the many stories Scheherazade told the king:

There once was a fisherman who had a daughter and a son with his wife.

The family of five makes a living by fishing. This fisherman has a habit of catching only four nets of fish every day, and he never catches more.

One day, he was fishing on the beach. The first net was a dead donkey, the second net was a broken urn, and the third net was a broken urn. C. Table of Contents of One Thousand and One Nights< /p>

Part 01: King Shannuya and His One Thousand and One Nights

Part 02: The Story of the Fisherman, the Devil and the Four-Colored Fish

Part 03: The story of the lazy man conquering power in Liaoni and Tongcheng

Part 04: The story of Zhu Te and his two brothers

Part 05: The story of the hunchback

Part 06: The story of the dream of Prince Atesh and Princess Haya Tufus

Part 07: The story of the man who never laughs

Chapter 08 Part: The Story of Money Merchants and Gangsters

Part 09: The Story of Ha Mandin

Part 10: The Story of Ebony Horse

Part 11 : The Story of the Sleeping King

Part 12: The Story of the Dyer and the Barber

Part 13: The Story of the Liar Perrotto

Part 14: The Story of the Fisherman and the Mermaid

Part 15: The Story of Aladdin and the Magic Lamp

Part 16: The Story of Sinbad the Navigator

Part 17: The Story of the Blind Monk

Part 18: The Story of the Wise Blind Old Man

Part 19: The Story of the Fool, the Donkey and the Liar

Part 20: The story of Queen Zu Bailu and the table of sugar and rice

Part 21: The story of Abdullah Fazli and his two brothers

Part 22: The story of Merun Shammai’s pursuit of a beautiful woman

Part 23: The story of the cobbler Mayrruf

Part 24: The story of Hassan, the silversmith of Basra< /p>

Part 25: The Story of Sea Girl and Her Son

Part 26: The Story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

D. One Thousand and One Nights Story

(1) Introduction

According to legend, in ancient times, on the islands of ancient Arabia, there was a kingdom of Sasan[1], and the king was named Shannuya. One day, Shannuya and his brother Saman came to a grassland next to the sea. When they were resting under a tree, suddenly a black water column appeared in the middle of the sea. A girl came to them and told them All women in the world are untrustworthy and untrustworthy.

After King Shannuya and his brother Saman returned to the Sasan Kingdom, they killed the queen, maids, and slaves. From then on, Shannuya deeply hated women and out of revenge, he began to marry a woman for one night every day, then kill her and marry her again the next day, completely turning into a tyrant. This continued year after year for three years, killing more than a thousand women.

The eldest daughter of the prime minister, Samrudro, told her father that she would marry the king and that she would try to save thousands of women. "After entering the palace, Shan Ruzod told the king a story every night. In this way, Shan Ruzod told a story every day. Her stories were endless, each one more exciting than the last. Until the Thousand and One Nights, she was finally moved. King. Shannuya said: "In the name of Allah, I am determined not to kill you. Your story moved me. I will record these stories and keep them forever. "So, the book "One Thousand and One Nights" came into being.

(2) Generation and finalization

"One Thousand and One Nights" (old translation of "A Thousand and One Nights") "Tan") is a large-scale and rich collection of folk tales in medieval Arabic literature. It has a comic version and is a shining pearl in world literature.

"One Thousand and One Nights". The story consists of three parts. The first part is a collection of ancient Persian stories called "Khirzor Afsanay" (i.e. "A Thousand Stories"). The stories originated from India, originally in Sanskrit, and later translated into Persian, and then translated into Arabic, while adding some Arabic stories; the second part originates from the Abbasid dynasty in Iraq, especially the story of the reign of Harun Rashid; the third part is about Maimalik in Egypt The story of the dynasty. The core is the first part.

According to the original Arabic version, there are 134 big stories in the book, and each big story includes several small stories to form a huge group of stories. "One Thousand and One Nights" is a collective creation of working people. It has gone through a long historical process from oral creation to being compiled into a book. As early as the AD century, folk tales from India, Persia and other places were spread to Iraq and Syria. From the middle of the 8th century to the middle of the 9th century, handwritten books appeared. After hundreds of years of collection, sorting, processing, and supplementation, it was not until the 16th century that they were finally compiled into books and published even later.

(3) Related information

Why is "One Thousand and One Nights" said to have a strong popular character?

