Nawal Nasrallah

The Emperor’s Clothes

Appears in
Delights from the Garden of Eden
Delights from the Garden of Eden

By Nawal Nasrallah

Published 2019

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Here is the story of the sawyer who was daring enough to challenge the whimsical culinary escapades of the rich.
One day a wood sawyer was wandering the streets of Baghdad, hungry and desolate. While passing by a beautiful house, to his surprise, he was accosted by the servants of the house and invited to go in and have dinner with their master. He entered and there he saw the master sitting in the midst of a number of guests, while servants were coming and going carrying beautiful empty platters. The master would every now and then, like a true host, entreat the guests to have their fill of the delicious ‘foods’ offered, while he himself made as if he were eating. He would describe the excellence and the beauty of the dishes as the empty platters were brought to the table, and encourage them to dig in. Meanwhile the servants ‘replenished’ the guests’ glasses repeatedly with their master’s elusive wine.