Sheherazade, the king's beautiful wife, is due to be executed at dawn -- unless she can convince the king to change his mind. That night she tells him a wonderful story which, as dawn comes, she leaves unfinished. 'Will you let me live to finish the tale?' she asks. 'Of course,' replies the king, 'I must know what happens next.' Night after night, Sheherazade tells story after story, always leaving the last one incomplete. And so for one thousand and one nights, she remains alive... This is how the enchanting collection of stories known as One Thousand and One Nights has been passed down to us. It includes the well-known stories Sheherazade, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, The Ox and the Ass and The Horse of Ebony and How the story of Sheherazade ended. In this beautiful new edition the stories are brought to life by the enchanting, elegant illustrations of Olga Dugina.