"One Thousand and One Nights" has many aspects It comprehensively and extensively reflects the social reality of ancient Arabia and its surrounding countries, and is known as the "spotless mirror" of medieval Arabian society. Its popular character is reflected in the following points:

First: it profoundly reflects the sharp class opposition in the society at that time and exposes the cruelty and crimes of the rulers. The Caliphate in the Middle Ages brutally exploited the working people internally and pursued a policy of expansion and aggression externally, putting the people in dire straits and creating intense domestic class contradictions. "The Story of the Fisherman", "The Story of Death", "The Story of the Hunchback", etc. all express the working people's resistance to feudal autocratic rule and exploitation.

Second: Describe the lives of working people and praise their excellent character, intelligence and fighting spirit. In many stories, fishermen, herdsmen, barbers, cobblers, maids, woodcutters, farmers, handicraft workers, porters, etc. have appeared on the stage and become the positive protagonists of this collection of stories. Such stories are often combined with content that exposes the evil deeds of the ruling class, thus producing a strong effect of stimulating the people's fighting spirit. "The Story of the Fisherman", "The Story of Bai Houtu", "The Thief of Baghdad", "Alibaba and the Forty Thieves", etc. all show the kindness, agility and wisdom of the positive protagonists from different angles, and reflect the richness of the people. Imagination and creativity.

Third, it expresses the strong desire of the working people to pursue a better life, especially their yearning for loyal love. "The Story of the Ebony Horse", "The Story of Nurundin and Dillundin", "The Story of Hassan the Silversmith of Basola", etc., all condemned the evil forces of society to varying degrees and praised loyal and dedicated love. It shows profound anti-feudal significance.

Fourth: Stories showing the adventurous life and thoughts and feelings of businessmen occupy an important position in "One Thousand and One Nights". Among them, "The Story of Sinbad's Voyage" is the most famous. It narrates Sinbad's thrilling and tortuous experiences during seven adventurous voyages, and praises his enterprising spirit.

(4) Artistic Characteristics

"One Thousand and One Nights" is the crystallization of the artistic talent and creativity of the Arab people and has the following four characteristics.

First, a strong sense of romanticism. The author of "One Thousand One Nights" spreads the wings of imagination and fantasy to fly freely: the omnipotent magic lamp and magic ring; the palace built overnight; the flying carpet that travels to and from the palace; the flying ebony horse; the island A fish of average size; a hood that can make you invisible; a staff that can drive gods and demons; clairvoyance that can see any distant target, etc. These magical things are the crystallization of the wisdom of the working people. They express people's enterprising spirit of conquering nature, transforming society, and defeating evil forces. At the same time, many stories in "One Thousand and One Nights" also wonderfully combine the fantasy of good wishes with the authenticity of reality, making romantic and realist expression techniques complement each other and shine together, creating a fascinating artistic effect.

Second, the plot has twists and turns and the structure is flexible and simple. The story is sometimes set in heaven, sometimes on earth; sometimes it relies on the power of gods and demons, and sometimes it completely follows the logic of reality. A monster "bigger than a mountain" can go in and out of a small, bold-shaped copper bottle; by rubbing the magic lamp, it can build a magnificent palace overnight... It's so unpredictable. . The structure of "One Thousand and One Nights" is ingenious, simple and flexible, and it pioneered the artistic structure form of "frame structure". The work uses the form of Scheherazade telling stories to the king, embedding more than 260 stories within the framework of this big story. The big stories are nested within the small stories, and the big and small stories are intertwined to form a huge story system that makes people feel long. Not redundant, complex but not chaotic, clearly layered, and every detail is like a long string of beads, which is pleasing to the eye.

Third, sharp contrast. The good, evil, beauty and ugliness of many characters in the story are particularly clear and eye-catching, forming a sharp contrast. For example, the loyal and clever fisherman and the vicious and cunning devil in "The Fisherman's Tale", the God of Death and the cruel king who embody the people's will in "The Story of Death", the rich businessman Sinbad and the poor porter Sinbad in "The Story of Sinboda's Voyage", The witty Malkina and the stupid robbers in "Alibaba and the Forty Thieves", etc., are all contrasted to highlight their character traits. The comparison is full of the author's thoughts and feelings of love and hate.

Fourth, the language is rich and simple, smooth and natural, lively and lively, and the poetry and prose are rich, which well reflects the true nature of folk literature. "One Thousand and One Nights" extensively uses rhetorical devices such as symbols, metaphors, humor, and satire; some stories also insert aphorisms, aphorisms, proverbs, short poems, etc., thus forming a rich and colorful feature of the language, which greatly strengthens the Artistic appeal.

