Do not read it as: father of Hadba, read it: his father – is Hadba. For, as it is known, as one calls the father by his son’s name in order to cause him pleasure, so one calls the son…
Category: stories
Mabruk
That is his name. In truth, his blessing is not great. All his assets are: two tents. One is made of reeds, for the summer. The other is woven wool, for the winter. He also has two cows and a…
Latifa
“Whoever has not seen Latifa’s eyes, has never seen beautiful eyes in all his days.” So I used to say when I was but a youth. And Latifa was then a young Arab girl, a child-virgin. Many years have passed,…
Jindi
On the face of a broad spreading plain, encircled by green orchards on every side, in a clear and elevated place, stands a large group of people and measures manure. Commanding the entire group is the chief supervisor, the foreman…
Huten
He was grotesque to look upon: tall, thick, and big as a camel, and indeed there were those who called him Huten-camel. His hands were clumsy and large as a bear’s paws. When he placed his hand affectionately on his…
Hadra
Young, full of youth, and beautiful was Hadra when she came to the moshava. Have you seen on a crisp, clear morning, on an uncultivated hill, a wildflower before it has opened? The flower is tender and also hard, wet…
Faisal
I One evening, my friend knocked on the door of my room. I recognized his knock. I also recognized his walk. I liked him. But there was someone else I didn’t know walking with him. Who could this be? Before…
Atallah
Atallah was the village gadfly. He publicly violated all that was sacred. He was an orphan. His parents, who had come with him from Egypt, had died, and he remained alone and forsaken. He had previously been a favorite child…
Abu-il-kalb
They called him that because of his dog, whom he loved more than his own soul. His proper name was Abdullah. So his father had called him, when he came out of slavery to freedom. His father had been a…
She-devil
1 The hunter Ibrahim was young. Seven days ago, he had reached the end of his eighteenth year. The land where his fathers dwelled was far away – on the banks of the river Tigris. When he was still a…