(5) Contents of this book

Part 01: King Shannuya and His One Thousand and One Nights

Part 02: The Fisherman and the Devil and the story of the four-colored fish

Part 03: The story of the lazy Clionni and the Copper City

Part 04: The story of Jute and his two brothers

Part 06: The Story of the Dream of Prince Atesh and Princess Haya Tufus

Part 07: Never Smile for Life Part 08: The Story of Money Merchants and Gangsters

Part 09: The Story of Ha Mandin

Part 10: Ebony Horse The Story

Part 11: The Story of the Sleeping King

Part 12: The Story of the Dyer and the Barber

Part 13: Lying The Story of Zhebei Haotu

Part 14: The Story of the Fisherman and the Mermaid

Part 15: The Story of Aladdin and the Magic Lamp

Part 16 : The story of Sinbad the Navigator

Part 17: The story of the blind monk

Part 18: The story of the wise blind old man

Part 19: The story of fools, donkeys and liars

Part 20: The story of Queen Zu Bailu and the sugar-rice table

Part 21: Abdullah Fazli and the two The story of a brother

Part 22: The story of Myron Shamai’s pursuit of a beautiful woman

Part 23: The story of the cobbler Melruf

Part 24: The Story of Basra Silversmith Hassan

Part 25: The Story of the Sea Girl and Her Son

Part 26: The Story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

E. Several short stories told in One Thousand and One Nights

There are 134 big stories in the book "One Thousand and One Nights", and each big story includes several short stories. Stories form a huge story group, with a total of 264 stories.

"One Thousand and One Nights" is called "Arabian Nights" in the West, but it has a unique name in China: "Arabian Nights". "Tianfang" is the ancient Chinese name for Arabia. This name alone is enough to transport people to a mysterious and exotic world.

It is one of the most vital and prestigious works in the world, with the largest number of readers and the greatest influence. At the same time, with its simple status as folk literature, it can be ranked among the world's classics, which can be called a miracle in the history of world literature.

(5) Extended reading of the complete story of One Thousand and One Nights

Forming process

Mainly comes from Persia and India; the other part comes from Baghdad as the center The story of the Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258); the third part comes from the story of the Maimalik Dynasty (1250-1517) of Egypt.

This book is not actually the work of any one writer. It was collected, refined and processed by the vast number of street artists and literati in the Middle and Near East over hundreds of years. It is the work of this region. The crystallization of the wisdom and wisdom of the Arab people and the Persian people.

The story of "One Thousand and One Nights" has been spread orally among the people in the Arab region for a long time. Early manuscripts appeared around the turn of the 8th and 9th centuries AD. By the 12th century, the Egyptians first The title "One Thousand and One Nights" was used, but it was not basically finalized until the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century. Once the story of "One Thousand and One Nights" was produced, it became widely circulated. It spread to Europe during the Crusades.

F. The background of the author of The Complete Tales of One Thousand and One Nights

It is a collection of Arabic folk tales, also known as Arabian Nights. "One Thousand and One Nights" is a collection of Arabic folk tales. According to legend, there was a Sasan Kingdom between India and China in ancient times. King Shanruyar was cruel and jealous by nature. He killed his queen because of her misbehavior. After that, he married a girl every day and killed her the next morning as revenge. In order to save the innocent woman, Scheherazade, the daughter of the prime minister, voluntarily married the king and attracted the king by telling stories. She told the most exciting part every night. It was just dawn and the king couldn't bear to kill her. He allowed her to continue telling the story the next night. . Her story has been told for one thousand and one nights, and the king was finally moved and grew old together with her. Because of its rich content and grand scale, it was praised by Gorky as "the most magnificent monument" in the history of world folk literature.

G. The main content of One Thousand and One Nights

This work tells the story of the Sassanid Kingdom between India and China in ancient times. King Shanruyar was cruel and jealous by nature. If he misbehaves, he will be killed. From then on, he will marry a young girl every day and kill her the next morning as revenge.

In order to save the innocent woman, Scheherazade, the daughter of the prime minister, voluntarily married the king and attracted the king by telling stories. She told the most exciting part every night, and it was just dawn, which made the king unable to bear to kill her. , allowing her to continue talking the next night.

Her story has been told for one thousand and one nights, and the king was finally moved and grew old together with her.

The Arabian folk mythology collection "One Thousand and One Nights" from the medieval period is well-known in the world of literature. It is the only classic work that reflects the most representative Arab society in the Middle Ages. What it reflects is the history of the development of Arab national unity and national spirit, as well as the historical process of Arab-Islamic culture prospering and forming its mainstream values.

(7) Extended reading of the complete story of One Thousand and One Nights:

"One Thousand and One Nights" can become a world famous book, so it naturally has unique artistic charm, and its The frame structure is even more unique. The entire work is a general story, with the prime minister's daughter Scheherazade telling stories to the king as the main line, which runs through the entire story collection. Different stories are connected one by one, so that hundreds of unrelated stories form a whole.

The structural form of "One Thousand and One Nights" adopts a framework structure of interlocking large stories and small stories. This structure is either several stories nested inside each other, or Several stories are connected side by side, that is, the whole book is a whole (large frame), and each story in it can exist independently and become a whole (small frame). This structure can be summarized as connected and mosaic. formula structure.

H. The origin of the story of One Thousand and One Nights is brief

Origin:

According to legend, in ancient times, on the islands between ancient India and China, there were A Sassan kingdom with a king named Shannuya. One day, Shannuya and his brother Saman came to a grassland next to the sea. When they were resting under a tree, suddenly a black water column appeared in the middle of the sea. A girl came to them and told them All women in the world are untrustworthy and untrustworthy.

After King Shannuya and his brother Saman returned to the Sasan Kingdom, they killed the queen, maids, and slaves. From then on, Shannuya deeply hated women, and out of revenge, he began to marry a woman for one night every day, then kill her and marry her again the next day, completely turning into a tyrant. This continued year after year for three years, killing more than a thousand women.

In order to save an innocent woman, Scheherazade, the daughter of the prime minister, voluntarily married the king and attracted the king by telling stories. She told the most exciting part every night, and it was just dawn, which made the king unable to bear to kill her. , allowing her to continue talking the next night. Her story has been told for one thousand and one nights, and the king was finally moved and grew old together with her. (8) Extended reading of the complete story of One Thousand and One Nights

"One Thousand and One Nights" is the product of the period when the Arab national spirit was formed and established after the establishment of the Arab Empire. Muhammad founded Islam in the 7th century AD and unified the Arabian Peninsula. After that, the Arab Empire continued to expand to all directions and spread Islamic teachings everywhere.

"One Thousand and One Nights" has three sources of stories: one is the Persian story collection "Kherzor Afsaneh", and the other is popular in Iraq during the Abbasid dynasty centered in Baghdad. The third story is a popular story during the Malik dynasty of Egypt.

This itself shows the openness and inclusiveness of the Arab nation. However, after processing and sorting, these stories are integrated into the Arab national spirit and integrated into the Arab spiritual and cultural system.

This also reflects the expansion ambition of the Arab nation. From the descriptions of distant China in "One Thousand and One Nights", many merchants are not afraid of hardships and dangers to engage in commercial and trading activities. It can also be seen that the Arab nation is a nation with a great spirit of adventure. They are enthusiastic in the stories. It eulogizes and praises those who are brave, clever, and adventurous.

There are many stories in "One Thousand and One Nights" that reveal the darkness and misfortune of medieval Arab society, describe the suffering of the broad masses of the people, and reflect their dissatisfaction with real life, to some extent. It reproduces the historical reality at that time, which is the embodiment of the realism expression technique of the story collection.

Although "One Thousand and One Nights" has the basic characteristics of a folk tale, during its long circulation, it has been tampered with by religious priests and literati, and has been mixed with many exploiting class consciousness and religious concepts. .

"One Thousand and One Nights" was circulated during the Arab Islamic Empire in the Middle Ages. Therefore, it has a strong Islamic flavor. Phrases such as "Allah is the only Lord", "I trust everything in Allah", "There is no other way but to rely on the help of the great Allah" are filled throughout the book. .

Islam’s fatalistic view is more prominent. There are also songs praising emperors, especially Harun Rashid, which abound. In addition, the book also promotes the "virtue" of wealthy businessmen, the "secret" of getting rich, despises women, vilifies slaves and other exploiting class ideas.

I. What are the stories in the One Thousand and One Nights

Part 01: King Shannuya and His One Thousand and One Nights Part 14: The Fisherman and the Male Mermaid The Story

Part 02: The Story of the Fisherman, the Devil and the Four-Colored Fish Part 15: The Story of Aladdin and the Magic Lamp

Part 03: The Lazy Clionni and the Copper The Story of the City Part 16: The Story of Sinbad the Navigator

Part 04: The Story of Jute and his Two Brothers Part 17: The Story of the Blind Monk

Part 05 Part: The Story of the Hunchback Part 18: The Story of the Wise Blind Old Man

Part 06: The Story of the Dream of Prince Atesh and Princess Haya Tufus Part 19: The Fool, the Donkey and the The Story of a Liar

Part 07: The Story of a Man Who Never Laughs Part 20: The Story of Queen Zu Bailu and the Sugar Rice Table

Part 08: The Story of Money Merchants and Gangsters Story Part 21: The story of Abdullah Fazli and his two brothers

Part 09: The story of Ha Mandin Part 22: Myron Shamai’s pursuit of a beautiful woman

Part 10: The Story of the Ebony Horse Part 23: The Story of the Cobbler Melruf

Part 11: The Story of the Sleeping King Part 24: The Silversmith of Basra The Story of Hassan

Part 12: The Story of the Dyer and the Barber Part 25: The Story of the Sea Girl and Her Son

Part 13: The Liar Beyhotu Story Part 26: The Story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

J. The Story of One Thousand and One Nights

King Shannuya and his One Thousand and One Nights

According to legend, in ancient times, in ancient India and China On the island between them, there is a kingdom of Sasan, whose king is named Shannuya. King Shannuya would marry a woman every day and stay overnight in the palace, but every next day when the rooster sang, he would brutally kill the woman.

This continued year after year for three years, killing more than a thousand women.

The people felt terrified under this threat and fled with their daughters to other places. However, the king still only

coerced the prime minister and found women for him every day for his pleasure and torture. Some of the women in the country

died at the hands of the king, and some fled. Ten rooms in the city were empty, so much so that the prime minister searched the entire city,

but could not find them. A woman. He returned to the Prime Minister's Mansion with fear and sadness.

The prime minister has two daughters, the eldest daughter is named Shanruzo, and the second daughter is named Duoyade. Sanruzhuo was a well-educated scholar, noble in appearance, had read many historical books, and had rich knowledge of national history. She has thousands of literary and historical books in her collection. Seeing the prime minister returning home melancholy, Samrudro said to him:

"Dad! Why are you so sad and worried?"

The prime minister listened. The daughter's words told her a story -

In the former Sasan Kingdom, the old king was kind and brave, had a mighty army, and had maidservants in the palace.

, the country is peaceful and the people are safe.

The king had two sons, both of whom were brave knights. The eldest son Shannuya is more heroic than the younger son Saman

and makes the enemy frightened.

After the eldest son Shannuya inherited the throne, he was deeply supported by the people because of his impartial governance. Samantze

was named the king of Samakandi. The two brothers governed the country impartially and humbly. The country continues to prosper

Rich and strong, and the people live a happy life.

One day, King Shannuya missed his younger brother and sent the prime minister to Samakandi to pick up his younger brother Saman

for a reunion. The prime minister accepted the order and set off, and soon came to the land of Samaigandi.

Seeing Saman, the prime minister relayed the greetings from King Shannuya, saying that the king missed him and hoped that he would go to Sassan Kingdom to see him.

Saman immediately replied: "As you command."

So King Saman prepared tents, camels, and mules, assigned servants, and entrusted the state affairs to him

His chancellor, then set off. After walking not far, he remembered that the gift was forgotten in the palace, so he turned back to the palace to get it. Unexpectedly, when he returned to the palace, he saw the queen and the musicians huddled together, playing, singing, and playing. Seeing this scene, King Saman's eyes suddenly became dark.

He thought: "I haven't left the capital yet, and these *** are making such a fuss. If I stay here for a long time, I don't know what kind of trouble these *** will make." What's going on!" Thinking of this, he pulled out his sword, killed the queen and the musician, and then hurriedly left the palace with grief. Along the way, he led his troops through mountains and rivers, heading towards the Sassan Kingdom.

When they were approaching the capital, Saman sent someone to report to his brother. King Shannuya welcomed him out of the city. The brothers

After meeting, they greeted each other and were very happy. Shannuya specially decorated the city walls for his younger brother in the kingdom, and talked with him every day.

Saman was in a melancholy mood. He was troubled by what his wife had done. He was depressed all day long and became haggard and weightless day by day.

Shannuya thought his brother was troubled by divorce, so he didn't ask any more questions.

But finally

One day, Shannuya couldn't help it anymore and asked:

"Brother, you look haggard and thin every day. Why on earth is that?"